MONEY MORAL DILEMMA: Should Scott take Charlene's ad?

jammyjam

Scott should decline to advertise the service. My friend won a "competition" for a "free" makeover and photoshoot. He did not really know what he was getting into and the company applied pressure sales to get him to part with over £500 for the photographs. Of course they had a payment plan and it took him 18 months to pay off the debt with interest. Unfortunately, he was ashamed of what he had agreed to and his gullibility and failed to tell anyone until after the cooling-off period had elapsed.

This sort of business is just dishonest and makes money out of people who can ill-afford it, but who don't have enough nouse to walk away.

Mr_Messy_2

Couldn't Scott just ask that the poster makes it clear there would be a charge for the photographs, even if the amount is not shown?

His conscience is clear and he's helped his friend.

irishwench69

Agree with the others - Scott can help Charlene out by putting a poster / card up, as long as she understands that it has to detail the additional charges for the prints, and it will be taken down if there are any customer complaints about them / her.

I don't think a newsagents can be *that* fussy - the friend thing is almost not relevant - it's about a newsagent putting an ad up. I bet the supermarkets don't vet the ads for those noticeboards instore that much!

IW x

Spectralis

I think if you know it's a scam then it's unethical to promote it. As others have said in favour of promoting this ad - friendship has nothing to do with it - judge the issue on ethical grounds.

Hopefully Charlene who has the dilema of promoting this scam will find other work in the future. We've all got to pay the bills and lot's of high street big name companies advertise scams with hidden clauses that are dressed up as good deals but that doesn't mean others should feel pressurised to join in with promoting false advertising.

Good luck to all involved.

madkingsoup

If Charlene gets funny about Scott's refusal then she isn't a real friend and he's better off without her.

It sounds like that company ("The Studio"?) that puts cards into magazines offering the chance to win a photoshoot. I've won 2nd prize three times on this and it turns out that you get one picture for free and have to pay through the nose for the rest. When I tried to get out of it they kept calling me, and even started texting me despite the fact that they did not have my permission. A quick threat of being reported to the ICO and I never heard from them again.

JayD

Maybe a compromise is called for?
Perhaps an additional comment written on the poster advising that photographs would be charged for and prices are available on request.
I can't see that upsetting either of them.

Brockyman

I can't see why anyone would have a problem with this as long as the poster clearly stated that a charge would be made for additional photographs, and even if it didn't you'd have to be pretty naive not to realise it. The photo session will take an hour or more and probably uses a Photographer and a make up artist so it doesn't take a lot to work out that unless the studio sell something from the session they are going to lose money. Photographers and make up artists are skilled people and deserve to make a living. The "FREE" sitting and makeover is a loss leader, a bit like supermarkets selling bread at a loss to make you go in for it and then you buying something else. The studio are taking a risk, they invest time in taking your photo and they use their skills to create the photo's. Hopefully you will like them enough to want to buy them or they lose money. If you do not like them there is no obligation to buy them and it has cost you nothing. If you do like them you can buy copies and you will have them forever. Is £300 a lot for the photo's? That's hard to judge without seeing them but it is not possible to compare it to the cost of doing it yourself. It is a bit like getting in an electrician to replace a plug socket. The socket might only cost £3.00 say, but with his time and tools and skill his bill could maybe come to £100. Would that be unreasonable too?
One of the big problems with the world today is that people want things for nothing. To a certain extent this forum encourages that and I'm not sure it is always a good thing. A good job is worth rewarding. If it is a bad job, at least in this instance it has cost the customer nothing.
Ian.

4$£&*(£$&*(!

Having known two friends who were told they'd 'won' such a prize for a free make-over and photoshoot, I can relate to this.

The studio was on Great Portland Street, and I dropped them off around 2pm. At around 5pm I went back to pick them up, and heard an incredible story about how they had a make-up artist work their wonders, they were given champagne and were told they would get two prints free into the deal. At the end of it they were pressure-sold £300 worth of photos and told they could not leave without buying them. They weren't even allowed to phone me to call into the studio. They ended up in tears as I picked them up from the shoot at the end of the day.

Eventually we found a get-out clause - they purchased the photos on a credit card, and were given a contract that told them to expect their photos within 28 days. After three weeks a CD turned up with the photos on and were told to wait a further two weeks. Once 28 days had elapsed they called their credit card company to report a breach of contract.

Scott should be made aware of what it's like to console two upset women, pressure sold and so upset they spoke about it for weeks afterwards (and it came as little shock to see the manager of the studio on Watchdog defending the company a few months later). He may put a friendship on the line, but he would still have to sleep at night.

cefynbach

Hi got to agree with those who say no to poster as this is obviuosly a scam. As for the person who made a comment about him selling cigerettes, anyone buying them knows the risks and there isn't a hidden agenda.

Money_saving_Martyn

HelloooOOooo

Unemployment always baffles me. There's always jobs going in bars, supermarkets, corner shops. No shop experience? Start for a month in a Charity shop working for nothing, then go for the bigger fish....

A few years ago, my X "won" one of these. She was up to £15,000 and despite my efforts at the time, couldn't do without luxuries. "Need" and "want" were the same in her head.

Having "won" this, she went with a friend for the makeover and photoshoot. Despite having no money, she "needed" these £300+ photos at the end of the shoot. During the "free make over" she went to take a picture on her mobile, and was told she was in breach of copyright laws (on her own face?!)

If a friend of mine was moping around unemployed, I'd have helped them find work. If I owned a shop, I'd give them a few hours there doing anything (just for experience). If I owned a shop, I would not let the poster be displayed.

As a regular source of income, it stinks. The relies too heavy on people being conned into buying them (leading to people being pushy and saying that the customers, or as I prefer to call them, the victims don't pay, they can't leave [see post above somewhere])

I'd tell her what a mistake she's making (unless this one is a new, nice, genuine non-pushy one?) and take her to the job centre.