Exposure Photographics / Studio 64 Deposit Problems

supermonkey

kall- I really think you should send them an email with the information you have put on here and demand your money back...

What they have done to you is worse than what they did to me!

If you get anywhere at first, I strongly recommend contacting consumer direct. as clive woody mentioned they keep records of all complaints, so they will already be aware of the kind of things they try to get away with. They will likely advise you how to word things (breach of contract ??? since it sounds they never actually refunded the deposit as promised) and its worth mentioning to Exposure / Studio 64 that you have gotten them involved.

If you would like any help with contact numbers / email addresses then please pm me.

By the way, my wife had just given birth when we were contacted...I wonder if this is a coincedence or whether they get info from somewhere... I know a lot of mums sign up for packs or mum forums etc.

guestwe123

I recieved a call from them saying i had won a competition..i decided to go through with it, taking a friend with me....AND it was a MISTAKE!!!

We were both excited to go as we had never experienced something like this before, so therefore thought it would be a good experience.
Firstly we were greeted very nicely and was told to fill in a form based upon what we liked and disliked in make up and hair. We were then moved onto getting our hair and make up done professioally...however...the make up artist did not follow our guide lines on the form we filled in and i hate to say it but we both looked like two drag queens. We simple asked for a glamorous look but did not get that what so ever. We both thought it was rude to express how much we didnt like the make up and thought that becuase we have never experienced something like this before...it was the norm to look this way. So we thought the make up would look alot better in the pictures. The few things we could say that we liked was that the hair stylist and photographer were friendly and actually listened to what we wanted. Overall the photoshoot was okay...but was made to do slightly awkward poses.
At the end we had to return to look at our pictures and was really hoping for a good turn out BUT...we didnt like any of them. Our make up looked just as bad in the pictures as it did in person. The lady that showed us our pictures and was hoping to sell them to us, was EXTREMELY rude. We were supprised how aggressive she was in forcing us to buy our pictures, when we didnt even like any. We wanted our money back as we were not willing to purchase something we simple did not like. She was !!!!! and kind of ruined our experience.
Personally no one should bother going through with it unless you are wiling to buy your pictures even if they turn out right or not.
Still waiting for the refund..but hoping it should come in soon..... OTHERWISE WE WILL HAVE WORDS!!

DONT ASSUME THAT YOU WON A COMPETITION ITS A SCAM!!!

supermonkey

Hi guestwe123,

Make sure you do send them a complaint and involve consumer direct as suggested above. It may take a while but you should get your refund.

When they contacted me, they said the deposit would be refunded when we came for our shoot, so it shows how dodgy they are if they didnt honour that for you.

After seeing the hijacking of this thread from Short_e, I was wondering - maybe they're not as bad as I thought and maybe others thought so too. It shows how important it is for those of us with bad experience to make them known so others know to AVOID THIS COMPANY!

beltainebaby

not sure if I am being a bit thick here but i went on the Studio 64 website to check their T&C's and it clearly says "A refundable deposit of £49.99 - £99.99 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. "

what am i missing?

tx

maninthestreet

beltainebaby wrote: »

not sure if I am being a bit thick here but i went on the Studio 64 website to check their T&C's and it clearly says "A refundable deposit of £49.99 - £99.99 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. "

what am i missing?

tx

They cold-call people telling them they have 'won' a prize in a competition, but this is not the case.

fruitshake

Hi all,

This will be a long-ish reply, but I just want to add in my two cents worth as the experience I had was mixed but mainly not too good.

A couple of weeks ago I was contacted about this offer which I signed up for on the Exposure Photographics website (the new website created for the special facebook group - main difference in terms is that my friend and I would get a free photo each at the end of the shoot. The address is http://www.exsphoto.co.uk/). My friend and I then made an appointment and paid the deposit of 99.98pounds. It was all very exciting, and we were promised the same things - world class photographers, make up artists and hair stylists etc, plus a free photo each.

We turned up at the studio and were also told to fill up a form. I must agree with guestwe123 that the hair and makeup people did not really follow the form at all. We ticked the option that the make up would be explained to us step by step so we could learn to do it ourselves, but they hardly spoke to us. However the hair and make up turned out fine so we did not complain much.

