Before I start, I'd appreciate it if (should you choose to publish anything I mention) you kept my name from the record. I'm a (thankfully) former employee of Studio London's.
I should probably begin by saying that Studio London has recently been taken into administration - they are now masquerading under the name Paparazzi Studio.
The comment you posted replies to about a month ago is largely a load of rubbish. When Studio London/Paparazzi Studio make a booking, they take a deposit for two reasons - firstly to try and ensure you turn up, and secondly to attempt to make *some* money out of you in the event that you decide not to pay them any more money for photographs (they will try to give you a print or digital image in return for keeping your deposit; though they will [begrudgingly] return your deposit if you are adamant that you don't want to buy anything.)
There is no 'cost associated with' reserving a photographer or allocating a time slot. All hair, make-up, photography, and sales are done broadly on a first-come, first-served basis. If you don't turn up, the photographer isn't going to sit on his arse for the time it would have taken to take your pictures; he'll simply be allocated someone else (and the make-up artists, photographers, and hair stylists have no idea who they're going to see right up to a few minutes before they see them).
As a matter of fact, the company is completely reliant on people not turning up - the management has a policy of overbooking, to the point that if even 75% of the people booked in on any given day were to turn up, the studio would have an incredibly difficult time dealing with them all, leading to the customers having a very disappointing experience, and the latest ones (those with appointments in the early afternoon) probably either a) waiting around until very late in the evening (after ten o'clock, in some cases) to be shown their pictures and given the hard sell, or b) after having had a further (refundable, but completely unnecessary) £50 'holding deposit' attempted to be taken from them, being told to come back another day in order to be shown their pictures and given the hard sell. Failure to be shown one's pictures and be given the hard sell results in the loss of one's deposit.
I should also say that the people who work 'on the front line' of the company, and actually deal with the customers, do, in general, an excellent job, given the farcical way in which the company is run. They are aware of the dubious business practices they are employing, and are as dismayed by them as the customers are - but are usually unable to do much about them without going out of their way to deceive or placate the management staff (which does occasionally happen). They are not paid anywhere near the amount they deserve for the hours they work and for what they have to put up with - but I suppose that that is true for many jobs. Management (or 'directors', as they prefer to be called), on the other hand, are paid far too much for what they do - but again, that is true for many companies.
I think that's all for now.
thank you soo much this has really help as part of my evidence to get these people found outbi have been a victim of this recently and after reading this i refuse to give them a penny and will be taking this all the way with the law until they are all shut down and reclaim what i have already payed.
ReplyDeleteI too have also been conned by this company. I havent paid them and they have taken it to court but I need help to get them shut down. Are you willing to help me?
DeleteHey I was conned too and now being chased up by the credit company have you had any success?
DeleteI was unfortunate for fall for this some years ago when it was known as the Studio. My sister and I were kept there until 10pm and I ended up being bullied - intimidated - into paying nearly £2.5k on my credit card. We were told we could not leave until we had paid for something. My sister was in college, and I had just graduated and wasn't working so we couldn't afford it and told the woman so. Her boss kept popping in to make sure that we were going to pay before leaving. They also had a sizable security guard overseeing. I left in hysterical tears.
DeleteI wrote letters, rung them the next day, visited them 4 times in the next week and spoke over and over to the 'directors' and was told that it was too late, the 'deposit' payment for the best part of £1k had been processed and they didn't know how to refund me.
I want my money back from these thieving deceitful con artists - I've spent years trying to pay this debt off.
Has anyone had any luck with this?
I am also a victim as ended up paying £2000 for a disc of images!! They first tried to sell me albums,canvasses etc and then said could have the disc as we couldn't decide on the images! They make it appear you are getting such a good deal as said I could have all the images( a lot of which were duplicate as they had in color, BW and Sepia!). then said they would throw in free canvas worth £700!! I actually felt sick for a few mornings when I discovered what I had paid for virtually a disc!!! I cannot afford the monthly payments but could not find anything which would allow me to cancel the order within a certain amount of time as you sign a business agreement!!! The funny thing is if I had said no they prob would have sold me disc for less than half the price I paid just to make something!!!!
ReplyDeleteDid you ever get your money back? what have you done since about it? I want my money back.
