1, Set up and run by Kirsty Cee, a booker with USI Model Agency.
Facebook members question to Kirsty...
2, Does Kirsty’s USI Model Agency charge a fee?
Yes, £50 per year PLUS compulsory Spotlight membership £114 per year. Click to read more.
£164 a year, £492 for 3 years.
3, Many of our Models Direct models complained to us that they contested the ‘Parents of child models UK’ Facebook group’s posts and comments on the basis of their positive experience with us.
All these satisfied model contributions are deleted and users subsequently blocked and immediately banned by the admins and moderators of the group. (names available)
4, Here are some parental reviews of our child models registered with Models Direct
5, Meta platforms, Facebook owners, don't much care, beyond international legal compliance, who says what.
Their daily priority is an obsession to grow the volume of users.
Simple, more users, more revenue from advertisers.
As for Facebook revenue, Google says...
By 2022, Facebook's annual ad revenues hit $135.94 Billion. Facebook's net worth as of 2023, is $320 Billion.
6, Neither of these astronomical incomes are based on either authenticity or even the identity of users.
Truth of what people say, doesn’t come into it.
Many people post either anonymous or under spurious user names and write whatever they like. Often biassed with prejudice, lies, even imagination - a far stretch from a reliable reference point in reality.
Nothing to do with fact or fiction in content, here is what advertisers are really interested in... users...
Number of Facebook users in the world (monthly active users): 2.963 Billion (January 2023) Number of people who use Facebook each day (DAU): 2.000 Billion (January 2023)
7, Several times a year we apply to Facebook asking they remove fake Models Direct pages, groups and users.
Inevitably these would have generated misunderstanding, confusion, anxiety and given rise to spurious scam claims.
It further goes to show unjustified negativity is not only driven by multiple criminal scams imitating MD but also fueling the fire is Facebook by allowing them to surface in the first place.
8, What do we say?
At Models Direct we have two main choices, as with most things in life, either accept or push back.
In this instance, ‘Parents of child models UK’ Facebook group is tightly controlled by administrators of a competing private model agency.
They charge greater fees themselves and insist membership by depending on a sister site, to advertise modelling jobs at further annual expense. They delete anything positive about Models Direct.
We therefore have a duty of care to our models to respond by stating censored, deleted and cold, hard facts, the reader might not otherwise be aware of.
Models Direct has been established since 1990. Long before many Facebook contributors were born. We must be doing something right. In fact we have a hard won, highly prized 5 star rating with our clients worldwide.
We only do the one thing and we do it well, putting men, women and children and pets forward for part-time and paid fun assignments in Film, TV, Modelling, Photographic, Fashion, Catalogues, Promotions, Walks-on, Extras, throughout the UK and overseas.
We were the first of a very few model agencies awarded the HMG DTI Model Agency Employment License, wayback in 1991. It was a system that didn’t last long due to funding but have maintained close Government relations with annual inspections, evolving with and accepting invitations to contribute to model agency legislation.
Dear Models Direct
Further to our telephone conversation , I am sending you the link to current consultation regarding on the reform of the legislation of the recruitment sector.
As part of the consultation there will be some stakeholder events, in particular we are seeking to hold a meeting with representatives of the modelling industry . The aim being to discuss the consultation and seek the views of businesses operating in this area.
The meeting would probably last for around 2 hours and I expect it will be in the BIS offices in London in the next few weeks.
Please could you reply if you would be interested in coming along if we are able to arrange this meeting.
We are also seeking responses to the consultation
The consultation opened on 17 January 2013. I attach a link to the O.k. website where you can access details about the consultation. The closing date for responses is 11 April.
Regards
Inspector
Employment Agencies Standards Inspectorate
Labour Market
Abbey 1,3rd Floor 1 Victoria Street London SW1H 0ET
0208 426 0146
The Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate is responsible for enforcing the provisions of the Employment Agencies Act 1973 and associated regulations. You can visit our website at www.bis.gov.uk/employment/employment
9, Here are some of our clients we’ve worked with over the last 33 years.
10, We invite everyone and anyone to visit our Head Office by appointment. We also offer to pay half the fuel, or personal travel costs from anywhere within the UK.
Despite all the vitriol, bad mouthing, lies and scam charges, we have less than a handful of visitors annually who accept this, what we think is a unique offer. One would think there would be some enthusiasm for our offer, given the energy given to Facebook postings. Norwich is a fine city - plenty to see.
Thank you for reading this.
If you would like to chat in person please call during office hours 0844 334 0000
All our team have worked with us for over 5 years, many for decades and include parents, just like you. So you can be assured of qualified and knowledgeable conversations on the subject of modelling, child, adult or pet.
From those conversations, form your opinions and ultimately, whether or not we offer what you are looking for.
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Models Direct