The photoshoot itself was pretty fun, the photographer was nice and we chatted quite a bit and were taught how to pose etc. It was fun since we were good friends so we had a good laugh with each other. But that was the end. We were later shuffled into the viewing room to look at the pictures. The lady was initially nice to us and gave us a glass of wine each etc. However, when she tried to sell us photos (at ridiculous prices), we asked just for our free photos. She sounded very shocked and insisted there was no such offer. We told her that it was clearly stated in the T&C on the website (address posted above) that there was a free photo, and that we could show her if she let us use the internet, but she refused to. We also asked to speak to the manager, but she insisted the manager had already left. She treated us very rudely and just wanted to shoo us out. We were quite upset, but since there was nothing much we could do, we asked for the refund. She then insisted that she was not willing to process anything for us cos our case was too complicated, and insisted that we called up customer services to sort out the issues.

We left the studio empty-handed and without refund, and were pretty unhappy. HOWEVER, we did contact customer services, and my friend also posted on the group on facebook with our complaints. The guy I spoke with from customer services was very patient and apologetic. Though the overall process was slow, we did eventually get our free photo and refund after a week (and refund took about 2 weeks), so we were not too unhappy about it.

BUT. Please indulge as there's a 2nd part to the story. A few days later I was contacted again, by a different guy from the studio, who told me over again that I had won a free pass etc. I told him that I had already gone for it. He then asked if I could recommend friends for it. Since some friends who had previously seen the pictures I had taken felt they were pretty nice, I recommended a good friend (for purposes of simplicity, known as Jane).

Jane was contacted by the guy with all the fluffy promises of a great shoot etc. However, when Jane asked about the free photos, the guy said there was no such thing. A few days later, he called again, and Jane again asked about the free photos. He said that there would be free photos, therefore Jane gave her card details for the deposit. Before the call ended, the guy put his manager (XX) on the phone. XX told Jane that she had to check about the promotion (free photos) and would call back in a minute. XX also said that she would put the transaction on hold until she called back. However, there was no return call all night.

The next day, Jane received an email confirming the deposit had been taken. The guy then called to say that she would be receiving a free photo, but her guest would not. Jane was not happy to accept these and wanted to speak to the manager. The guy said he would ask the manager to call, but XX never called back in days.

Jane then tried to contact the refunds department to cancel the appointment and ask for her money back. She was told repeatedly that she would not receive a refund unless she showed up for the appointment. S from refunds called to say that there was a "lock" on the case and if Jane cancelled the appointment, she would lose the deposit. S also said that Jane could turn up by herself and did not need to bring a guest. Desperate to get the money back and upset with all the trouble, Jane agreed to the appointment (just today, in fact).

Jane and I just had a chat about it and we feel that this is in fact very unreasonable:
1. Jane only gave her card details on the condition of free photos for herself and her guest, but there was no such agreement.
2. The manager XX said that the transaction was put on hold and that she would call back, but she never did. The transaction was processed without Jane's knowledge or consent.
3. When S from refunds department called, she essentially pressurised Jane into making a decision and agreeing to their new terms even though Jane was not happy with them - but in order to get her refund back, she had no choice but to agree to it.

Sorry for the long post but I thought I'd make the story clear. We had just emailed Consumer Direct and hopefully there'll be advise soon. I also posted feedback on the facebook group a couple of days ago hoping someone would contact me about it but there was no reply yet. Could someone with more experience advise on this matter please? It might be trickier now because Jane had agreed to the terms laid out by S and set the appointment, but it still doesn't justify the fact that they took her money without her written or verbal consent, and that they pressurised her into making her latest decision to turn up for the shoot.

Jane was really looking forward to a fun day at the studio with a friend, but now she is obliged to show up, probably by herself (since others don't really want to go if there was no free photo) just so that she can get her money back!

jamieukonline

Consumer direct will hopefully be helpful!

mention that you were promised during the call that you would be refunded, & that the terms and conditions were only applicable once received, and therefore not binding when payment was made. No service was provided and they're not losing out in anyway.

Mention that you have gotten consumer direct involved... might be worth waiting for them to reply as you can then quote what they say.

fotoman

fruitshake wrote: »

Hi all,

This will be a long-ish reply, but I just want to add in my two cents worth as the experience I had was mixed but mainly not too good.

A couple of weeks ago I was contacted about this offer which I signed up for on the Exposure Photographics website (the new website created for the special facebook group - main difference in terms is that my friend and I would get a free photo each at the end of the shoot. . My friend and I then made an appointment and paid the deposit of 99.98pounds. It was all very exciting, and we were promised the same things - world class photographers, make up artists and hair stylists etc, plus a free photo each.

