Coverlook Studios

socks_uk

I DON'T WORK FOR COVERLOOK - WE LIVE IN NORTH EAST LINCOLNSHIRE

My daughter 'won' a coverlook makeover and photoshoot and started planning her trip to london with her friend (i didn't know anything about it at first).
When she did tell me about it I was a bit suspicious but I was more concerned about the 'free tickets' to top London night clubs. My daughter and her friend are only nineteen but still keen to go so I told her to go cost it out with train travel and hotel room (this was what they were planning to do).
Well, the figure came to about £150 each so I suggested that they pay the fuel and I drive to the closest £15 Travelodge I could find and then we use the tube to get into London. She jumped at this so 'instant chapperone'! The 'trick' worked and my husband and I had a free couple of days in London and we had the piece of mind of looking after the teenagers.

The girls arrived for their 11a.m. appointment and I said that I wanted the girls to contact me when it's time to view the photo's. I was happy to leave the girls there and they were happy so my husband and I went to visit the shops in Oxford St. & Regent St.

We got a text at 12.15p.m. that we should go back in an hour, which we did. We got to look at each photo and the girls said if they liked them or not. Photo's they didn't like seemed to get instantly deleted although I'm not sure. The photo's were stunning I might add! This is where they get you, the average teenager only usually has snapshots of themselves.

Then came the pricing. £75 per print or photo on cd. I can't remember the exact figures, should have written them down, but it was something like £400 for 10 prints, £700 for 20 prints ect. with all sorts of incentives like intrest free credit.

The guy left us to think about it and, as beautiful as they were, I suggested to the girls that they take the free one (only a free one for the competion winner - not the friend) and use the deposit money £60 and pay the extra £15 for another photo so they had one each. It was only after saying this that the man showing us the photo's started bringing the price down. He offered us all 39 photo's on a cd for £400, which, after talking to the girls and discussing how they might be able to pay back, being students with only part-time jobs, we paid. I ended up paying the £400 on my credit card and we walked away with a just a cd in our hands. We left at about 2p.m.

On our journey back home we stopped for tea at ASDA in Peterborough and ordered some of the photo's from the photo centre @ 18p each! Some in black & white, some in colour, which were ready after we'd finished eating. Stunning photo's! When we got back home we made 2 copies of the disc for my daughter's friend and 2 copies for us as extras.

O.K. Maybe they/we were conned but the girls may learn from this that things aren't always what they seem and you need to know what you are letting yourself in for. I've now come to look at it as £400 for 39 photo's, thats about £10 per photo and I'm off to buy some A4 photo paper to print some more for family. As someone has already said, if you can't afford it, DON'T TAKE YOUR CREDIT CARD! as you will probably fall in love with the pictures, as I did of my beautiful daughter!

sexytee

I ve had a session with coverlook studios ,i did have a good day ,i recieved a call about entering my details on offers for a free makeover,i was at the lowest point of my life i was overweight and things were not going well for me ,i was sceptical about doing it becausei had to give my details over the phone ,but for once in my life i took a risk ,i went alone cause i didnt want friends seeing my wobbly bits ,i had a great time no one was staring at how big i was ,for once i felt like the most beautiful woman in the world,since the session i have lost some pounds and gained my confidence ,so i would definately recommend anyone to have the session done,sometimes its not about the money it could be a life changing experience.Thank you to everyone @coverlook studios i didnt have a great time i had a GRAND time.

Alexmc12 wrote: »

My 16 year old daughter was contacted 2 days ago by a company called Coverlook Studios. They told her that she had won a competition she had entered, and that she had won a makeover and hair styling worth £500. She needed me (as she is under 18) to agree to this.
I spoke to the chap, a James Lo, who informed me that she had won this competition via the internet (my daughter is a little vague about remembering entering this particular competition!). There are no hidden costs. She would need to book to come up to an address in Oxford Circus for her treatments, she would have a professional photographer take her picture, and that she would get a photo on a CD-rom as a memento (sp?) of the day, with an option to buy other pictures at a 40% discount.
As her family, we were also invited to have the various treatments.
They requested that we pay a refundable £30 deposit to secure our booking.

I wouldn't touch this with a barge pole, but she is really excited.

Has anyone else had experience of this company - all sounds fishy to me!!

