Ryan, one of the guys in the office where I work has had some issues with this company, so promised I’d blog about it.
So my loves, here goes:
Ryan bought his girlfriend a gift for her 21st birthday - a ‘Deluxe Fashion Experience’ at New ID Photographic Studios in London - 17-18 Margaret Street, London W1W 8RP.
The experience included a haircut, a makeover and a photoshoot. He paid £50 for the ‘makeover session’, and an additional £50 to put towards any photos which she wanted to purchase.
Initially everything was going really well - the hair and makeup was lovely, and she really enjoyed the photoshoot.
They fully intended to purchase a couple of photos - (as a momento if you will) however, at New ID they employ some fairly sneaky selling tactics.
They rolled out the ‘you should really consider modelling’ line.
Buoyed up with a couple of free glasses of bubbly, seeing the photos, and the photographer’s reaction Ryan and his girlfriend (both 21) were swayed a little.
As Ryan’s girlfriend had previously modelled as a child the idea of going back to it didn’t seem too outrageous.
The staff at New ID then went on to suggest that she’d need a portfolio of pictures if it was something that she wanted to pursue…
That was the clincher.
End game is - they fell for it. At a terrifying cost of around £1,400 they decided to purchase all of the pictures. As you’d expect a couple of 21 year olds don’t have that sort of money knocking about, so they took out a credit agreement.
Come Monday - the realisation dawned that they’d been had.
Having called around a couple of modelling agencies they found out that not only was Ryan’s girlfriend too short to model - even if she was taller - she would not need a portfolio to approach an agency. Typically modelling agencies simply require a couple of photos - and it really doesn’t matter how professional or otherwise they are.
Perhaps unsurprisingly - it seems that New ID make it very difficult to get your money back. They claim that the agreement which Ryan & his girlfriend entered into cannot be cancelled.
To add insult to injury, they then called up Ryan’s girlfriend to ask permission to use her photos for promotional purposes on their website.
Without wishing to sound like a Daily Mail reader, I think that the policies and indeed the behaviour of this company are reprehensible.
Let’s face it, a couple of 21 year olds, who’ve had a really nice day, who’ve been loosened up with the complimentary bubbly are pretty easy prey.
I’m not a lawyer, but it may be that from a legal standpoint their ‘no cancellation’ policy can be upheld.
But this company’s business practise of encouraging young girls to purchase ’portfolio pictures’ which they do not even need is, as far as I’m concerned, morally devoid.
on Mar 10th, 2009 at 12:34 am
I agree with you and think we have a lawsuit on our hands but from the date of your article our window to file a suit is quickly expiring.
Please send me your information and I will quickly file the papers. I ask for nothing from you, other than the $1,200 filing fee that I need to pay the court.
Please wire those funds to Wachovia Bank account number 001023456 with routing number 090231453. the name on my account is Johnny Jupiter Esq..
on Mar 10th, 2009 at 5:34 am
Sure, the company should be shut down. The operators arrested.
The couple should be banned from having kids or voting.
on Mar 10th, 2009 at 9:27 am
@throbo - you’re funny, but you’re mean… but mostly funny. Anyhow, thanks for stopping by.
@Ugly American - you’re pretty funny too… but perhaps even more mean
Yep, I agree, they were naive, but nevertheless I think the company’s behaved somewhat unethically. Thanks for stopping by and commenting.
on Apr 19th, 2009 at 5:39 pm
I remember that name, New ID. Myself and a friend also signed up to that £50 makeover promotion after being hassled for ages in the street by an extremely pushy persistent saleswoman. Said woman would not take ‘not interested’ for an answer, and my friend and I, trying to be polite and not push past her and carry on with our shopping trip, got stuck in a conversation with her…
Anyway, we ended up signing up, regretted it (too expensive) and couldn’t get our money back. Oh, saleswoman also had us sold by saying that we’d get free haircuts and colours included in the price - so we thought it was a good deal - and then after taking our money, pointed out that costed extra!
We never made it to the photoshoots even, as we were so embarrassed we got taken in. Just goes to show, some people will even lie to you to make a sale
on Apr 19th, 2009 at 10:27 pm
@Michelle
Thanks for stopping by and sharing your experience of New ID - really sorry to hear you lost money too.