We turned up at the studio and were also told to fill up a form. I must agree with guestwe123 that the hair and makeup people did not really follow the form at all. We ticked the option that the make up would be explained to us step by step so we could learn to do it ourselves, but they hardly spoke to us. However the hair and make up turned out fine so we did not complain much.

The photoshoot itself was pretty fun, the photographer was nice and we chatted quite a bit and were taught how to pose etc. It was fun since we were good friends so we had a good laugh with each other. But that was the end. We were later shuffled into the viewing room to look at the pictures. The lady was initially nice to us and gave us a glass of wine each etc. However, when she tried to sell us photos (at ridiculous prices), we asked just for our free photos. She sounded very shocked and insisted there was no such offer. We told her that it was clearly stated in the T&C on the website (address posted above) that there was a free photo, and that we could show her if she let us use the internet, but she refused to. We also asked to speak to the manager, but she insisted the manager had already left. She treated us very rudely and just wanted to shoo us out. We were quite upset, but since there was nothing much we could do, we asked for the refund. She then insisted that she was not willing to process anything for us cos our case was too complicated, and insisted that we called up customer services to sort out the issues.

We left the studio empty-handed and without refund, and were pretty unhappy. HOWEVER, we did contact customer services, and my friend also posted on the group on facebook with our complaints. The guy I spoke with from customer services was very patient and apologetic. Though the overall process was slow, we did eventually get our free photo and refund after a week (and refund took about 2 weeks), so we were not too unhappy about it.

BUT. Please indulge as there's a 2nd part to the story. A few days later I was contacted again, by a different guy from the studio, who told me over again that I had won a free pass etc. I told him that I had already gone for it. He then asked if I could recommend friends for it. Since some friends who had previously seen the pictures I had taken felt they were pretty nice, I recommended a good friend (for purposes of simplicity, known as Jane).

Jane was contacted by the guy with all the fluffy promises of a great shoot etc. However, when Jane asked about the free photos, the guy said there was no such thing. A few days later, he called again, and Jane again asked about the free photos. He said that there would be free photos, therefore Jane gave her card details for the deposit. Before the call ended, the guy put his manager (XX) on the phone. XX told Jane that she had to check about the promotion (free photos) and would call back in a minute. XX also said that she would put the transaction on hold until she called back. However, there was no return call all night.

The next day, Jane received an email confirming the deposit had been taken. The guy then called to say that she would be receiving a free photo, but her guest would not. Jane was not happy to accept these and wanted to speak to the manager. The guy said he would ask the manager to call, but XX never called back in days.

Jane then tried to contact the refunds department to cancel the appointment and ask for her money back. She was told repeatedly that she would not receive a refund unless she showed up for the appointment. S from refunds called to say that there was a "lock" on the case and if Jane cancelled the appointment, she would lose the deposit. S also said that Jane could turn up by herself and did not need to bring a guest. Desperate to get the money back and upset with all the trouble, Jane agreed to the appointment (just today, in fact).

Jane and I just had a chat about it and we feel that this is in fact very unreasonable:
1. Jane only gave her card details on the condition of free photos for herself and her guest, but there was no such agreement.
2. The manager XX said that the transaction was put on hold and that she would call back, but she never did. The transaction was processed without Jane's knowledge or consent.
3. When S from refunds department called, she essentially pressurised Jane into making a decision and agreeing to their new terms even though Jane was not happy with them - but in order to get her refund back, she had no choice but to agree to it.

Sorry for the long post but I thought I'd make the story clear. We had just emailed Consumer Direct and hopefully there'll be advise soon. I also posted feedback on the facebook group a couple of days ago hoping someone would contact me about it but there was no reply yet. Could someone with more experience advise on this matter please? It might be trickier now because Jane had agreed to the terms laid out by S and set the appointment, but it still doesn't justify the fact that they took her money without her written or verbal consent, and that they pressurised her into making her latest decision to turn up for the shoot.

Jane was really looking forward to a fun day at the studio with a friend, but now she is obliged to show up, probably by herself (since others don't really want to go if there was no free photo) just so that she can get her money back!

Hi there everyone.
I feel the need to post here.
My name is Daren.
I am a photographer in the USA Seattle.
My company name is Exposure Photographics
NOT Exposure Photo or Exposure Photographic

I have owned this name for almost 20 years.
This company has upset quite a few people. I constantly keep recieving emails through my website mistaking me for them. I wish they would change there name as it is reflecting negatively on me.

Daren Fentiman

:mad:

in

Nile

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].