Characters for Hire ℠Reviews of charactersforhire.com

Characters for hire never paid for character work. At time of hire 6/30 I was promised payment of $250 by July 7/8 for work performed 7/4. Never paid. Weak excuses. I will sue in small claims court. I will be posting the complaints I file and the court action status updates here.

They don't care about paying the people who do the actual work on time or at all. Amy and everyone else only give excuses and lie about when/if you'll be paid at all. Definitely a shady company who lies and cheats to make a nickel.

Never got paid

Update: MORE than a year later there is a response from owner that my statements are lies and I should provide paperwork and proof. If you had actual contact info beyond a dead phone number for texting only and a 1800 number that goes ignored , I would. Fact I WAS PAID LATE! Fact this company is very unprofessional! Fact you handled payment wrong. Fact your means of communication is terrible. Fact: responding to a review of an actor that you paid late (AND UNDER PAID) because you’re in a legal battle is shady. I truly hope whomever is suing you bankrupts you. Act like a grownup I am experiencing the same issue as Michael! I worked an event in Denver- the contact was via text. (No actual phone number, no actual email). I turned in an agreement (stating payment in 14 days, via an echeck). I worked the gig. Photographed myself arriving to act as me clocking in. The client was happy with my 2 day portrayal, all was well! 16 days later I reached out asking about payment. I was ignored. I called the number I’d been texting for Angela. I was ignored for 3 days. I called the 1800 number listed on their website. I spoke to someone that (definitely sounded like the gentleman Kevin… but I’ll elaborate more later, didn’t catch his name.) He assured me that Angela usually answers texts promptly, was just on vacation and was dealing with a very busy time. I copied the exact same message that I’d text 3 times prior. I got response. I was told that I’d get payment “soon” that they were backed up due to people on vacations. She said I was getting paid late possibly because I was a “late hire” and had not turned in paperwork. She was mixing me up with my co-worker. I explained that I turned in my paperwork and was hired a week prior to the event. I said I was worried this was a scam. I was directed to call Kevin the company owner. I spoke to him (I swear he sounded like the First Gentleman I spoke too.) He said he’d just gotten in and had never spoke to me. He informed me the company is legit— that they have a website and a BBB and have worked with Disney and NBC. I was instructed to text and ask when I was added the a line of people to be paid. Angela texted responding that she’d tell me the following day when I’d be added and to the list of people to be paid. A few days later (similar to another reviewer here) I got a copy paste screenshot that due to Microsoft outrage payment would be delayed. I have called the 1800 number, no response. When I text and ask politely about pay I’m ignored. On July 29 I was told to enroll in Square to get direct deposit. I was text that if I filled it out I’d receive payment on August 9. Today is August 9. It is after business hours. I have not been paid. I asked about it around 4:30p PST. Angela responded that I’d get a check by mail. I asked for documentation of this. She said to check in the square. The square that I entered my bank info for direct deposit into. I informed her I’d entered my info for direct deposit- she says “it’s a good sign I entered my bank info”. I again asked for documentation- no response. I’m worried I did REALLY hard work and was promised parking, gratuity, and a wage to be paid over a month ago, and I keep getting the runaround. This is not ok. Updating: after I wrote this review, contacted BBB somehow I got notification that the direct deposit is able to go through. I’m sure that’s a coincidence 🤔

I was hired to do a really fun onscreen acting job through this company. Prior to the gig, they were highly organized & responsive. The job itself was great and their on-site character handler was super nice. The issue I had (hence the write up here) came afterwards, while waiting for my payment. When the pay didn't arrive on time (per the contract), I was told they had the incorrect email info. That was when it became terrible- no follow up from their office, messages ignored & phones never answered. They even sent me a newsclip about a worldwide power outage that essentially made their payroll processor useless. Any time I try to speak about it, they continue to deflect me & tell me I'm at the mercy of the payroll company coming back online. Finally, the contact there told me that she "didn't have time" to deal with this & that I'm basically SOL until they feel like doing something about this. All this time, I have researched on here and Google that they have a history of this behavior with others. Literally the same kind of excuses. The incompetence and arrogance of their office workers is what makes this a group that I advise any actor looking to be paid avoids. It's unfortunate, as they seem to have a lot of really cool work available. However- their awful handling of paying me for my work overshadows any kind of cool gigs they might offer. Seems like they have a history of also responding to reviews like this--- no matter what kind of lame excuses they make, know that I'm 100% legit, showed up & did what I was hired to do and that I thoroughly believe any other actor that's posted a similar review EDITED TO ADD -- I was paid for my work. I'm still not amending my review based on a few reasons. One- after making it out like their payroll process was an elaborate & tedious procedure, they simply emailed me a virtual check. This was what they said they were gonna do initially. So, in essence, it was just a matter of them sending it late. However, instead of just owning up to their mistake they made it seem like it was this big ordeal. Second, the attitude of their staff was simply not worth giving a good review.