DeleteJust been called... The fact that they gave me a friend's name as the person that signed me up (a very unusual name) lent it legitimacy, but i see now how the scam works (the sign up 15 of your friends for a discount thing). They are very persuasive but i stopped at the email address and refused to give more personal details by telling them that i was busy but would be passing their studio later today and could I drop in at four to give the other details (obviously wanting to google this thing 1st). They put me on hold while the guy went to get the address of the admin building (ask his supervisor). Anyway it's still tempting to go just to see if I can resist the hard-sell at the end, but it doesn't sound like the luxury experience promised so i think I'll give it a miss.
ReplyDeleteThanks very much for all the tips and tesimonials (including those on the original company)!
Kane
My daughter and I had a photo shoot here two weeks ago, and it was one of the best experiences we've had. We looked fantastic, the photogapher was brilliant and fun. We had non-stop Bucks Fizz - it was excellent. Yes, they tried to sell photos but we knew that would happen. We bought 5 and he gave us a free one! For the money spent it was a great day out.How you can call it a scam is beyond me - it's obviously a business, trying to earn a few quid. That is not yet a criminal activity in the country as far as I am aware.
ReplyDeleteI am such a fool to fall for this. I received the phone call on th 13th and I had made the appointment tomorrow, but I never really feeling comfortable of this because I don't remember I have entered any drawing on Facebook. I checked online and I realize...woah, such a bad reputation! I sent them an email with the Costumer direct template. May I just kindly know if this will work? Because it's tomorrow and I am not sure if I can send the letter through first class and able to make the 7th day. Any advise? Thank you very much for putting this on your blog, at least make me feel there might be abit hope
ReplyDeleteMia x
don't just email them, post that letter Mia! xx
ReplyDeleteI Just got a call from them saying that i'd been selected. I'm a professional model so therefore don't need to have more pictures taken of me, and when i told them that they still tried to get me to come saying that it would be fun... er... yeah... but they wouldn't be paying me for it...
ReplyDeleteJust came back from this and I must say the 1st time you get there its all glam and everything goes as expected. You may wait a while for your pictures to be taken but this is expected as there are a few others there too. After the pictures are taken they send you off for a couple hours and send the pictures back then they sit down with you in a room to view them. In the mean time they give you sheet where you can recommend others for this service. The say 15 names gives you £50 pounds off. So when you come back there are so happy you have given them all these numbers and you are too knowing you will get some money off. This is when the day becomes bad...really bad. They sit you down and view all your pics which I must say are excellent. They go though all the packages and it all sounds good until the price. This is no joke...we were quoted just over £2000 pounds for a CD with 36 images! They push you so hard and bring the price lower and lower....even when they do this the price is still too high....over £1000 for a canvas!!! Stupid money and not worth it!! Do not fool for this!!!
ReplyDeleteI just went last week with my boyfriend.
ReplyDeleteFirstly, you need to be accustomed with hard-selling techniques. If you fall for the scam, you have no one to blame but yourself. It's a common thing to come across in a business which regulates their OWN prices. If you're not prepared to negotiate, find yourself a studio with fixed prices that are up on their website.
If they tell you the price is 2000 pounds which you can pay in monthly installments over a period of 18 months, you still need to look at the big picture - can you afford spending 2000 pounds, and is it worth it.
We went in knowing full well what kind of business we were dealing with. We got everything we were told we'd get - hair and make up was superb, the staff were very welcoming and the photographer made us feel completely at ease (which for my boyfriend was a big relief).
We decided to view our pictures on a different day. Yes, you have an obligation to view the pictures before they return your £50 deposit. It's part of the experience, and they're not sure whether to discard your pictures or not if you just leave and decide to never come back without telling them.
We viewed our pictures two days later in a very private room with just us and another member of staff. You go through them with her, discard those you can do without and keep those you like. They'll have the natural pictures, and then the same pictures with effects, they're all been digitally retouched to look perfect.
Being students, we made it very clear that a £1700 deal wasn't going to be possible. So we settled at 3 of our favorite pictures for £100. We decided to get the CD so we could duplicate the pictures as many times as we wished, and we could send them to our parents to view.
They counted my £50 deposit into the £100 total so my boyfriend simply paid the other £50. At £33 per picture, for pictures we can duplicate as many times as we wish, having had professionals doing our hair and make up, and our pictures digitally retouched, it was a good deal.
