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It happened to me just 4 weeks ago too...Please everyone BEWARE OF PAPARAZZI STUDIOS because they will scam you out of more money than the photos are worth!!

I was invited to go with my friend for a 'relaxing day of pampering', and were under the impression that we were no under obligation to buy any of photos. We were so wrong! We were invited to view the pics with the sales rep and this was the worst part of day!! The hard 'sell'!!! before she starts she points out that there is CCTV in the room although there were no obvious signs saying there would be. The actual viewing was a quick slide show and she was constantly praising and complimenting our pictures. She starts offering canvases, different size albums, photobook and a number of pics on a CD. The sales pitch is full and she goes through all the packages and makes it sound and appear that its a good deal until she starts crunching out prices on her calculator. Her first price was £3100!! this was absurd amount of money as we had no clue what their price list was. My friend asked her how did she work out that total, & she made it out that if she priced them out individually then it would of worked out more expensive. We were confused by this as she didn't answer the question what the prices were and then she further explained that the photobook is orginally more expensive that the albums but because they were on promotion it would be more of a deal. The sales rep was very well trained on how to sell photos to us without telling us how much exactly we would have to spend. She was obviously making up the prices as she went along and she didn't show us how our £35 credit voucher was applied to each of our order after given them friend referrels. She reduced it down to £2100 after us telling her that we didn't want the canvas which was obviously priced at £1000 and she wouldn't go down any further. She started crunching out monthly payment prices at us and kept changing the deal, so we had no clue on what we were paying for and made us even more confused as she went along. Anyway she kept telling us that we didn;t need to pay till October and that it was interest free. She kept giving us the spiel on how these were our memories and what a good package deal we were getting, so we felt the pressure to take the deal and sign the agreement.

I guess 'Pap-ed', this was you mean about NLP, is it Neuro-Linguistic Programming? Im not sure if I typed that write but is it to do with trying to get people trust you by playing with your emotions, so your more likely to hand over money?

Me and my friend feel totally conned! I had a friend who had gone there and got the same package as us for £500. They mislead us into thinking that we were getting a good discount!!

This company has caused so much STRESS in only a few weeks!! THey do not answer the customer care number and Ive sent urgent emails to cancel the agreement and order. They have refused and said that I must pay the total amount of £2100 in 30 days!! I am in pieces!! I haven't got that sort of money! My friend has cancelled her direct debit with her bank, Ive yet to do the same but the credit company 'Paladin', thats associated with Paparazzi say this will effect my credit scoring. And that they will also take me to court.



Ive told Paparazzi that I felt pressured into signing but now they have written an email saying that Paparazzi do not employ ''pressure selling'' tactic and in order to resolve this matter, they have invited me to come to the studio to watch the CCTV footage of the viewing session.

I don't know what Im going to do....

Sophia
I have cancelled my direct debit too under my banks advice as I later found out paparazzi took a photocopy of the card without telling me.

Can you write more about the pressure they put on you?

Stay calm and trust that you will sort this out with ease.

Have you contacted comsumer direct? the financial ombudsman?

get that done - post here if you need any help.
Pap-ed

My daughters attended Paparazzi Studios yesterday as a birthday treat.  One is a single parent on Income Support, the other a schoolchild.  Admittedly they enjoyed the day and the photos were great.

But....stupidly my elder daughter signed an agreement to buy the CD of photos.  It wasn't made clear to her how much the total cost would be, and when she asked if she could go home and think about it she was told no!  The form was filled in by a Paparazzi staff member, and they have ticked that she earns in excess of £10,00 per annum - she doesn't receive anywhere near that amount!

There's no way she can afford to make these payments - any advice on what she can do please?

Hi Sandi
How much did the girls pay? Did they intend to buy anything before going there?

You will need to contact consumer direct 0845 4040506. Explain EVERYTHING to them.They will advise you on what to do.

Keep in touch here. I will update more very soon.
Good luck

They were told the CDs would be £70 each, and as it was the older one's birthday they'd 'throw in a magazine of pics for £70 as a birthday treat', so they assumed the cost would be £210.  They said they didn't have the money and asked if they could go away and think about it, but were told no - they had to be bought that day!

My daughter wasn't feeling well - a little too much alcohol at lunchtime plus a massive headache, so went outside for some fresh air.  When she returned the woman had a credit agreement out ready, telling her as a special favour she could pay it up.  My daughter is convinced she was told the payments would be £13 per month, until August.  This was within her means so she agreed to it.  Incidentally, when filling out the form my daughter told them that her income did not exceed £10,00 per annum but the woman ticked 'yes' on the form!!!

She was handed a pile of forms for signing, which she did.  It was only afterwards that she realised the payments are in fact £13 per WEEK and they last until August 2013!  The total price is £1650.

There's no way she can afford to pay this amount.  We will be talking to the CAB and Consumer Group today.

Hi 'pap-ed',

Thank you for replying to my message....
on the sales pressure part, she mentioned that the photos would be deleted after the viewing and then as soon as we signed on the dotted line, she claims that she's going to give us ALL the photos on the CD!! Maybe cos she made her target for the month and plus her extra commission! She kept going on about what a good package she was giving us and making it out how well the photos turned out. It all seemed really quick as the next thing I know she's got the credit agreement ready out to sign. The interest free option is done through a credit management company, which was not explained to us and I thought they would take money straight away from our bank accounts. We were not given enough time to read and consider the terms of the contract or where to obtain independent advice before signing the agreement. Nor were we warned about the consequences for late payments and possibility of legal action taken against us at the time. In terms of her telling us what our cancellations rights was unclear. She said that in a joking manner that if one of us won the lottery or found a rich man we could cancel the agreement in 14 days and pay the total amount straight away as so we wouldn’t have to pay longer. If we were made to understand CLEARLY that we could cancel this credit agreement in 14 days but the total amount of £2100 in would needed to be paid in 30 days, we wouldn’t have made the decision to sign it so lightly. We didn’t have the opportunity to have the time to discuss between my friend and myself privately if this was right for us to go ahead with this package and agreement. It was only after the agreements were signed that she left us in the room to get our CD.

