In short
- The catalogue has one agency in Schoonhoven: Be-Pretty Models (KVK 81156898), with women's, men's and commercial boards.
- The sign-up page states a one-off fee of EUR 7.50 for website maintenance and the handling of bookings.
- The site presents the agency as an Utrecht agency, but its general terms say the business is established in Schoonhoven.
Be-Pretty Models
Schoonhoven is a small town in South Holland on the river Lek. One of the 100 Dutch agencies in our catalogue is here. The country has no licence for model agencies, so the catalogue takes in every business that represents models, including those that charge applicants, and the profiles say what we found.
Be-Pretty Models calls itself more than a small model agency. In the catalogue it has women's, men's and commercial boards, and its KVK number is 81156898. The site presents it as an Utrecht agency, but its general terms say the business is established in Schoonhoven, so the catalogue lists it under this town. It is a sole proprietorship, and the catalogue holds no street address for it. In practice this means your contract would be with one person trading in their own name, and the meeting place has to be agreed in advance.
EUR 7.50 to be added to the system
The sign-up page says that being added to the agency's system costs a one-off fee of EUR 7.50 for website maintenance and the handling of bookings. The amount is small, and the agency states it openly. For comparison, other agencies in our catalogue that charge applicants ask for more:
| Agency | Place | Cost for the applicant |
|---|---|---|
| Be-Pretty Models | Schoonhoven | EUR 7.50, one-off |
| Hebbes Casting | Hilversum | EUR 14.99 administration fee |
| kleyn & groot Casting | Haarlem | EUR 25 for registration and photos |
| ID Casting | Utrecht | EUR 75, settled against the first assignment |
Whether such a fee is lawful has no clear-cut answer. The Waadi act bans asking a job seeker for anything in return for job placement, but it is written for employment contracts, and no official text says how it applies to self-employed models. So what happens after the payment matters more than the amount. In 2020 the consumer programme Radar described an "agency" to which people each paid EUR 120 in registration fees and from which they never heard again. Before you pay, ask how many jobs the agency has passed to its models in recent months and whether the fee is refunded if no bookings come.
Utrecht or Schoonhoven
If you are looking for an agency in Utrecht, the catalogue has three businesses there: Belle & Co, FIC Model Management and ID Casting. Be-Pretty Models links itself to Utrecht, but its business is in Schoonhoven, so ask where shoots and castings take place. In South Holland most agencies are in The Hague and Rotterdam, and the country's main market is Amsterdam, which has 50 agencies in the catalogue.
Before you register
- Enter KVK number 81156898 in the Chamber of Commerce's free search and see under what name and address the business is registered.
- Ask for the general terms and find the commission and the payment term in them.
- Natural photos are enough for an application; a paid shoot is not necessary.
- If anyone asks for more money or for revealing photos in the agency's name, read how to recognise a modeling scam. The national rules are in the guide Modeling agencies in the Netherlands.