So guys, if you want to go, go for it, it was a lot of fun, and very successful. But set a price in your mind beforehand so you don't get shopper's guilt afterward, negotiate with them a lot before you pay, and make sure the pictures you chose are ones you decided on after a lot of thought... re-filter the pictures over and over again.
why does the person want to remain anonymous? if this is truly happening then surely they would want there name attached there possibly couldn't be much backlash if its the true. The fact is every company has a selling point studio london/paparazzi clearly have one thats working for them so listen to the terms and conditions carefully and ask more questions or dont go through with it. People are soo easily ready to pass the blame after they give the deposit FACT no one forces you to give the deposit.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous,
ReplyDeleteI had my session too well aware of their hard sell. I had a voucher which entitled me to a free photo (£20 refundable deposit). I was quite nervous and so I decided that I would leave my debit card behind so that I don't get swayed by the sales. I was willing to walk away with 2 photos (1 free and 1 against my deposit). The photo + makeup session was great and so were the photos. The viewing was the pain. The lady went on to talk about irrelevant stuff about their company and what they do instead of giving me time with the photos. The actual viewing was a quick slid show and she was hesitant to let me to do it my way. I had to be quite firm that since I was paying, I have a right to see them my way. After tuff negotiation she settled for 3 prints for £70 (including 1 free). This was probably an okay deal but I know people have gotten this for £40 so I was reluctant. Furthermore I was really pissed off with the lady rushing me and telling me she had other clients as soon as she realized I wasn't falling for the "scam". I finally walked away with my free picture. The deposit was refunded without hassle so some genuinity there...
Tip: The pictures are great and can be hard to choose, but contain your emotions! You can always get them done again, its not the end of the world if you leave them behind.
Don’t go there! what a Scam! we went there and our first question to them was How much does it cost ??? but they didin't tell us about that and gave us a stupid excuse that it depends on your pictures and blaah blaah...we didn't know its a scam, unfortunately we thought it won't gonna cost us more than £200 to £250 but that was our biggest mistake! anyway they did our 3 minute make up which was the worst one i ever had, then they took our pictures very fast and after three sessions of photographs, again i ask the photographer that how much does it cost he kept quit looks like he has been told not to tell anyone about the cost, after that we waited for 1 hour to get our pics and then we were invited in a room where the real professionally trained scammer was waiting for us, she start praising our pictures more than we have ever imagine! and she wanted us to take all the pictures but i couldn't understand that untill she started telling us that there is an Installment Plans to pay the amount, and she was keep telling us that as you know that we worked really hard on your pictures blah blah and then she showed us how they play with people emotions, we were told the hard truth which i wanted to know when entering into their premises that your pictures cost £1200! God help me out how can they ask you that much amount! for some pics??? anyway i told my wife infront of that scammer face that i can't afford it we better leave this place then she start telling us that its a good investment bcoz these are your life time memories, Go to Hell i don't want a memory of Bankrupty! but at the end we ended up paying £500 as she told us that we have to pay! till that date i feel that they we have been deceived by not telling us the price untill we used their services and we HAD TO PAY....im a foreigner here, this is the worst experience i ever had in the UK!
ReplyDeleteYou don't have to pay for anything! If you had paid for the experience itself before booking it; that was your price for the whole experience. They probably took advantage of the fact that you were a foreigner. Did you go to Paparazzi? I have a free voucher to go which promises a free photo to take away but I'm contemplating after reading this blog. How did she force you to pay? What did they say?
ReplyDeleteThank you!
if you have been contacted by them and have not yet gone please go in mind that this is a scam.
ReplyDeleteAmazingly, this racket has been going on for many many years in London with the same people. Every year or so they change their name I guess so that the Internet doesn't catch up with them. Last year it was Studio London this it year is Paparazzi Studios
The con works like this:
They phone you up and say you've won a competition for a makeover/day of pampering.
Then they work hard pretending that they are styling you etc etc.
Then they take some pictures of you using professional photography equipment/lighting this will produce better results than everyone is used to with camera phones and their dads camera.
They further enhance the photos using photo shop. And then present them to you.
Here comes the hard sell they pander to you making out these are the best pictures ever etc etc this lulls you into a false sense of security. And as you probably don't know much about photography they give you a stupid price for the photos.