Ive contacted the financial obudsman & they are making a complaint on my behalf...The consumer direct says because I had signed on the business premises the only rights I have is the 14 day cancellation cooling off period but I may have to pay the total amount of £2100 in 30 days. I went to the CAB and and they advised me due to them giving me the CD, paparazzi could use this as a 'sale of contract', Im not sure what that means. But they said to contact them again and negotiate or let them take me to court. As I could say to the court I cannot afford this amount, they would just have to accept what I can afford.

How has it gone with you?
Sofia

Guys, you'll be happy to know that the company's gone bust and have shut down today. Jus thought of letting you all know.

How do you know?  I can't find any info about them going bust.  Good news if they have though :)

I personally spoke to someone from the company today and she told me that on the 6th September Paparazzi had gone bust! I of course had given them £30 of a fully refundable deposit prior. I asked her if I can get my money back seeing as they cancelled the appointment themselves as they have gone bust. They declined and offered me the opportunity to book another appointment with a new company that are taking over from October. Sounds a lot like a con! I wonder whether I can get my money back as I am entitled to it and did not attend the photo shoot. Also sounded like the person who I spoke with was just covering for the whole thing, it sounded like she was also very much going to be part of the new company and she had everything to do with the current too!

Yea i know people who used to work there. hmmm.. seems like there's gonna be a new one in Oct then by the looks of it. Is that what they'll do to client who were booked after the 6th of sept? carry them forward to the ''new company''. Well look out for it peeps. Now that you all know what their generic script is like, just kindly say you're not interested when you hear the words ''calling from X Studio'' or ''you've been selected'' or ''you've won this competition'' because as harsh as this sounds, everyone kinda wins. Or if you want to have your hair and make up done for free (which is true and does happen), just go for that. As a company, they'll hope that you WILL be tempted to buy your images but you can put your foot down and say NO. So, either do it if you want professional pictures (they are pretty good most of the time i have to say) if you have the money OR say you're not interested from the first call you receive OR pay your deposit (which is indeed fully refundable- they simply cannot force you to buy anything if you dont want to- just know how to say No and be firm and you'll definitely get your money back!) and have yourself done up for free. Thats the  risk that they take.

Hope this little contribution will help.

Thanks for the update. They are still registered as trading under Companies House, though not sure how long it takes to update?

One thing to be aware of, especially if you have been thru the whole paparazzi experience and found yrself handing over a number of personal details, is to keep a check on yr credit rating and for any applications in yr name or at yr address.
So far everyone I have been in contact with who has ' been conned out if serious money' is either a student or unemployed.
So keep an eye on yr credit ratings etc etc and do post here to let others know if you notice anything this or anything else.

By the way Southerner, its easier said than done to say " no". This company have skills to 'make' some people change from a firm no to signing over hundreds if not thousands of pounds as we have read in this blog and others.

Hi Paped,

Ive already cancelled with the bank for Paparazzi not to take any money out but they have now recieved the photo book. What do i do? has anyone had there photos and sent them back. I haven't opened the box but you can tell its the album. Please help!

Hi Pap'ed,

We went for a day with the pap studios, really fun day out and being a salesman I refused EVERYTHING they threw at me until we could actually afford a package. My questions is regarding then bust situation. We signed the deal with Paparazzi Studios, not any other company so can we cancel our direct debits as neither of us have been informed about this? Surely it requires a new direct debit form etc and for us to allow the debit to proceed?

Thanks for your time.

DK

Hi DK, you signed the credit agreement based on yr "fun day out", so why are you trying to cancel?. Seriously if yr happy with yr day and yr pics then be happy. There are many people out there genuinely unhappy at being totally conned. Sorry if this sounds harsh but message comes across as wanting to get out of paying because others on this site are trying to. Please remember they have a reason to.

Hi Sophia
Hmmm I am in the same situation. Seems they went bust but continued to send out pics and Palladin continue to harrass people for payments. I would suggest you speak to consumer direct if you havent already. They advice on what to do at each stage. Let me know if you need their number. Or check my previous posts. Make sure you pursue this so that other people like you dont get sucked in by them.

Hi DK
check yr credit agreement form. Does it mention Palladin or a third party? It must do as these companies seem to have covered all the small prints possible....well lets see.....

Hi Sophia and anyone else conned by this lot. Any updates? Hope yr having success. Also to update. It seems Studio London/ Paparazzi are now going under the name Fascination Street. Apparantly they are "honouring" Paparazzi clients. Same old script. I got a Studio London voucher in May, by August they were trading under Paparazzi and "honouring" Studio London clients!. The merry go round continues. GET OFF WHILST YOU STILL CAN.

what is 02076550734 i know it's a london number but is it a scam and can i change my mind before it's to late

i stupidly gave these lot a deposit of £90. i was going to go to the shoot but could not make it, i sent my friend instead. he had the shoot but did not buy any pics. they said iwould get my deposit back as soon as someone turned up for me n obviously i didnt get it back. can someone help me with how i might go about getting re-inbust? would be very grateful

they have been taking money off me for 2 years and im fed up with it! im a student at london Met and i went to them for fun with my friend and we got our photos done
and now 2 years on and im still seeing paladin on my bank slips and statements
how can i get rid of them ???