The Balancing Act & BrandStar Entertainment are a Scam!

Comments

• +1

  Doubting Thomas

  23 Apr 2010

  Three times? Come on, you're a plant. They put out their own press releases and have plants post positive things. So what's your product and what's your "deep pockets" company that you can afford to shell out the 40-Grand "vendor fee" three times and claim to have gotten a good ROI?
  
  Hmmm...sounds like a Dee Halloran "fake testimonial" to me. (Dee is an employee of Brandstar aka Tricom Pictures who claimed to have "sold her product" on television when she never even had a product.)
  
  A SCAM by any other name would smell...well...like crap.
  
  Don't give them a dime. You'll end up suing as the lawsuits are starting to hit the books against "The Balancing Act."

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• +2

  Bella T.

  30 Apr 2010

  The Balancing Act is 'pay for play' and should be avoided at all costs.
  
  I wonder if Lifetime cares that they are being represented by sales people out to prey on the inexperienced?
  
  They must not as they promote it as a legitimate "morning show." I've got to look closely to make sure there's a disclaimer stating the guests are paying to appear.

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• +1

  Bella T.

  30 Apr 2010

  Just saw the notes from "Just the Facts" and "Westy."
  
  Nice try guys.
  
  But don't you feel just a little bit dirty trying to manipulate people?
  
  And a specific note to "Just the Facts." You say that, "...there are some editorial pieces featured on local and national news that you won't be charged for..."
  
  Let's be real here Mr./Ms. News Producer. When you say 'some' don't you really mean 'ALL?"
  
  There isn't one legitimate local or national news show in the country that will charge for an appearance. And you know it. If they do it's called an infomercial or worse; payola.
  
  Yeah...you're a news producer.

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• 0

  Almost got me!

  5 May 2010

  Thanks for all the messages.  Spoke with the "producer" yesterday and she almost got me!

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• +1

  kit

  11 May 2010

  Just got called also by The Balancing Act. They present themselves as part of Lifetime rather than a separate subsidiary. The "producer" got very huffy when I said that I was used to being paid expenses to appear on media, rather than the other way around. So glad I didn't fall for this!

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• +1

  Markie Post Alfieri

  1 Jun 2010

  Turning the tables, Kit? Splendid! I suggest that is what everyone does when called by these scammers. Say "Vendor fee/Participation fee (whatever their lastest speel calls it)? Excuse me? I was just going to ask YOU what fee I would be paid for appearing!! Hey, thanks for calling anyway!"
  
  My guess is that they won't call back.
  
  This isn't an issue about paying for something legitimate and getting what you paid for. For over a decade now, these people have taken money from unsuspecting manufacturers and given then NOTHING in return. The law defines that as theft by deception. They deliberately misrepresent their "joint marketing endeavor" and that is why they have been sued so much.
  
  They're crooks and they know it, but they keep re-inventing the crooked wheel since P.T. Barnum was correct when opining that there is a "sucker born every minute."

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• 0

  concerned business

  21 Jun 2010

  I knew ripoff report was [***] when they used an "!" to describe how long a company has been in business.

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• 0

  Curious

  23 Jun 2010

  OK,,,,, So I get the same call and pitch that many others have. What makes mine different is they only want a $4900.00 scheduling fee, not $40,000.00. 3-5 minutes of National television exposure for that price seems more than worth it. I know something doesn't smell right but they are producing shows everyday with recognized people and Brands that seem to be happy with the results and exposure.
  
  Has anyone ever contacted some of the people who have appeared on the show to get their feedback?

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• +1

  Daya Devi-Doolin

  8 Jul 2010

  I just got what I thought was a fantastic call to be interviewed about my two of my award-winning best-selling books.  I found out after twenty minutes - at the end about paying them $4,900 for doing Branded Entertainment.  All the starch was taken out of my blouse when I heard that part.  I said to myself I have been interviewed on TV many times and never had to PAY to be interviewed nor even thought about paying.  I heard Spirit tell me to go on Google and ask if other guests have had to pay to be on The Balancing ACT TV Show - Voila'.  Look what I found.  Thank you all for your comments and replies.  I couldn't believe what transpired today.  I asked how they found about my books and they told me.  I asked how they found my phone number and was told how. I have a friend who is going to be doing a taping for them shortly. Now I have the good fortune to tell her.

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• 0

  Thank goodness for voicemail

  8 Jul 2010

  I received a voicemail from these folks while away on vacation.  That gave me the opportunity to research them, which landed me here.  Very glad for all the comments.  There will not be a return call to these people.

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• +3

  Inside Scoop

  15 Jul 2010

  If you asked the Brandstar scammers for references, they'll do what they've always done for close to the 20 years during which they have produced VERY FEW legitimate "marketing campaigns": They'll provide dummy references like they did when they gave out an employee's name, Dawn "Dee" Halloran for a scam operated under other names (Buyers Shopping Network, National Shopping Club, Great Buys Television).
  
  You should contact Lifetime Television and ask for past records for "Balancing Act." Those records should contain information on people who have appeared. Then contact them on your own.
  
  Based on my prior experience, I'd have to say that they realize that too many people are on to them and they aren't going to get that $39,700 "vendor fee" "participation fee" "cooperative fee" or whatever they're calling it these days. The air time that they buy is crap and much of it is pre-emptable, costing them pennies on the dollar. Close to $5,000 for each "participant fee" still gives them a decent profit margin, especially if people conclude that this is a "Great Buy" for such "national" exposure.
  