There is nothing special about the photos they are taking they just look better because they are professionally processed with cheap software so you will be surprised at how could they look.
This is where the con comes in. firstly they will try and get cash but as most people can't afford a thousand pounds for a photo shoot.
they hoodwink you into a credit agreement that is heavily stacked in their favour.
Under law if you sign a credit agreement whilst you are in the same room as the counterparty it is binding. There is no cooling off period etc etc
Once you have signed the contract you are legally obliged to pay them the credit agency who they will sell the debt to. And yes you will get a County Court judgement if you do not pay.
DO NOT SIGN THE CREDIT AGREEMENT as you have no comeback if you do this. This is where the scam/con comes in. It's a very old law and it is at the centre of our legal system.
It really breaks my heart to see companies like this abusing (generally young) people and getting away with it for over 20 years. It seems initially when they started out that it was fairly legitimate but over the years it seems to have evolved into a very well placed scam that fits into today's celebrity culture.
One thing I find interesting is how this company gets away with it. They are playing at the sharp end of the law and what they are doing is barely legal. Obviously the police won't be interested in this because it is civil.
London is a very cosmopolitan place with lots of different people good and bad in the years they've been doing this they must have crossed the wrong people? I wonder what happened. Well there still in business so it can't be that bad
This has been an incredibly useful blog, thank you to all those who've cmmented. I was contacted today by Paparazzi saying I had been recommended by a friend and 'won' a £250 shoot for me and a friend. I was vaguely interested until they requested a deposit, at which point I said I don't give money like that to a cold caller despite their ability to quote an associate's name. I said I'd call back if I wanted to pursue the 'offer'. I was given until 6 this evening. They've since called me twice (not yet 3pm)!! I will now be tracking down how they managed to get my name and number as I'm very suspicious that they didn't get it though the person they say they did.
ReplyDeleteYap...yesterday I had this photo shoot...of course I left with 1 image on a CD...which by the way, now costs 70 quid. I couldn't say no, since I was there with my 21 month old son and I really wanted to have one memory of a loooong day. It's outrageous...for 12 photos I was quoted almost 1000 pounds....I mean...hellooo? where are these guys coming from? Apparently photos are precious keepsake...ahhh....and expensive in this case!
ReplyDeleteAfter the one hour and a half waiting time was up, we had to wait for another hour until somebody finally decided to show us the photos. I have a friend who used to work in such a studio, a very good photojournalist. She got paid about 100 quid for 10-12 hours of work per day. Are there actually a lot of people who say yes to paying 1000-2000 pounds? There must be something we can do to stop such scams from happening!
Yes, this thing has been going on for ages and there are a few of these in London with the same practice as it is indeed profitable. If only one "customer" a day pays the higher end of the sale, then they are in profit. Either way, if you want to go for the experience, then go for it but remember what the catch is. Hopefully after reading this blog, you know what's in store for you and so you can plan your day accordingly. When you get to the photos at the end, just quickly browse them and say I dont like them or I cant afford it etc and STICK by your word. They will refund you and your on your way (maybe even with one free print). Just have to have the mental attitude before going in, dont let them prey on your weakness!
ReplyDeletejust got called..and i got to the point where he asked for my card details. i told him to give me a number so i can call back later (so i could check it out and im so glad i have done) thought it was all a lil to weird how he had all my details it was quite scary more than anything. its horrible that there are people out there who do this
ReplyDeleteI went here a couple of weeks ago and I had an amazing time, of course the photos are expensive they are professionally taken and retouched afterwards. You people have obviously never been scammed properly before, this is simply hard-selling techniques. Of course they will try and persuade you to buy the pictures and keep putting the prices down because they want you to buy them! They don't take money from your account without permission or delay sending your orders to you they are simply a modelling agency trying to make money like everyone else in the world!
ReplyDeletemodeling agency??!?! hahahaha that's very funy!
