Luke M.

I've worked on multiple jobs that were advertised on StarNow that I haven't been paid for. Their customer service team (who are appalling at their job) claim to contact advertisers who don't pay, but contacting them doesn't help, as contact can just be ignored.

There doesn't seem to be any legally binding contract stating that advertisers on StarNow have to pay the people they choose for their jobs, as long as StarNow have their subscription fee from you, it seems as though they couldn't care less if you get paid or not. If you complain to StarNow about this and no conclusion is reached, they will just go ahead and delete the profiles of the members who haven't paid you, which in turn deletes their original adverts, leaving no proof they posted on the website, it deletes your applications, leaving no proof you applied for the jobs they posted and it also deletes all the messages you had with those members, therefore completely getting rid of any evidence you ever had any contact with the advertiser.

All I'm trying to do is make a living doing what I love, but there are people out there running websites like StarNow who are destroying the industry.

No doubt somebody form StarNow will reply to this review with an "apology" urging me to contact them regarding this issue even though I've contacted them about it several times and they've made it perfectly clear that there's nothing they can do to make sure their advertisers pay.

EDIT:

The below is my response to StarNow's reply to this review:

"We're sorry to hear you feel this way, and very concerned about your understanding of StarNow."

If you're sorry, then refund me the £150 I've lost using your website.

"When we receive a complaint about a member or a listing, we take it very seriously. We investigate and take appropriate action, which may include removing them from StarNow."

Like I said, when you do that, it removes our message history, deleting proof that they gave me a job in the first place therefore I can no longer contact them to chase up payment.

"We do this to keep StarNow a safe, enjoyable place for everyone, and to help stop issues such as non-payment from happening."

It doesn't help, it makes it harder. Instead of removing them from StarNow, stop them from posting jobs, then I'll still have proof they gave me work and I can still contact them.

"It's important to remember that StarNow is primarily a listings service, not an agency."

I know it isn't, I didn't say it was, I've been using it for three years, I'm well aware.

"The StarNow service doesn't include negotiating rates or contracts, or processing/chasing payment for jobs on your behalf. As such, we don't take commission from members on jobs booked, and are able to keep our membership fees to a minimum."

Again, I know, I didn't suggest otherwise.

"Your membership fee contributes to the employment of a team of people working hard to create a valuable community this work includes building and maintaining a website, sourcing and vetting casting calls and moderating content."

People advertising jobs on your website are supposed to be contributing to my employment, but they're getting away with not paying me.

"I hope this extra information helps you understand our position, and I trust you understand we are a reputable business providing a service we are very proud of."

This extra information has been useless, I've still wasted £150 using your website and worked 4 days days that I won't get paid hundreds of pounds for. You shouldn't be proud, you should be ashamed.