In April of this year(2009) I applied for services with Supportkids Inc. because my eldest sons father hasn’t paid any childsupport in over a year and I was desperate to get some assistance. He owed over $5000 in unpaid childsupport and I really thought SupportKids could assist me in collecting it. After first applying for information, I was immediately sent all sorts of letters and received phone calls from Supportkids trying to encourage me to sign up for their services. As soon as I decided to sign up I received a contract stating that a $475 fee would be taken out of the initial payment received from my sons father, and it would be a 34%  fee every check there after.

I was very desperate as I stated earlier and I felt this was the only way I could collect because the agency in my county worked slow and sometimes they just seemed to be really dumb when it came to located my sons father and finding out where he worked. Out of my desperation for help I signed up with them without researching further. As soon as I signed up with them and submitted all the necessary information, all that communication I was getting beforehand ceased to exist!

I first called Supportkids to ask questions on the status of my case because it was the beginning of April when my case was accepted and I hadn’t heard anything. To my surprise I wasn’t talking to real people anymore. There wasn’t even a customer service option. I had to listen to a recorded message about cases being transferred and then I was disconnected. I then emailed Supportkids on May 28th, 2009 about my case and received an automated response. I didn’t get an actual response until June 5th, 2009 that stated the exact recorded message I heard on the phone:

Hello,

We apologize for the delay in our response.

Your case is ready to be sent to an Enforcement Specialist, but in order for case to be sent we need to have confirmation from your state agency that the change of address is in place. We have yet to receive this confirmation from your state agency. Once we know our information is in place with their office the case will be released to Enforcement.

Recently, a limited number of Supportkids cases were transferred to another collection agency. Your case was NOT transferred, but this change has caused a slight disruption to our operations. During this time we ask that you continue to utilize our email address, website, or automated system for updates on your case. We are working towards resolving these issues as soon as possible.

If your case is paying, you may experience a temporary delay in your child support payments.

Thank you for your patience as we work through these issues.

Supportkids, Inc.
Email: clientline@supportkids.com
Website: www.supportkids.com
Automated client line: 512-437-6025

Now I was just completely frustrated so I called the SupportKids sign up line to get some answers. Of course a “real” person answered, but then they told me I had to email Supportkids or call the automated client line again.

I waited a few weeks and I decided to see if I could find independent reviews on the Supportkids. What I found was nothing, but negative feedback about them:

http://www.xomreviews.com/supportkids.com

http://www.killerstartups.com/Site-Reviews/supportkids-com-get-help-collecting-child-support

http://singleparentsunite.blogspot.com/2008/09/supportkidsread-before-you-sign.html

I then emailed SupportKids on July 23rd asking for information on my case once again:

Hello,

I’m trying to figure out why it is taking so long for an update to my case or to receive some payments. I can’t even call and talk to a real person and after reading some reviews about your company I’m beginning to get worried. I was told you had some good info on my case so what’s the hold up?

Please email me ASAP. I need to know what’s going on with my case.

Case# [case # removed]

Samara Bowling
[email removed]

I waited a week and I received no response. I then emailed Support Kids again on July 30th:

To whom it may concern:

I will like to start the process of closing my case with your company and ending my contract. I do not like the lack of communication with your organization. I can’t call and speak with anyone and when I email you I get no response. I emailed you 6 days ago and still no response. You didn’t have an issue calling and mailing me to hassle me into signing up with you and as soon as I do all the communication ends. I will not be changing my mind at this point. At least when I deal with my county I can actually call and speak with a real person. I will seek the advice of a private attorney to end my contract with you and I am having my forwarding address changed with the county from yours to mine immediately.

Samara Bowling
Case#[case # removed]
[email removed]

It is now August 15th and I still haven’t heard from Supportkids. I also did my own investigation with the BBB and look at the information that I discovered on this company:

http://www.bbb.org/central-texas/business-reviews/child-support-enforcement/supportkids-in-austin-tx-42874

This didn’t even make my situation any better, especially after finding out the terrible score that the BBB gave them. I immediately filed my own complaint against them for failure to respond to emails and/or calls. I have also notified my county child support enforcement agency about the situation because from what I gather, SupportKids is just a scam! They prey on single parents that are financially desperate and they do nothing to enforce or collect. More than likely they wait until the county actually collects the money, but because they have set up direct deposit with the county the money will go directly to them first. After they take their fees for doing entirely nothing they forward the remaining balance to the custodial parent.

Do not fall for this scam like I did! Either seek out the help of an attorney or stick it out with your counties child support enforcement agency. I’d rather not collect and wait for the county, than to not collect, wait for the county, and have fees taken out of my check by a scam company for doing totally nothing!

The reason I’m writing this post is to warn my fellow viewers and anyone else about a notorious company called Talent 6. (Hopefully this post will show up in an internet search for Talent 6) I signed up with this company because it claimed I would be paid $250 a day to be a movie extra. I said to myself well hell a pregnant woman could do this. When I called they claimed I had to pay a $39 registration fee that was refundable during a 10 day trial period. I told the lady I would think about it because that was a pretty high price, but the lady insisted on me trying them out. So the next day I went to the site she told me about and found that there were hardly any listings in my area for things I could do. Many of the listings that were so-calledly in my area required me to travel to a different state. How could I get this job if there are so many others applying? I would be wasting $39 plus the $19.99 monthly fee for this useless crap. I tried calling them back to cancel, but they were closed so I called the next day and canceled the whole thing meaning getting my $39 back after arguing with the dumb foreign guy who kept trying to convince me not to cancel. I received a cancellation number and expected my money back in my account within the a 3 day refund period.

Of coarse that never happened…I also went shopping about 4 days later and returned a lot of stuff including a dress and a shirt to DEBS, sneakers to Foot Locker, a shirt to Rainbows and a necklace and earrings to Afterthoughts. I received my refunds from all 4 of these places in about 4 days total, but from Talent 6…no refund. The actual day I asked for the refund was March 27, 2007. So I inquired about the refund with my bank and they advised me to cancel my card out. A few days later my refund still hadn’t appeared so I inquired again and they said I should receive it in a total of 4 days from the cancellation period. I told them that I asked for the refund on March 27 and it was now April 4th. When they wrote me back they asked me to call Talent 6 again and see what’s going on and gave me a number. So I called Talent 6 and gave them my name and cancellation number and they claimed my refund had already been processed and I should receive it in about 4 days(The foreign guy again). It is now April 11th and guess what? No refund. They haven’t gave me anything back. Now I have to file a dispute form with my bank and sign an affidavit for Talent 6 to be investigated and the return of my $39.

Please people please! DO NOT fall for Talent 6′s great offers of making $250 a day…it’s a complete rip off and their keep your money! Their just some kind of scam business/website that robs inspiring models and actors of their money and dreams. If they were so legitimate I wouldn’t be going through this whole ordeal for a refund.

You call and speak with a professional obviously well speaking American and then when you call for a refund you’re talking to some foreign person whom can barely speak English. It’s all a big scam just to steal innocent models/actors money. DON”T DO IT.

Talent 6 should be called Rip-off 6!