It seems like New ID routinely engage in these types of dubious sales practices. Hopefully others will read this and be forewarned.
on Apr 27th, 2009 at 12:50 pm
me and my friend also fell for the finance agreement and too realised what we had done and wanted to cancel it. have you managed to cancel the agreement? are you still fighting for it to be cancelled? please contact me to pass on any information that may help us do so
Thank you
on Apr 28th, 2009 at 1:53 pm
Hi Debbie,
It seems as though New ID aren’t budging - and as I understand it legally, they’re ok.
Sorry to hear you’re struggling with them too. It’s very disappointing to hear that they do this fairly routinely.
on May 6th, 2009 at 9:39 pm
4 had photos taken only ordered the free one we were promised at the newcastle branch 14 feb 2009 still waiting for photos. had 2 hours of pushy sales man trying to talk us into potfolios for the 2 teenage girls total rip of should be shut down
on May 6th, 2009 at 10:41 pm
Hi Pam,
Thanks for stopping by - the horror stories are beginning to pile up now.
There are more reviews (in fairness there are some good reviews, but the bad reviews do outweigh the good) on Qype
on May 14th, 2009 at 10:47 pm
you do know they write all the good ones themseleves…. feel free to email me for more info
on May 15th, 2009 at 12:42 pm
Hi Willow,
That doesn’t surprise me too much, sadly many companies do. Thanks for stopping by
on Jun 10th, 2009 at 11:45 am
Yes New ID are very expensive! We went into the branch inside Mothercare Croydon and were sold 5 photos on a CD-ROM for too much money! I’m sure I could have haggled the price down, hindsight is a wonderful thing!
Their original prices for giving you the images on CD-ROM are outrageous! 1 image for £100, 5 images for £450. I’m sure they do this on purpose so that the prices they then offer seem a bargain in comparison.
Also, I had to do some photo editing myself on the background of the photos. When they show you on the computer, they don’t zoom right in, so you miss the imperfections which would show on a large print. Definitely check out independent photographers instead.
on Jul 5th, 2009 at 9:32 pm
me and my cousin went to the manchester one yesterday, had a fab day and free vip night out
we bought 55 pics on a cd for 500 quid, which we get after we have paid it, made sure we got a reciept and the guy that was selling it to us to sign it.
it is a legally binding contract if you sign to pay for it so nearly impossible to back out of it, am 19 and i understand this.
the sales person was just doing there job, i do it in my job, however no-one is forced to buy anything.
if she didnt want the portfolio 100% why agree to pay for it.
on Jul 19th, 2009 at 11:57 am
I took my friend to the newcastle studios for her birthday, got it really cheap initially! but what they don’t tell u is that wen u pay your deposit u are most likely not getting it back. I agreed£140 sale with them so gave them the money, then they decided to show me a receipt that said £190 and had taken my deposit in payment… they are very sneaky and definately have a set up in the order they do things! i will certainly not be recommending them and will discourage anyone from using them!
on Jul 23rd, 2009 at 11:33 am
Thanks for this was about to purchase this as a gift for my daughters 21st birthday. Having read these comments - not a chance. At least one rip off averted. Thanks again
on Jul 24th, 2009 at 9:43 am
Hi Lyn,
Really glad you found this useful
on Jul 27th, 2009 at 5:58 pm
OH NO My sisters, my daughter and I are booked in to go the Newcastle studio this Wed (29th). My mum had purchased these vouchers last Christmas for us and i was looking forward to going…..until now! They have already tried the sales act on the phone but i have told them we have no extra money and will not be taking any on the day. I am glad i read up on this now,I hope we manage to get through the day ok!.
I will let you know how we get on, you never know it may even be an enjoyable day all round!.
on Jul 28th, 2009 at 11:01 am
Hi Karen,
I’m sure you’ll enjoy the day - it certainly wasn’t my intention to ruin anyone’s experience!
I think you just need to be very firm with regard to what you are and are not willing to purchase.
I’m sure once they see that you’re not in the market to be ’sold’ to everything will be fine.
I look forward to hearing how you got on and I hope you have a fantastic time
on Jul 28th, 2009 at 3:51 pm
A review I recently left on a website.