DeleteI'd gone to Paparazzi studios last week thinking at the end I would leave with the one free print I was promised, little did I know that at the end when they're showing you the photos they put you under so much pressure to buy the prints that it's very hard to say no to them. I'd agreed to pay just over £2000 for a CD of all the photos they'd showed me. As she was showing me the photos I asked her if I can go home and think about it before making my decision, to which she simply replied once I leave all the photos will get deleted and I have to make my decision there and then. I should have simply walked out, however I really loved some of the photos of me and my daughter so I agreed to purchase the CD thinking it wouldn't be more than a £200-£300, when she told me it would cost £2100 I was shocked obviously, so she quickly stepped in telling me they would throw in a free canvas print and I don't have to start paying till October and it's interest free, and how the family before me had payed over £5000 so I was getting a really good deal, she made it sound like she was doing me a huge favour and instead of me paying £70 per photo she would only charge me £19. I'm sitting there with my daughter and I start to feel really bad if I just walk out, she looks like an angel in the photos and I wanted to have a nice memory from our long day so I agree. She gets me to sign a contract without explaining anything about it,and in the mean time she's telling me all their make up artists and hair stylist have worked for all these celebs and high end fashion magazines and I start to feel like wow, this must be a really good deal. Obviously I get home and start to look at my photos more closely and only then realise that actually there are only about 15 photos I really like and the rest are not all that great. If I was given enough time to look at them myself whilst I was there I would have realised this before agreeing to purchase all of them. Also the interest free is done through a credit management company, which was never explained to me, I actually thought they would just take the money straight from my bank account. If she'd even mentioned anything about this Paladin Credit company I would have said no to her straight away, I don't like having any dealings with credit or finance companies. So if you decide to cancel the agreement you're liable to pay the full amount to this credit company and if you dont pay them then the credit company will pursue you till you do, Paparazzi studios will not want to know about any of your complaints.
ReplyDeleteAll in all, I would not recommend these people at all, they know how to hard sell within the legal limits and once you sign that contract thats it. Also they film and sound record the viewing session, something they don't tell you about till you call them to complain about the fact that they used pressure tactics to get the sale. Im sure they need to obtain permission first before they can film and record the entire viewing session, as otherwise it's illegal. Stay away from Paparazzi Studios in Great Portland street.
i had a phone call today abt this ....this has to be stop somebody should tell the police about it !!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteall the positive comments are clearly people that are inside or know the business owners or workers this sounds like way too much of a rip and once i spoke to them on the phone and it got the the part about the holding deposit which i did not have (i lied) the lady on the phone was incredibly rude i really felt to go up to london and knock her clean for 6 and i quote " why waste peoples time" "are you actually going to do this can you afford the photos after" not too sound like a twat but im sure my bank accounts much bigger than dickhead receptionist will ever imagine and to be honest if your at a place of work there is no way you talk to potential clients like that its just a JOKE
ReplyDeleteI wish I had seen this earlier as I have just lost my deposit with Paparazzi studios and I didn't even get to see my photos. At first I thought the people seemed very nice, hardworking indivduals who are very talented in their field of work, but when it came down to me asking them why I had lost my deposit, they made me feel very little and as if it was my fault. Looking back now, I should have argued my case more but as it was just me and my friend at the time (both of us are 18) there wasn't any 'adult' to fight our corner, and I feel that paparazzi took advantage of two young teenages. I've learnt my lesson and would never recommend them.
ReplyDeleteJust got a call from them - like others have mentioned - they said a "friend" (who I haven't spoken to in about 2 years) had given my name in a prize draw and I had "won" a free makeover and photoshoot and there would be complementary champagne. They also said I had to pay a deposit.
ReplyDeleteLuckily, I was on the computer at the time and googled "paparazzi studios" whilst we were having this convo - and came across this blog and read through the comments! We were doing some small-talking at which point, having read the comments, suddenly cut him off and told him I'm no longer interested. He asked why and I told him up front that "Google is telling me that you are a scam" at which point he demanded (a stark contrast to his previously calm and nice sounding nature) "how are we a scam".
At which I then hung up.
No idea how they got my number
this is completely true i had a phone call saying id won a competetion and payed a deposit to go up on my 18th birthday for the win and just see all this and rang them and they are saying they have no record what so ever of me having an appointment but they have got away with the deposit by doing this !! COMPLETE SCAM!!!!! do not fall for this if you get a phone call
ReplyDeleteI have done some freelance work for this company, and first of all there is nothing for the police here. They aren't technically doing anything illegal (as other people have mentioned). They DO use hard-sell techniques, and there are warnings around the viewing building saying that CCTV is in operation. As it stands they still owe me a few grand for work done, so they are very happy to take all your guys money, but not pay their staff! Avoid, if you do go and end up forking out over £2000 for some mediocre images that you aren't too interested in, then sadly you cannot blame anyone but yourself. It is a shame, they give the entire industry a very bad name.