I am still waiting for my refund which was agreed and supposed to be sent to me in April. Once again I have sent 4 follow up emails and received no response! I have been trying to resolve this complaint since last September.

Absolutely terrible charged me over £2000 for a performance at my wedding the costumes were wrong the performance was very amature and after admitting it was poor and only offering £600 back they are now ignoring my emails!

Kevin Mack and Nancy hired myself as handler, and another performer as mascot, for an event in Toronto, Canada for October 14, 2023. Via Craigslist. The mascot and I completed the first shift of our job from 10:45am to 2:00pm at Toys 'R Us at 1440 Lawrence Avenue East, in Toronto. The third person on the scene was the Canadian marketing company's team lead / vice president. During this time, in my text and phone communication with Mr. Mack, we were told payment would be remitted via the Revolut app, but it is not operational for Canada. Mr. Mack responded by telling us to call tech support. We responded by asking for an alternative means. Mr. Mack suggested Western Union. Later, he said we would be paid be eCheck. Even later in the evening, after this incident, Nancy texted me a screenshot of a Google search result claiming that Revolut can be used in Canada. That's for app users who already signed up, in the US or elsewhere. This app withdrew from the Canadian market 2 years ago. Mr. Mack had claimed that his company has paid hundreds of performers in Canada via Revolut. That was clearly a falsehood. Just prior to the mascot beginning, the first call I received from Mr. Mack - never having spoken, interviewed or worked with him before - he launched into a tirade berating me about asking the marketing VP onsite how our fee was intended to be issued. Here's where my bad feeling kicked in, because, in fact I had read these TrustPilot reviews before taking on this job, and stupidly I overrode my instincts. Then, while the mascot was in costume, I texted Mr. Mack to ask for partial - not full - payment in good faith to both myself and the mascot to ensure we would be secured for the afternoon's events, and all of the next day. This, considering that we had shown up already and were doing the job. The Canadian marketing company onsite could attest to that. This was to establish the payment means, it was not a demand for full payment. We didn't hear anything back. Once the mascot and I had completed this event, we helped pack and load the costume back into the marketing lead's car. When the marketing lead got Mr. Mack on speakerphone telling him he needed to pay the performers, he was hostile, abrasive and berated all of us, and simply hung up. She then advised us, at 2:00pm, to simply go home rather than proceed to the next event. We did so. The second Canadian marketing company that hired Characters for Hire stated on the phone that they had already paid Mr. Mack his fee. Those are the facts. My opinion: There was zero intention up front to issue payment to the performers. Except that in our case, we caught Mr. Mack in the act and cut our losses by leaving. I also believe both Canadian marketing companies who hired Characters for Hire wised up to the fact that they had engaged with, and already paid, a very bad actor. Myself and mascot were not asked further to complete Saturday or Sunday. Please don't ignore these reviews. I trust they are accurate. In response, Mr. Mack issues fictional replies with baseless accusations. Addendum based on the response of the company: no, we were not told anything of Revolut the day before, and no, of course we weren't taken off the job. We walked. Why would Mr. Mack remove us from a job that we had started, and was anticipating we would complete naively in good faith so that he could fulfill his own contract but pocket our wages? Last, since Mr. Mack was offsite, he is welcome to back up his assertion that we "embarrassed him" with facts. The Mascot did a good job and interacted with many of the kids who saw him wave, dance and give high-fives and hugs. Myself and the marketing company also have photos of the mascot, in costume onsite. Conclusion: You've been warned. I filed my own complaint with the New York Better Business Bureau.