Basically it could be like taking the lottery (sorta lol), you are probably most likely to lose, like me and my sister, which sucks. If you win its amazing- all the bucks fizz you want, being attended to how they have claimed through adverts, it would be fab, but don’t get your hopes up!
HONEST REVIEW:NEW-ID studios Manchester King street
To start off, myself and my sister are not the types to get easily impatient but when our 6 hour day (ID studios state it lasts a maximum of 6 hours) turned into a 9 hour day of being rushed around,messed around and made to feel miserable, it wasn’t all that great!
The staff I must admit were lovely- I couldn’t really fault the receptionists and they seemed more than happy to provide us with drinks at different intervals during the 9 hour day. However, if I’m honest, regarding any other job they had to do- hairdressing, nails and makeup- it was just a mess! The hand massage was a simple squeeze on each hand, the nails were filed down in around 2 minutes- they weren’t even done evenly. around 3 layers of nailpolish were applied again in the space of a few minutes- then I was quickly pushed out of makeup which meant I smudged my nails as they were not left to set.
Without going on into too much detail and boring you with my rant..basically when it came to the treatments which you paid for it was totally rushed, you didn’t feel pampered at all. The only time you weren’t rushed was when you were waiting for hours on end, honestly it was the most tedious thing ever! I was speaking to some others who seemed to wait 10 hours that day for everything to be sorted- they had the same treatments too.
I think part of ID studio’s mission statement goes something like this:
‘First in last out’- regarding customers coming in for an appointment and then leaving. Myself and my sister saw so many people come in and leave well before us! A lady came in at 1pm had extensions put it, hair cut and treated, makeup, nails and photoshoot in the space of around 3 hours! This is how I understand that some people have a fantastic time, because ID studios are so unorganised it may mean that you get treated more frequently than others during the day so of course you’re going to have a better time- that is at others expenses though, like myself and my sisters
I personally think it is a waste of money…it costs around £1500 for 20 pictures on a CD which you have to go and print off yourself- you have already paid for the makeover and professional photoshoot so what are you paying for? Well, the copy CD with 20 clips/images on. I saw a comment on here saying get the makeover at ID studios- take the free image (not actually likely you’ll get that either) or get the makeover and drive to a park somewhere, take photos of your own. I’d say the makeover is bareable, after that leave! I just hope that they are more organised for other people who might dare to visit ID studios. My advice, STAY AWAY! :):)
ID studios have been reported to Trade standards now for hard selling and other stuff, apparently the one in Manchester has never been complained about until this case. My sister and I got bullied into paying nearly £400 over a spread of 12 months to pay for 17 pictures on a CD- I mean seriously what were we paying for? We’ve managed to sort out a cancellation of this contract, although this did take a lot of phone calls and letters being sent out. I would not pay for any photos ff this company, i think everyone seems to realise they’ve made a mistake the next day! Seriously just get your free things and leave!!!!!
on Jul 28th, 2009 at 3:59 pm
Kate
on Jul 19th, 2009 at 11:57 am
I took my friend to the newcastle studios for her birthday, got it really cheap initially! but what they don’t tell u is that wen u pay your deposit u are most likely not getting it back. I agreed£140 sale with them so gave them the money, then they decided to show me a receipt that said £190 and had taken my deposit in payment… they are very sneaky and definately have a set up in the order they do things! i will certainly not be recommending them and will discourage anyone from using them!
THIS HAPPENED TO ME AND MY SISTER! CHEEKY AREN’T THEY! They didn’t even let us know that the £400 was when the £100 deposit we had put down got taken off the initial price of the 17 photos (in the end we managed to find out the price was £500!!) In discovering this, they lowered the price again. I understand as some people have said that these people are just doing their jobs, but it does seem unethical…at the end of the day, in hidsight I’m like what was I thinking, but when its been a long day you may like a few pictures you just think whatever! When theres a woman not taking no for an answer its hard to get out of it. In response to Jess, you probably didn’t feel the pressure so much as I get the impression you had every intention to buy the images, so I guess you’re not in the same boat as some people. Myself and my sister were focused on just getting our free prints, however this woman just kept going on and on, probably for around an hour. I don’t know about you but was the viewing room tiny? I felt this totally put even more pressure on when they were trying to get us to buy, I just wanted to get it over and done with, I was like fine whatever man!!!!!!!!!