  Tell them to provide you with national airing schedules, and say that you have relatives all over the country who will want to tune in. Do this BEFORE giving them any money. I can't emphasize enough how many people ended up asking for affidavits of airing AFTER the money had been paid, and they realized they'd been duped when friends and family ended up seeing NOTHING.
  
  I don't care what they are charging. I know who these people are. They are disreputable and should be avoided at all costs, especially YOUR OWN.

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• +1

  Inside Scoop

  15 Jul 2010

  Part of the job of their telemarketing team (I guess they call themselves "producers" now instead of "buyers") is lead sourcing. Basically, what that means is going on the internet and researching categories the honchos provide to see if they can harvest suckers. They prey upon ego and greed - the ego of people who have become acclaimed for something such as an authored book or product invention, and the greed of a manufacturer to participate in what they make appear to be a "too good to be true" scenario.
  They give training sessions on CLOSING THE DEAL, during which they emphasize that the focus needs to be taken off THE MONEY. It's always about the money, and those who don't follow their gut end up getting burned.
  
  So, if you get a call saying "I saw you at a trade show/book signing/you fill in the blank" and thought you'd be great for our acclaimed morning spot on national television (hey, maybe I should re-apply there for a position writing their scripts!!), just ask: "How much will I be paid to appear?"
  
  That should shut them down fast.

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• 0

  Just Wondering

  26 Jul 2010

  I wonder why the people at "Brandstar" are allowed to claim they are directly affiliated with Lifetime Television, which is now part of the A&E Network. If you do a search of the scheduling on the A&E Website on "Balancing Act," it doesn't even come up. Now, if this is an actual show that actually airs nationally at 7:00 am on Lifetime, like they claim it does, then why wouldn't it appear on the A&E schedule for that time slot, instead of some Gene Simmons show? My guess is that if it does air, it's only in a few local markets, unless the slot gets pre-empted by something else.
  
  Something is definitely rotten in Denmark with these people. Someone who almost got ripped off by them should contact the FCC and let them know, since they could then contact Lifetime and A&E and get to the bottom of it.
  
  I wouldn't even take their call.

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• -1

  Leliana Angelo

  18 Aug 2010

  Are you serious??? Do you know how much it COSTS to get 3-5 minutes on TV anywhere else? Seriously dude. This is NOTHING. Do your research.

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• -1

  coffeemom

  1 Sep 2010

  go to www.mylifetime.com and The Balancing Act appears under Shows- that's the Lifetime Network website.

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• +2

  Richard

  23 Sep 2010

  Not Stupid: You make some good points. Besides one-shot advertising, like this, doesn't work. No way can you do one time on this show and expect to have any impact and cut through all the media clutter. Business owners beware! The Balancing Act contacted me. I've had lots of infomercial scams attempted over the last couple of decades. These people are more sophisticated than most. Multiple phone calls... they try to get you to sell them on why your product should be on their show. They claim that Oprah and Rachel Ray all have similar slotting fees, when the truth comes out. What makes it unethical is that they don't want to tell you that you are paying for the infomercial up front.

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• 0

  Ordale

  26 Sep 2010

  Hey Westy, one-shot advertising does not work. You must have repeated exposure to cut through media clutter. It may not be a scam in that you are eventually told what it costs; it's that these Balancing Act people try to convince business owners that they want to feature their products because they are so great! They make you think it's free publicity. They string you along for quite a while. Another tactic is to try to get you to convince them that they should do a feature on your product versus some competing ones they're considering. They don't tell you up front that there's significant cost involved. I can't see how $40K for a 5-minute segment on this show would help any business.

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• +1

  Andy K

  20 Oct 2010

  Coffeemom is part of the scam and guess what - is based in Florida and works at the company.  They are posting comments to try to balance out the negative feedback.

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• +1

  DY

  8 Nov 2010

  Thank you for posting these complaints... You just saved me an hour of time.  I was just contacted by this "company" and appreciate everyone's input.

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• -2

  Wake up Women

  13 Nov 2010

  I think the balancing act is a good show. My relationship started as a viewer. I watched several episodes of the author corner and liked what I saw. I am an author and quickly realized they had my audience. When I inquired about the show I was very interested, but I knew going in there would be a cost.
  
  It was worth it to me to pay a fee because I knew I could use the files after the show had been aired for several other media projects.
  
  I compared what I would be getting by airing on the show with all the benefits and compared it to the cost I would have to pay to hire a PR firm, which can be as much as $10.000 month and hope for the best, hire  an agency to represent me is several thousand just for a retainer, and still hope for the best. Or I can pay for air time and reach the audience in record time.
  
  If you compare this shows marketing to traditional similar shows marketing which is backed-up and supported by advertising you will
  feel like it is a scam. So if it feels like it then it must be it.
  
  I think it would help the marketing department behind the show to understand the difference in the show they present. To the viewer the show looks the same as a News or talk Show,but in reality it is a News/talk-fomercial.  
  
  I knew up-front the cost, weighed it against what it would cost to get me ready or newsworthy to land a 5-10 minute segment on national TV and made the decision immediately to appear on the show.
  
  Think of yourself as the Sponsor of your own show segment, that reaches a hugh targeted market, and you get to use the aired segment in future marketing campaigns...
  
  When they pitch you and get you all excited like you would be about being on national TV or radio, which can be free then at the last minute close you on a totally different model which is several thousand dollars, will make you feel kind of baited then switched, which feels like a scam..  
  
  They are not a scam and they should present themselves upfront as what they are and accept they are part of the new model for getting on TV and change their marketing practices to reflect their part in this new media model.
  I knew going in their was a investment and I never did feel scammed.

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