Their website is www.coverlookstudios.info

donna07

I was wondering how long it takes to the photo's to come to your address, it was the 28th day yesterday when i was supposed to recive it & i was wonderng how long it took you to recive your photos?

baffy34

never heard of having to wait for the photos to come to your address they normally give them to you there and then on a disc for you to do at your own leisure, anyway if you look up at my previous posts you will see how you can try and get your money back or make some sort of complaint. If you try getting consumer direct online they have a form for you to fill in and you will receive an email approx 5-6 days later, anyway hope you get your photos but just to be curious did you make a payment for these photos??? if you did i suggest you read most of the posts as alot of people have not received a deposit back from them or wasnt satisfied with the amount of time anything was sent to them.

donna07

yeah, i paid some it by card, & for 12 months they will take out money out of my account to pay for the rest of it??

baffy34

Hi Donna, i think the best thing for you to do is to contact them by post(with proof of postage) asking where your photos are and tell them if you havent received them within a further 14 days you will cease all payment to their company with your bank, if they try to tell you that you cant do this tell them you can and you will unless you get your pictures. If after 14 days you still havent received your pictures cancel your bank details and report them to consumer direct straight away with all payment details that you have paid and the date of postage on your letter, they will contact you to sort this matter out. Let me know how things go. Good luck!! CONSUMER DIRECT NUMBER IS 08454 04 05 06 or visit their website and fill out the form in which you can send online.

eye

hey hey ... I was expecting some "satisfied customers" posting again and looks like I was right.:p

Truth about makeover photo studios:
1. How they get clients:
- a voucher sold on the street, online or in a shopping mall gives you "makover experience" or what that studio calls it for a very reasonable price - often it includes a free photo
- "modelling agency" "scouts" you on the street and invites to join - they will book you a photoshoot
- you "win" a competition - that's a lie - everybody that gave his/her details or was "recommended" by somebody will "win" and get the photoshoot
- various people and places are paid to send clients to studios as well - so if you are offered a free session somewhere that's what is probably happening

2. What happens next:
- you get a phonecall (may be also email I guess) to book the appointment
- you have to call a number printed on your voucher etc - often it is 0 870 ... number - so even that already cost you ... by the way WHY ARE VARIOUS CUSTOMER SERVICE LINES 0870? that's wrong anyway...:mad:

3. Your appointment:
- you will get the whole service - make-up, hair ... possibly some alcohol (often too much), photoshoot ... then they show you the photos and IT IS REALLY HARD TO SAY NO plus you will "helped" by a salesman pressurising you in many ways and using various sales techniques ...

4. Most of the time you spend a lot of money or get upset.

By the way - it works best on people that have any kind of confidence problems - they are "best customers" ...

BE SMART

boo81

Venture are great and offer a more honest way of seeling their photographs. It follows the same principle of paying beforehand and turning up and then choosing one picture and them getting you to buy more but they get you to sign up by saying buying your first photo and the shoot for £25. i would rather they were honest about the fact to start with.

I feel for a photograph con at uni, a representative bullied us into signing over a cheque for £80 for a full makeover and shoot with a book of photos, we called to arrnage a time and nobody ever answered the phone. The money was just lost and I am now more savvy!

eye

hmm .. Venture ... ok

The way Venture gets clients seems to be more decent - you know you are going there to buy photographs. The photoshoot is different - there is no make-up/hair/nails preparation, no pampering, drinks etc.
Just a "lifestyle" photoshoot - quite modern style.
Now ... photos are taken then computer enhaced, some artwork prepared and they hit you with a price - I think the cheapest they offer is one print for 150 pounds, main product are frames costing from 800 pounds to even 4000 and more. All is done the way that products are supposed to keep their value.

The problem is that while creating illusion of hi-art-kind-of-thing they just use VERY CATCHY Photoshop effects to make it look special. The photographers working there are probably most underpaid people in the industry - check their job ads - 12000 per annum for example for somebody creating what is sold for these high prices.... no more comments!:mad:

lushiouslisaxxx

I went to cover studios with a friend last week and had an amazing time!!!!! The make up and my hair was great and the photos were really good. We bought 10 photos between us which were 95 each and they used my 60 deposit (there was 2 of us). Not sure why you wouldn't want to use your deposit and have a refund as its so simple to let them keep it and take money of the purchase of photos!! and why would you want to walk out of there without any photos, its not an eveyday thing to spend money on and not keep memories!! you guys saying bad things made me so nervous before i got there and I was surprised when it was over how happy me and my friend felt and how enjoyable it was!! I entered on their site when I saw an advert for them on max power and im glad i did! i dont mean to patronise anyone, just shows theres 2 sides to every story x x x