on Jul 29th, 2009 at 8:56 am
Abby - thank you for commenting, interesting to hear they’ve been reported to trading standards - hopefully this might cause them to rethink the way they sell.
on Aug 12th, 2009 at 8:07 pm
I just have read all the comments and I’m really confused. I bought the voucher for makeover photoshoot for two in Manchester. I still have few days to cancel it and don’t know if I should do that. I am sure that they would not convince me to buy more pictures, but I’m afraid that I won’t get my free photo. I’m really really confused….
on Aug 13th, 2009 at 9:32 am
Hi Laura,
Obviously, only you can decide whether or not you want to go ahead with the day.
If you do go, I’m sure you’ll be fine. You’ve seen here that they do sometimes use pressure tactics to sell, but as long as you firmly say no, they can’t ‘make’ you buy anything.
In publishing this, and the comments of others, my intention was only to ensure that people were forewarned
on Aug 14th, 2009 at 12:21 am
Ive had 2 of these makeovers done now, and have a third one booked in Birmingham, and have had no problems, found it to be a fab experience. Yes, they do do a hard sales pitch (but so would any business!!) and it is expensive for the photos, but you can actually turn around and say no, and just take the complimentary one. I was only 21 when I had the first one, and I understood it all. I’m sorry, but if you’re silly enough not to read all the small print and check out what you’re doing first beforeyou agree to paying anything, then that is your problem - you can’t blame a company for your naievty.
on Aug 14th, 2009 at 3:54 pm
If I refuse to buy more photos, I may not get that free photo at all:) ‘cos it looks like who buys more photos, gets them on a CD and who doesn’t - waits it to be sent by pos.t
Is there somebody who didn’t buy more photos and got the free photo after the photoshoot straight away? Did you get back the deposit?
If I am going, I’m definitely not going to spend a fortune on photos!!!
on Aug 25th, 2009 at 1:21 pm
I didn’t buy more photos, and got the free one sent through the post (takes about 6 weeks) and my deposit back
on Aug 30th, 2009 at 4:52 pm
my two girl friends and I have just come back from the New Id studio in London. We were sold the deluxe makeover package in Westfield - they were doing a 3 for 2 promotion which meant it was £33 each for a haircut, makeup and photoshoot. To be honest, I normally pay more than that just for a cut and blow dry in London so it was a great deal!
Apart from the early start on a Sunday morning (we got there at 8.45am), they supplied us with free tea and coffee all morning. The ladies in the salon were lovely. I wouldn’t have said that I felt pampered, as it all seemed a bit rushed. There wasn’t all that much consultation, and I had no idea what they were putting on my face! I was hoping for some advice and ideas as I don’t normally wear makeup but I didn’t really get any of that. I only really got to choose my nail colour (no manicure, no filing or basecoat even!) It was also really busy with lots of other people having makeovers so with all the waiting inbetween, it really felt like a production line.
The makeover itself was hugely fun. There is nothing like a girly session of changing outfits and taking photos! We all giggled at each other posing and really enjoyed ourselves.
Up to this point, we were all enjoying ourselves and we were really excited to see what our photos looked like. I had paid an extra £100 and we were expecting to take home 2 photos each for that. Unfortunately, this is where the nice experience ended.
It all started off pretty well. The guy showed us the photographs which were really nice, we discarded the ones we didn’t like and then the salesman started talking ‘packages’. He told us the normal prices (extortionate price of £70 for an A4 print and £50 for a 5×7) and then explained how it was a fantastic deal if we got a package which included the photos on a CD as well as some prints. Only problem was - after taking the discount and the money I paid upfront, it was still an extra £400 per person!! We looked dubious and he kept the hard sell going until the point where I basically said that I was unemployed, my friends were students and we couldn’t afford to pay that money. The charm and friendliness suddenly disappeared when we said that we just wanted the free prints and a couple of extras. He started hurrying us along and the atmosphere became really unpleasant.
