Studio 64 "winner" non refunable deposit

stevedh

Hi
My daughter was phoned on Monday 16 April following a street survey. She was told she had been lucky to win a Studio 64 (https://www.studio64ltd.com) makeover in London - we live in Reading! She parted with two deposits of £40 each (£80.00 total) from her Maestro card over the phone. She received a voucher and receipt in the post today where it said the deposit was only refundable if she booked an appointment for the session and arrived on time. She called them to say she wanted to cancel as she had not been told the deposit had these terms. They told her "they do not tell people that on the phone" and that she could not change her mind and get a refund.
Question - is this legal?
(Their T's & C's say: # A refundable deposit of £40 - £60 is required for each person at the time of booking. Unless used towards the purchase of photographs, this will be refunded in the form in which it is paid within two weeks of the session, provided the client arrives at the appointed time.
# Clients cannot cancel the session but may reschedule, once only, provided 7 days notice is received, by phoning 0207 7292300.
# If a client arrives late for an appointment, we cannot guarantee all aspects of the service and the deposit cannot be refunded)
She will try to cancel her payment with the bank tomorrow.

Avoid these con artists.:mad:

Voyager2002

I think she should contact Trading Standards, since she did not know about the T and Cs at the time payment was taken and so could not have agreed to them.

maninthestreet

stevedh wrote: »

Hi
My daughter was phoned on Monday 16 April following a street survey. She was told she had been lucky to win a Studio 64 (https://www.studio64ltd.com) makeover in London - we live in Reading! She parted with two deposits of £40 each (£80.00 total) from her Maestro card over the phone. She received a voucher and receipt in the post today where it said the deposit was only refundable if she booked an appointment for the session and arrived on time. She called them to say she wanted to cancel as she had not been told the deposit had these terms. They told her "they do not tell people that on the phone" and that she could not change her mind and get a refund.
Question - is this legal?
(Their T's & C's say: # A refundable deposit of £40 - £60 is required for each person at the time of booking. Unless used towards the purchase of photographs, this will be refunded in the form in which it is paid within two weeks of the session, provided the client arrives at the appointed time.
# Clients cannot cancel the session but may reschedule, once only, provided 7 days notice is received, by phoning 0207 7292300.
# If a client arrives late for an appointment, we cannot guarantee all aspects of the service and the deposit cannot be refunded)
She will try to cancel her payment with the bank tomorrow.

Avoid these con artists.:mad:

If you daughter had won something, why was she asked to pay for the prize? The reality is, your daughter didnt win anything - she has been sold a makeover / photo session. I suspect eveyone else who took part in the street survey received a similar phone call. If your daughter attends the booking she will be put under extreme pressure to actually take the makeover / photo session, and then purchase , at an exhorbitant price, the photographs.

deanos

Dosent the distance selling regulations apply as it was done over the phone ?

hollydays

Did she ever get her money back?