Studio London Promotion

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K_and_N
K_and_N Posts: 158 Forumite
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in Praise, vent & warnings
Hi All,

I jst have a call from "Studio London" offering me complimentary makeover session.
They also sent me email right away and here is what they said in the email.

Your session will include:

- MINI FACIAL– cleanse, tone & moisturise
- HAIRSYLING- no cutting or colouring
- MAKEOVER – with a top make-up artist
- MAGAZINE STYLE PHOTOSHOOT – with up to 6 wardrobe changes - SAME DAY VIEWING SESSION – digital retouching available, no more spots or blemishes!
All bookings are subject to a fully refundable booking fee, paid at the time of booking and refunded within 7-10 working days of your appointment.

The catch is the booking fees which they say is will be refunded if I turn up with a friend. According to them, there is no other additional cost for me.

Has anyone heard about them? I want to go with a friend who's birthday is a weekend away but I'm worried there's a catch or it's some kind of scam. The booking fees for weekend is £65 for both of us. Any information would be very appreciated!

Thanks.

K & N
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Comments

  • kaych
    kaych Posts: 376 Forumite
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    Have you provided your contact details to them before? How did they get your phone number?

    If you do decide to go for it, better pay with Credit card as if it's fraud, at least you can get it back, I think.
  • annie12188
    annie12188 Posts: 1 Newbie
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    Its no scam.. Ive been there before to have a photoshoot.. they are very good. i even bought some pictures myself :)
  • Jami74
    Jami74 Posts: 1,035 Forumite
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    edited 14 May 2010 at 11:12PM
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    I think I 'won' something like this last year. I looked into it and apparently they can be quite hard sell about the photos they take. If you have the money to pay the refundable booking fee and can either afford a hundred quids worth of photos or are strong enough to say 'no' then you'll probably have a fabulous day.

    It's not a scam as such but if you google 'studio london scam' you'll get to read other peoples experiences of them. Some people came away having spent hundreds of pounds on pics.
    Debt Free: 01/01/2020
  • happymum168
    happymum168 Posts: 429 Forumite
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    I know some uni student went there during the Easter because of the "no booking fee "promotion and end up spending couple hundred pounds on photos. Very hard sell and expensive.
  • keeleycoop
    keeleycoop Posts: 78 Forumite
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    I went there with my friend during the easter hols and it was absolutely terrible. The person on the phone said we got a complimentary photo with our shoot and made it sound like a great day.

    When we arrived the whole building was tacky and in the process of being refurbished which meant the place was a complete mess! The whole day was supposed to take a maximum of 5 hours, but in reality it took 10 with 8 of them consisting of us sitting around waiting. The makeup is harsh, the photographer was impatient and did not seem bothered and the sets were awful due to the building work. It was an extremely hard sell and the person became rather rude once we made it clear we weren't purchasing any photos and enquired about the 'free' one which he claimed was not true and practically accused us of making it up. Complete waste of a day to be honest. Only good point was they refunded the booking fee no problem. Sorry for the rant but I just don't want you to waste your time and money!
  • keeleycoop
    keeleycoop Posts: 78 Forumite
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    Oh and they get your names by giving you a form and if you supply them with 30 friends emails and phone numbers you get £20 off or something rubbish. Not much of a dent when they are trying to sell you 30 photos for £2000! I think one photo was £70-80.
  • jenniewb
    jenniewb Posts: 12,836 Forumite
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    keeleycoop wrote: »
    I went there with my friend during the easter hols and it was absolutely terrible. The person on the phone said we got a complimentary photo with our shoot and made it sound like a great day.

    When we arrived the whole building was tacky and in the process of being refurbished which meant the place was a complete mess! The whole day was supposed to take a maximum of 5 hours, but in reality it took 10 with 8 of them consisting of us sitting around waiting. The makeup is harsh, the photographer was impatient and did not seem bothered and the sets were awful due to the building work. It was an extremely hard sell and the person became rather rude once we made it clear we weren't purchasing any photos and enquired about the 'free' one which he claimed was not true and practically accused us of making it up. Complete waste of a day to be honest. Only good point was they refunded the booking fee no problem. Sorry for the rant but I just don't want you to waste your time and money!


    Now THAT sounds more like an honest answer!

    I am sorry if I sound cynical here, but two people posting about how fantastic this offer is- when its well known and well reported about the hard sell and even fraudulent actions following, its just not worth it!
  • mjm3346
    mjm3346 Posts: 46,943 Forumite
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    It will probably be this type of thing

    http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=2301405

    http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=179156

    http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=2359161
  • lorweld
    lorweld Posts: 5,546 Forumite
    Combo Breaker First Post I've been Money Tipped!
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    MOVING THREADS FOR BETTER RESPONSES

    Hi, Martin’s asked me to post this in these circumstances: I’ve asked Board Guides to move threads if they’ll receive a better response elsewhere (please see this rule) so this post/thread has been moved to another board, where it should get more replies. If you have any questions about this policy please email [EMAIL="abuse@moneysavingexpert.com"]abuse@moneysavingexpert.com[/EMAIL]
    :hello:
  • DDonut
    DDonut Posts: 223 Forumite
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    Yes I have been contacted by them before because a friend gave my number. :( It was hard sell and I have heard that the whole process for this photoshoot is exhausting and terrible value for money. You will need to set your whole day free for the shoot because it takes hours and hours and they charge extortinate rates for photos I have heard its £90 upwards each? Photos are touched up with photoshop style editing but its not that flattering because it is hit and miss on quality. So unless you are ready to pay hundreds for the photos do not waste your time!
    Take a break :p Have a Donut
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