Now I understand that it was his job to try and sell us photos. I expect that, but it is unacceptable to have to endure this kind of hard sell and attitude when you don’t want to accept their offers. It really spoiled the rest of the morning to leave on that kind of note. In the end, we agreed to forfeit the deposit and the £100 pre-payment to take home 6 photos on CD. Not the best deal I’ve ever made but at least we got some master copies of our day and didn’t have to sign up to 4 years of payments…
To anyone else thinking of going - you should still go - it is fun if you are in a group and you will still get a haircut and makeup. Just prepare yourself mentally and be very firm when you view the pictures so you don’t sign up for something that you don’t want to spend the next 4 years paying for.
on Sep 1st, 2009 at 4:01 pm
I HAVE ALSO HAD A BAD EXPERIENCE WITH NEW ID MAKEOVER.MY DAUGTHER BROUGHT IT FOR MOTHERS DAY.WE WENT ON 27TH AUGUST.WE AGREED THAT WE WOULD ONLY HAVE PHOTOS THAT MY DAUGHTHER HAD PAID FOR.MAKEOVER WAS RUSHED AND HAD TO ASK FOR ADRINKS.HAD PHOTOS THEN WAITED FOR HOUR AN HALF TO SEE PHOTOS.ASKED WHAT WE LIKED AND WHAT WOULD BE A MAYBE,THEN SALES PITCH STARTED.AT NO TIME WERE WE SHOWN WHAT WE WERE ENTITLED TO ,IM A 60 YEAR OLD WOMEN AND MY DAUGTHER HAS A GOOD JOB.WE WERE BOTH SUCKED IN FINANCE WAS OFFERED THAN SALES WOMAN SAID IF MY DAUGTHER TRANFERED HER ACCOUNT TO VIRGIN IT WOULD BE O%.BY THIS TIME I WAS TELLING MY DAUGTHER TO LEAVE IT AN RING HER HUSBAND BUT SALES WOMEN THEN WENT INTO A NEW PITCH.THAT SHE WOULD NEVER HAVE PHOTOS TAKEN WITH HER MUM LIKE THAT AGAIN.DAUGTHER PAID £1750 PLUS WHAT SHE HAD ALREADY PAID.£150. THEN CONTRACT WAS PUSHED UNDER HER NOSE.BY THIS TIME WE WERE FEELING UNCOMFORTABLE.MY DAUGTHER SAID SORRY I CANT GO THROUGH WE IT AND SALES WOMAN SAID NOTHING COULD BE DONE PHOTOS HAD BEEN ORDERED.
WHEN WE GOT IN CAR I RANG NUMBER WE HAD AN ASK FOR OXFORD CIRCUS BRANCH PHONE NUMBER WAS TOLD NO DIRECT LINE TO ANY OF THEIR BRANCHES.BUT SHE DID TRANSFER ME THOUGH SHOP WAS OPEN TILL 8 WAS TOLD NOONE COULD DEAL WITH MY CALL .MY DAUGTHER SPOKE TO THEIR CUSTOMER SERVICE NEXT DAY AN WAS TOLD THEY COULDNT REFUND BECAUSE SHE HAD PAYED UP FRONT-THEN SHE HUNG UP ON HER.
I THINK ITS BAD THAT THEY CAN GET AWAY WITH TAKING PEOPLES MONEY LIKE THAT.
on Sep 2nd, 2009 at 4:14 pm
We had a terrible experience with the NEW id STUDIO which was a voucher from BUYAGIFT.com
Our experience has ended up with us contacting the Trading Standards and the Information Commissioners Office.
To receive this “gift” we had to pay £25 booking fee and recommended to pay for the photos in advance to get them half price so we paid £50.
We told them we were looking to have 3 or 4 photos, (one free with the buyagift.com voucher, one paid for in advance) and maybe another one or two.
They took 100 pictures, and were placed in a hot cramp room to view them whilst subjected to some high pressure sales. The price came down from £2000 to £1000 for 30 photos. We were refused the option of going outside to discuss it in private as there was another person was waiting and refused to reduce the number of photos as it would not affect the cost. We were then bullied into paying an additional £800 to have 32 pictures put on CD or to walk away and loose all the money we had already paid including the gift voucher from BUYAGIFT.COM not to mention a wasted morning.