ReplyDeleteHave Paparazzi gone bust?? I've tried calling them for over 2 weeks, but no-one answers or calls me back. Emailing doesn't work either, they've just been bouncing back. If I was in London I'd storm over there and demand that they speak to me...unfortunately in the opposite end of the UK...
ReplyDeleteWell Paparazzi studio is NO MORE!! Got shut down on tuesday this week. Peoples lives got ruined, just turning up for work in the morning and you are out of a job without any notice. SAD
ReplyDeletePeople by all means stay away from these places for goodness sake how vain can we be to actually want to spend ridiculous amounts of money on photographs just to hang on the wall. I worked for Paparazzi for a long time and I can tell you its very silly for people to be asked to pay large amounts (we are talking deposits of upto and over £200, and yet some fools still pay this) obviously these kind of businesses have to ask for a deposit to guarantee attendance but come on pips you could just say NO or hang up. Furthermore if you go onto book the appointment why come in and spent £2k on pictures if you havent got the money. Dont get me wrong its a lovely session and all but not everyone can afford such luxury in these hard times. Now that they have gone bust, rumour has it that they are to open again soon(under a different name), like seriously who is gonna want to go to this scam of a place. BE WARNED!!! save yourself the trouble and just hang up your phone the next time you get that cheerful call to offer you a wonderful makeover experience. It starts of so friendly then we take your money but if you have to call and ask for your money back, oh no theres no friendly conversation there.
ReplyDeleteHmm another blog site mentioned they are going to restart under a new name next month and staff will be kept on. Seems this is their usual practice seeing as they traded as Studio London prior to Paparazzi.
ReplyDeleteAnother blog page mentioned that Paparazzi are going to restart under a new name in October and staff will stay on. What is sad is that the people who work there could not care less about conning people like those who have written here. Karma will work its way soon:-)
ReplyDeleteTheir website has been brought back up and they have posted on their Twitter account that you should call a mobile number... be warned, they HAVE been shut down so DO NOT part with any money!
ReplyDeleteThats right if you are stupid enough to part with any money then you will not get it back or get your photos for that matter. why the law allows companies like this to carry on s beyond me.surely what they are doing is not entirely legal yet the police cannot put a stop to this shambles,so many people have tried reporting this company to the authorities but to no avail, at least now they have gone bus but we all know they wil come backunder a new name, but it will be the same building so at least we will be able to suss them out. STAY AWAY and please DO NOT PAY YOUR MONIES TO THEM.
ReplyDeletePaparazzi have just gone into administration AGAIN!
ReplyDeleteA friend has just been conned out of a holding deposit of thankfully only a tenner (asked for £40) after she 'won' a competition.
When she told me, I googled it and told her to cancel straight away.
They called her today to say they were in administration!
It's too late! My 19yr old niece got 17 photos on a disc for £1200 on a credit agreement, although she advised the viewing lady that she was on JSA benefit. The credit agreement states that you must be in full time employment or have a disposable income of £10,000 or more????? (the lady filled in the form and ticked all the boxes), this company has stated on their facebook page that the more photos you buy the better the discount, my niece has had NO discount what so ever. Know she has Paladin harrasing her for payment! I will be doing all I can to find a way around their abuse of the law & the legal system believe me! DISGUSTING
ReplyDeleteFASCINATION STREET LIMITED, I believe this will be the new company they will be trading as, on companies house under 120 Great Portland Street & listed as photgraphic!!! I'm sorry if this is youR company & you are legit but do your research next time. I WOULDNT GO THERE ANYWAY SCAM
ReplyDeletewww.fstreet.co.uk
ReplyDeletethey took a deposit from me for two people when i only wanted 1 and then they have not given me an appointement , i keep writing an d complaining but they just blank my messages, does anyone have any sugestions???
ReplyDeleteKeesha. If yr in london go down and demand a refund. Speak to consumer direct, trading standards and yr citizens advice bureau. They have to give u a refund or an appointment. DO NOT GO FOR THE APPOINTMENT AS THEY WILL SCAM MORE MONEY FROM YOU. THEY ARE EVIL. STAY AWAY.
