It is illegal for employment ­agencies to charge jobseekers upfront fees.

But there’s a loophole that for years has left showbiz hopefuls vulnerable to exploitation.

It works like this: a model or acting agency tells the wannabes that they need a portfolio of pictures.

They are then sent to a photographic studio which charges hundreds of pounds and, because it is not an employment agency, it is not breaking the law.

Aspiring model Gabriella Thompson nearly fell into this trap after coming across Fashion Model Management (FMM) on Facebook.

It claims to be “one of the leading boutique modelling agencies, priding itself on its distinguished talent roster and client base”.

“I was told there would be no costs for anything and they make money by taking 20% of what you get from jobs,” said the 19-year-old Londoner.

Gabriella Thompson (
Image:
Gabriella Thompson)

She was sent for a test shoot with a second business, Younique Look Photography, where staff said they would forward her images to FMM.

“I was called into an office and told I had been offered a contract with Fashion Model Management but I would have to buy photographs for £750 in order to work for them.

“I refused to pay because I had been told that there would be no cost.”

My colleague Abigail O’Leary ­experienced the hard sell when she replied to FMM’s website invitation for a “photoshoot and feedback from an experienced industry photographer” plus advice from the “team of fashion experts”.

Younique Model Agency office (
Image:
Tim Anderson)

After the shoot – there were no experts to be seen – in the studio in Central London, a woman introduced herself as Steph and told Abigail that she was just what FMM was looking for. Incredibly, the agency was willing to give Abigail a contract, even though she had no modelling ­experience.

Two hours after walking through the doors, she was apparently a fully-fledged model and was even promised her first job, working for an unnamed client for £376 an hour. But first there was the cost of those ­photographs – £1,250 for all 95 images, of which FMM would pay £355.

Abigail asked for time to think about it, only to be told by Steph: “We’re not actually allowed to hold the images”.

When Abigail later approached Steph outside the studio and revealed that she worked for the Mirror, Steph directed all our ­questions to FMM.

“I’ve got nothing to do with the agency, I work for the studio,” she said.

“You’ll have to speak to the agency.”

So we called Kanayo Ajuga, director of FMM, who distanced himself from the hard sell.

“The agency and the studio are two separate entities,” he said. “In no way do we endorse that. Prices are between the studio and the model.”

He refused to provide evidence of his agency’s success, such as the names of clients. Nor would he explain why his website pictures models who say that their photographs are being used without permission.

Fashion Model Management gives the impression of having a wealth of talent on its books.

Zeana

Zara Croft appears on its website, her name changed to Zeana Casnauskaite.

“They don’t have permission to use my pictures and are using me under a different name for some reason,” she told the Mirror.

Adam Gibbs is listed on the website as Aaron Housley and said: “I am not with them, I am with modelling agency Elliott Brown.”

Amy Woodman is listed as a model with FMM under the name of Abie White.

Abie

“I’m not with this agency and never have been,” she said.

“I have had lots of girls message me on Facebook after finding my photos on other agency websites and I have told them that they should not invest money.”

Also shocked to find her images on FMM was fitness model Sarah Smith, listed as Sade Sheratt.

“I rang and asked them to take the photos down, and they said that somebody must have gone to them saying they were me.”

In contrast, Russian model Ana Matiuta has allowed FMM to use her pictures, which appear with the name Ana Topa.

But this has not produced a single offer of work.

Acting and model agencies comprised 19% of all complaints to the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate, according to its latest annual report.

A spokesman for the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills would not comment on individual cases but said: “Where there are allegations of abuse, the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate will investigate and can prosecute.”

Clive Hurst, actor and campaigner against rogue showbiz agencies, retorted: “They have never prosecuted anyone in this sector in 20 years. That’s how long they’ve wriggled out of their responsibilities.”