We got home and looked the CD and the full impact of what we had been subjected to had hit us.
We then contacted New id Studios for a refund and found out from the Marketing Manager the viewing of photos is not only filmed but audio recorded without our prior knowledge or permission.
We contacted TRADING STANDARDS OFFICE who informed us of the following:
High Pressure Sales is a potential legal offence and they have opened a case on them.
The filming and audio recording is illegal and suggested we contact the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) as it is in breach of the 1998 Data Protection Act.
New id Studios have 40 days to supply a copy of the filming and audio recording together with their reasons for doing this. If they do not comply within 40 days the ICO will be taking the matter into their hands.
We have been offered a 50% refund which we are considering.
Furthermore, when I complained to BUYAGIFT.com they endorsed everything New id Studios do which in my book makes them just as bad.
We now AVOID both NEW ID STUDIOS and BUYAGIFT.COM LIKE THE PLAGUE
on Sep 3rd, 2009 at 3:53 pm
Wow, this is scary stuff. I am going with my mum, gran and sister to the Newcastle one in 2 weeks. I was looking forward to getting pictures, but there’s no way I’m signing up to any sort of agreement.
Sister had a makeover in Glasgow last year and got all 38 pictures on disc for £200, was hoping this would be the same - evidently not.
on Sep 8th, 2009 at 10:35 pm
We have also told New ID Studios we are contacting Trading Standards. Which Trading Standards did you contact? New ID have not replied to any of our emails about a very similiar experience to the above - dispite the promise on their website to respond within 24 hours. Also won’t reply to our email query about why they have deducted money from our credit card without agreement!!!!
on Sep 16th, 2009 at 12:00 am
Hi Natalie, we contacted the Government Consumer Advice for their help (www.consumerdirect.gov.uk) who then gave us a reference number for our case and said they were contacting the Croydon Trading Standards Office. I understand the Consumer Advice, were taking the matter very seriously.
I hope this helps.
on Oct 4th, 2009 at 12:53 am
This is awful. Its actually made me feel quite sick. I was going to buy the experience for a friend of mine for her birthday, and another one for me and my husband for our 1st anniversary together. I guess I won’t be now. I can’t believe some of you had such an awful experience with this company.
Any suggestions on alternative companies I could try??
on Oct 5th, 2009 at 1:29 pm
I had a horrible experience with them in London. They promise to much and deliver to little.
The booking fee that they said they’d pay me back…It’s passed 3 months and I haven’t received it. It was the worst and the most stressful day of my life.
on Oct 7th, 2009 at 12:22 am
My husband booked the deluxe package for 2 in London for me as a gift for having our baby son in July. I’m booked in for next weekend and was thinking of taking photos with my baby but after reading about all the hanging around and hard selling approach, I have been majorly put off. I’m thinking of cancelling the session but worried my husband won’t get a refund of what he has already paid (£50 initially plus a £25 deposit).
Has anyone cancelled before their photoshoot and got all their money back?
on Oct 9th, 2009 at 3:49 pm
Sorry, but I would have to disagree. I loved my New ID experience. Would happily go back to Margaret Street in London’s West End again to have the same.
If you want to knock a company then it should be Double Take studios in Farringdon, London. Made a total mess of the day and totally screwed my hair up in the process.
on Oct 14th, 2009 at 10:23 am
Its been 4 Months now and i still havent recieved my photos. I have rung numerous times and have been told. Sorry your photos still havent been dipatched. I have left London now to go back to NZ and am having big troubles getting throught to them and they keep passing the buck.
I have paid over 500quid for these photos and still havent seen any show of them.
I found the photographer to be quite inexperienced. We never got champagne as advertisered- nor a drink for that matter. We were told a manicure was included also which wasn’t. The airconditioning was cranking. When i said it was freezing and that i had goosebumps she said the aircon is controlled by the whole building (as we were below Selby’s) i said can you plz photoshop me and my skin came out purple and blotchy due to the aircon. She said its 20quid a photos.