ReplyDeleteKeesha. Write them a letter listing EVERYTHING inc how they blank you. State what you want and give a time limit on their reply/ confirmation. Also contact Consumer Direct and the Financial Obudsman and lodge an official complaints. please do this or these companies will do the same to more people. The companies in question are: Studio London who then went into liquidation, then reopened as Paparazzi who went into liquidation in Sept and now call themselves Fascination Street. The financial company linked to all three is Paladin.
ReplyDeleteDear 6th October posting, Sorry to hear about your niece. I wonder if you could set up a temp hotmail account so that I can contact you to discuss this further? I am in the same situation and maybe we could help eachother?
ReplyDeleteFascination Street is definitely the same set up. I don't know if they were doing this before too, but they are getting names and numbers through street selling. Person stops you, asks if you want a hair cut and then tries to sell you £450 value of beauty things for £50, including the day at studio getting photos and makeup done.
ReplyDeleteThen the person calls you up about two weeks later saying they are going to book you in, lots of free champagne cocktails etc and they need a £20 deposit. They're really into the hard sell just trying to get you to book, can't imagine what it's actually like in the place. Literally it's just a "give me your credit or debit card details" and I was like, err no thanks.
I didn't want the photo session anyway but I can see how people get sucked in.
SCAM, SCAM, SCAM. The guy behind Paparrazzi, Studio London and Fascination St is Craig Ward, he is not a nice person and has put business under to avoid paying staff and giving clients there photos. Do not go anywhere this place, you will regret it. He also runs Image Thirst who work with the Portland Hospital although he hides behind other people.
ReplyDeleteI did that, I was very happy with the experience, I bought 16 pictures and now they are closing down and I'm getting all 100 of my pictures a year later for 50 quid :)
ReplyDeletethey just called me from Fascination Street Studios, same address as Papparazzi Studios, saying I can get ALL pictures of that day for 150 quid. Not sure if I can trust them, again hard selling techniques, only 10 min to decide
ReplyDeleteI received a call from Fascination Street after 1.5 years of attending the photo shoot if I wanted a CD with all my pictures for £150. I was hesitant in the beginning but agreed and a few days later received the CD without any problems.
ReplyDeleteJust got off the phone from someone at Fascination Street, on the hard sell. Reduced the price of all my old pictures from last year down to £50 plus 5 pound postage. I'm gutted that i paid £600 last year for 12 shots and my cousin only could afford 3 pictures for £100. I'm not working now and don't know if i should part with more cash for the whole set including Sepia and B&W versions of shots for my Website and Facebook.Some of you seem to have received the shots as promised but it's still a Big Dilemma.
ReplyDeleteYikes, my daughter paid to have the old photo's sent to her and they have not arrived, that was 3 weeks ago and she is very upset
DeleteI got a phone call from them saying that i had won a competition through a friend who had recently been to the photo shoot.
ReplyDeleteShe told me that it was not a scam so i agreed to the £40 deposit (which should have been refunded when i attended the photo shoot.
However, in the new year a week before my photoshoot, i got a phone call saying that i had lost my deposit as the company has been taken over by Fascination St..
I tried to call both studio numbers and all lines are engaged, the company has completely disappeared!
I really would like i report it and get my money back but i don't know how to go about it... any advice?
ITS A SCAM DON'T FALL FOR IT.
See below... they are called Image Clearance now: 0203 627 9630
DeleteHas anyone got a contact number for Fascination Street?
ReplyDeleteInteresting to see that people are being called so long after their photoshoot. We went as part of an experience last year, paid fee and enjoyed a 'hectic' day, seemed a bit disorganised and no bucks fizz as promised but hey ho. Hard sell came later, we managed a deal we were happy with, BUT they INSISTED that our photos would be deleted on the day, and she even 'deleted' them in front of us. We specifically asked if we could go back at a later date and order more but were told no. Funnily enough I received a call yesterday afternoon from someone saying they were deleting their server and did I want the rest of my pics, at £150, which he soon knocked down to £100. I told him I was on a budget so couldnt afford it, he said I would have to call him back within an hour to secure the deal or they would be deleted today. What????? What about them being deleted in front of us over six months ago????? Totally soured the whole experience.
