Modelling agencies get a bad rap over late payments

A model has filed a US$1.27 million lawsuit against Guess over late payments.

Natalie Pack claimed in court documents that she was booked for modeling gigs with Guess starting in October 2015. She mostly worked one-day shoots with her daily rate ranging from $600 to $2,000 per day.

Pack claimed that she worked 48 jobs for Guess since 2015 to May 2018, but was not paid within 30 days.

According to court documents retrieved by TMZ, the late payments triggered penalties that came up to almost US$1.27 million.

In a similar case, a group of models in July filed a class-action lawsuit against their agencies. They claim that thousands of dollars in payment were withheld from them and they had their pay deducted due to unexplained 'expenses' in the early 2000s. The suit named some of the most visible model agencies in the world - Wilhelmina, Next, Major, Elite, MC2 Models and Click.

In yet another lawsuit, model Louisa Raske who was contracted to modeling agency Next said she is claiming full payment for the use of her image. In 2012 she saw her face on a box of L'Oreal hair dye in a pharmacy. She had never been paid for its use and had not been in contact with Next since 2009. Next eventually sent Raske US$31,000, but Raske insists she has not been paid in full.