I wouldn’t have posted a public complaint but am very annoyed 4 months down the track i STILL dont have my photos, and am still no where with this company… why arn’t they returning my calls or getting back to me? and why wont they send me my photos which are rightfully mine as i have paid for them!
on Oct 15th, 2009 at 2:29 pm
Please everyone must report this company to trading standards. I had an awful experience with them which is too complicated to explain. I have reported them to Trading Standards.
on Oct 16th, 2009 at 11:18 am
Hi,
I had an awful experience , same as you all. I went with a friend and when forced into a tiny room for the selling she explained she was bankrupt. they said they’d ”try” my credit rating I was approved and they said they’d put her under my booking. What this actually meant as i found out later was under my credit rating, which at the age of 20 is going to cause me alot of future problems. We were denied being able to confir, or have a moment to think. She would not let me read the contract and I asked her to outline in with anything I need to know which she didn;t nor did she explain the amount of interest we’d be paying. £3000 Later . I contacted their H.O as I was standing outside the studio to cancel, said It is non-cancellable. IT HAD BEEN 20 MINUTES. Apparently this is all processed immiediately. I got no money off. i GOT JACK.
on Oct 18th, 2009 at 1:56 pm
i was thinking of going for my birthday and bringing a friend. other friends have experienced it and their pictures look fab! im starting to wonder if i should go. how many pictures do you get on a free cd and are they good quality? are they thumbnails? do you get a choice of make up and photo sets or do you do what they tell you? overall is it a good experience and would you recomend the fashion shoot for 2?
on Oct 23rd, 2009 at 12:28 pm
Cut your loss now. The day was a complete waste of time.
on Oct 28th, 2009 at 8:12 pm
Anyone have any alternative recommendations?? Any other companies with a good reputation??
on Nov 2nd, 2009 at 1:52 pm
google photshot and do alot of research between companies
on Nov 4th, 2009 at 6:04 pm
really worried now after readin these comments, got a session booked for december with my best friend that my boyfriend bought as an offer £50 for the day make up, hair etc an a complementry pic, sounds to good to be true now. anyone got there pics so i can see an make up my mind my email is kelly (underscore) e85 (at) hotmail (dot) co (dot) uk or anyone with anything good to say?
was really lookin forward to it but not anymore.
on Nov 12th, 2009 at 4:26 pm
double take studios ,clerkenwell close london are exactly the same. my friend is having serious issues with them they will not cancel her contract and have lied about the installments being interest free… years back i had photoshoot at covershots..they were fantastic and the price was not bad…..government should lay down some rights to cancel… the staff are paid to be sly…sad lives they must have…xx
on Nov 12th, 2009 at 11:39 pm
Anybody heard of fireflycreate.co.uk??? They’re based in Manchester. I couldn’t find and reviews on them online, good or bad. Which maybe is a good thing.
I’ve spoken to them and they’ve only been open a year, which may explain the lack of reviews. But their website does look good.
I’m thinking of going with them now. They’ve offered me a free couples makeover and shoot with a complimentary free photo, and the opportunity to buy more on the day. Sounds pretty good so far. And they’ve assured me I would have a great experience as I stressed I would be coming with my husband on our (first) anniversary. Fingers crossed. X
on Nov 16th, 2009 at 7:34 pm
I recently received a voucher as a birthday gift to attend a makeover and photoshoot with my mam at these studios, which my partner paid £50.00 for. Before attending the studios I also had to pay a deposit of £50.00 to secure the booking which I was told was fully refundable within 7 days after attendance or could be used against any products we may have wished to purchase. After a long day at the studios (about 6 hours in total) we purchased 11 photographs on CD after a long viewing with an advisor who was adament to sell us more than £1000.00 worth of products. We ended up paying £800.00 for 11 photos in total on CD and were expecting to also receive 2 A4 prints for free as stated on the vouchers. On leaving the premises we realised the order confirmation stated that the £50.00 deposit would not be refunded and had been added to the total along with 11 A4 prints, which we had not asked for, a total of £850.00.
After realising this I have tried contacting the customer services, who gave me a phone number to call which is a disconnected number, and on trying to call customer services again for over a week could not get through to anyone. I also emailed the company via their website which states they will reply within 24 hours, and am still to receive a reply. I have searched the internet and cannot find a direct phone number for the Newcastle Studios. I also re visited the studios on 28/10/09 and spoke to the advisor who has sold us the products. She said the extra £50.00 was used for the extra prints which we did not want and that I would not receive any refund of the deposit and was realy quite rude to me, funny she was the nicest person in the world when she was trying to get money out of us!