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone have any contact details for Fascination Street?? I paid £60 deposit for my photoshoot last year.
ReplyDeleteIs fascinaation street still trading as also had a photoshoot in Oct and paid over the odds for our pictures as felt very pressurised. Have been called last week and asked if we would like all pictures for £150 and managed to get down to £100 and as there was two of us they tried to sell the set to both of us at £150 each.
ReplyDeleteContact the Financial Ombudsman if you have been conned by Paparazzi or Fascination Street.
ReplyDeleteThank you for all the comments they have been VERY interesting. My daughter and a friend had a shoot at Studio London in 2008, paid for the discs and thought that was that. Last month they called my daughter out of the blue and told her that they were wiping their files and that for the cheap price of £100 she could have the remaining photos from the shoot that she hadn't purchased previously. She declined the offer, as she hadn't been paid, yet they called back again and she ignored the call. However yesterday they took £100 out of her account and surprise, no photos, wanted or unwanted! Apart from anything else to hold someones bank details for anything over 24 hours after a transaction is at best bad policy and at worst illegal! We are now in the process of trying to reclaim the money via the administrators and if unsuccessful the bank has said they will assist. Has anyone been successful in getting their money back if it has been taken in this way?
ReplyDeleteI had a photoshoot done with them in September 2010. Paid a unreasonable amount then for some 10 pictures on CD. Received a phone call last week saying that I could have all the pictures for £100 and would be sent over by post, however I have not received nothing in post..!!
ReplyDeleteI also had a photo shoot done in 2010, and received a phone call last week and paid £100 and have not yet received all my pictures. I do not know what to do, any ideas please?
ReplyDeleteThey are now called Image Clearance. The phone number you can get them on is 0207 627 9630. If you have no joy, the company that processes their payments is called Paladin Watford, and they can be reached on 01923 800 397.
ReplyDeleteAnd I also recommend reporting them to the FInancial Ombudsman.
I've been called by imageclearance.com to ask if I want my images from StudioLondon. I've haggled them down to £50 instead of £100, however I haven't paid them yet. They look like a legit company, however I think it might be worth the trek across London to do this in person rather than over the phone?
ReplyDeleteOH MY GOD!
ReplyDeleteDO YOU PEOPLE KNOW WHAT A REAL SCAM IS?
IT DOESN'T SEEM THAT WAY...
THERE'S A LOT OF MAKE OVER STUDIOS IN LONDON AND THEY ALL HAVE HARD WORKING STAFF AND OWNERS WHO LOVE FASHION AND PORTRAITURE...
THEY HAVE TO CHARGE HEAPS DUE TO ALL THE COSTS INVOLVED IN PRODUCING THE PRODUCT...
IT'S JUST BUSINESSES TRYING TO SURVIVE LIKE ANY OTHER BUSINESS....
I HAVE WORKED AS A FREELANCE PHOTOGRAPHER IN ALL
THE MAJOR LONDON MAKE OVER STUDIOS AND LOVE IT!
I BLOODY WORK HARD AND LOVE PHOTOGRAPHING MY CLIENTS AND MAKE THEM LOOK BEAUTIFUL IN BEAUTIFUL PORTRAITS, SOME MORE CUTTING EDGE SOME MORE TRADITIONAL...
PLEASE BE MORE APPRECIATIVE AND LESS PARANOID...
DON'T BUY MORE THEN YOU CAN AFFORD IF YOU THINK ITS A HARD SELL...
THESE STUDIOS ARE NO SCAM ARTISTS FOR CRYING OUT LOAD!
SMILE AND BE HAPPY!
Everyone everyone!!!
ReplyDeleteIt's NOT a scam. This website really helped me get in contact with them, I rang paladin first, and they got me an Email address for Oliver Rork... He works for image clearance. I received my images today via Dropbox, and a CD is in the post apparently! But the images look great, my photo shoot was in 2009. I payed 50 quid for my images. At the time, I purchased 6 images for £160!!!
It's sounds like they genuinely moved offices, and couldn't take their telephone number with them. Their Company Registration Number: 08033809. I have looked online, they are a legitimate company.
Contact Oliver Rork on
02033971402
Olly@imageclearance.com