Please help, signed a contract for photo experience but need to cancel

kg2009

Hi,

I have a very similar experience with a different makeover/photo company I was wondering if you could help with.

My friend booked a make over & photo shoot for her birthday & put my name down for a free make over & photo shoot.
The company in question offered a 'rollover 'deal basically you put a minimum of £50 down towards any photos you may want to buy & they double it. From seeing what they offered & seeing my friends pictures I put down £200, rolling over to £400.
Anyway went for the place, had make over, photos done, then I as well was taking into a room to view my photos. My friend had bought her all her pictures & got copyright for them & was given them there & then on cd. As soon I was taken into the room, the guy told me he could do same offer for me (as my friend got a 'special rate') I told him no I couldnt afford it. He then mentioned the finance thing to me, I said no I have bad credit I would rather just buy pictures. He then turned to my husband & asked him about his credit, my husband was reluctant as well so they guy offered to look at how much it would cost. He took down my husbands details and advised us it would cost £80 a month for a year, which to me is an awful lot of money for some pictures, but rather than asking us if we wanted to or not, he clicked confirm & had already burned the pictures to a disc. He then handed my husband a form to sign for the credit agreement. I turned to my husband & said are you sure you want to do this & the guy told us it was too late he had already clicked confirm & disc was burned. Reluctantly my husband signed & we were told we would have to go back for more pictures doing, as we didnt have half as many taken as my friend had.
I was very unhappy about this & also about having to travel another 2 hour round trip to have more pictures taken but as we had signed felt I had to.
I decided not to complain until after I had the next set of pictures taken in case we didnt get any money back & they refused to take any more pictures.
So I have had my second set of pictures taken & have these on a disc. So I went to the website to find a complaint number or address etc & came across an email system to complain, so sent an email. Even though website says will reply within 24 hours it took them a week to reply saying, it will be brought up in a staff meeting & they would offer me a complimentary 5x7 print worth £50. Well as I already have all the pictures on a disc & could actually get these done myself cheaper & quicker, I replied to say not satisfactory & asked for a reply with reasonable compensation offered.
I today have had a reply basically calling me a liar saying she had spoken to branch manager & I was happy to sign & willing to go back for a second session. I am extremely unhappy and down about having all these debt.

Is there anything I can do from here?

pinkshoes

Other than calling Trading standards, there really isn't much you can do.

What you should have done is stood up for yourselves, and told the sales guy NO. It didn't matter whatsoever that he'd printed the photos, as if he didn't have a signature, there would be no finance agreement! Can't turn back time though...

How about naming and shaming them to warn others?

zara*elise

My friend was in the same situation. They had planned to have a shoot for four people then a meal at 7ish. It was a studio in the West End, I think it was £25 for four of them and they got a free picture at the end. They had their photos, makeover, free champagne etc. Finished by 4pm, and just had to wait to get their free picture. Three hours later, they were stil with the sales guy whp'd tried to get my friend, who earns £180 a week to pat £50 per week for the photos! Oh, and with only a 20% interest rate!

These places are complete scams, they're often around TopShop in the West End and the target young girls into signing there and then. If you want to think about it they'll take your number and call you three to four times per day.

They're legal businesses and have watertight contracts, but as one poster has said, they're morally bankrupt.

Proc

Just a tip for people who find themselves under pressure to purchase something. I know the feeling of the pressure. I've walked into car showrooms, phone shops, clothing shops, photo studios and have never been pressured into buying something I don't want. It's a phrase I learned from a very young age;

"No".

Try it. It works. If it doesn't work first time you can always try this:

"No".

Follow these steps and don't be the "victim" of a hard sell ever again.

Dimples2609

Good advice Proc, but when you're an inexperienced teenager, and deaf, these poeple can be very persuasive, and it's this exploitation of the vulnerable that is always the worst example.
Anyway, HAPPY ENDING:T. My Step-duaghter wrote to Double-Take cancelling and to Black Horse Finance, complaining that she was put under pressure to sign the agreement. Black Horse were very helpful (possibly as this was around the time of the figures being release about complaints to the ombudsman). We now have written confirmation that the order has been cancelled.
Lessons;
1) As Proc says, say no
2) If you have youngsters attending these things (18-20+) , make sure they are well warned to say NO.
3) If you do get caught, complain immediately to the company and to the Finance company.
...... and finally , I can feel a campaign coming on to get Consumer Credit Act non-cancellable agreements amended. They are designed to protect businesses who provide a service from having orders cancelled after the work has been undertaken. In effect they are being used to apply pressure on people to sign-up for goods or services on the spot. A good product or service offering should sell itself and therefore giving the customer time to go home and think it through should not be a problem.

Be careful out there

Mekmj

Congratulations on getting out of the contract - that must be a great relief!

From what you have written, I would say that this company has used an aggressive commercial practice under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regs 2008 (reg 7). As well as unfair practices under the same legislation (Schedule 1 nos. 7, 24). The penalty for these offences on conviction is a fine (I believe up to £5000) or on conviction on indictment up to two years in prison. Of course, this would mean that an enforcement authority (trading standards etc) would need to take action, but it does give weight to the arguments of other people in the same position who are trying to get out of their contract.