The whols day was like living in an advert…every product used is practically forced upon you to buy and the sales advisors make it very hard to say no to expensive photos!
AVOID at all costs…………
I am reporting these to trading standards.
on Nov 23rd, 2009 at 6:31 pm
I have just been to a makeover photo shoot in New Id studios inside Debenhams, Westfield. I paid £50 deposit for me and my sister and £50 rollover for 2 small prints. Our voucher entitled us for free refreshments, hand treatment, hair and makeup done and an A4 print each.
Everything ran smoothly till the end when a middle aged man took us into the viewing room. I didn’t like most of my pictures except about ten of them and the same goes for my sister. He tried to sell them all by putting a lot of pressure on us. I have never been subjected to something like that before. His first offer was that he would give me all the pictures on CD + large photo frame, on top of that he would throw in free retouching of all images for £2000 (half price) I explained it was a bit too much so he quickly jumped to calculating how much it would cost me monthly for 48 months if he took all the money I had originally paid as a deposit. It came to £50 a month and I was thinking “no way”. Again I explained it’s too much so he cut it down to £20 pounds a month. I was not happy with the deal and I knew I would never be paying that much. He then started filling in credit forms online to check my credit history by asking for all my personal details including bank details. I hesitated but he reassured me that it was just to check if I am eligible for monthly payments or not. I then told him “I don’t want you to waste your time as I’m not sure about this deal” I was trying to say it in the nicest possible way. He then went on to say that it didn’t matter if I wanted it or not, he was just checking if I was eligible. I didn’t have a job therefore he pretended I had a job “just for the computers sake” but he included I worked 0 years with that made up company. My bank balance was very low and I was rejected. That was a relief for me. He then tried it on my sister (she’s only just turned 18 for gods sake) although she did not bring her bank details with her he insisted she went online on her online banking just to get her account details for the credit history check. Luckily she gave a false name therefore she was rejected too. He was very pushy and I started to get very agitated and wanted to be out of there ASAP. It had already been a long day for us and we just wanted to go home. It was nearly 8.30pm by then and he finally came to ask how much we were willing to pay. I said £200 pounds was the maximum so he went along with that and gave us 10 images on the CD making it seem like he was giving us a great deal. I think the original prices are all made up so they can charge whatever they like. I did not realise that my deposit and rollover money would be included in the price and I would not be getting my free prints until after the deal had already been agreed. All in all, I paid £300 for 10 images on a CD. It was one of the most horrible experiences I have experienced, being grilled in that room and feeling like there was no way out. At the end, the receptionist told me to sign a contract and he only explained that it was to prove that I was 18 or over. I signed it but when I got home and looked at the CD, it had only hit me then that I was probably ripped off. I then read the contract which stated that after signing, I agreed I would not be able to get a refund on the CD. It ruined the whole experience.
on Nov 25th, 2009 at 7:20 pm
Wow Christina! Look like you got off lightly only paying £200 for 10 pics! We paid £800 for 11!!! I’m sure I have “Mug” stamped on my forhead now.
I’ve spoken to Consumer Direct (08454040506) and they have said to write a letter of complaint to the company and see where this gets me.
I urge all of you who have had a bad experiance with these to report them to watchdog: http://www.bbc.co.uk/watchdog/gotastory/ and also to your local trading standards.
Also, if you would like the address of there head office (Which I’m not 100% sure is the correct address yet as it was given over the phone from their contact number and they have been known to lie) it is:
2 Lacemaker Court
London Road
Old Amersham
HP7 0HS
The more people complain and report this company, hopefully the less people will get ripped off!!!
on Nov 25th, 2009 at 11:06 pm
I’ve highlighted this blog post and your collective comments to Watchdog - hopefully they’ll decide to go ahead with the story.
In the meantime thank you so much for sharing your experiences with this company - it’s cold comfort, but if nothing else I’m hoping others are forewarned and forearmed.
Hannah xxx
on Nov 30th, 2009 at 5:54 pm
I had a similar experience with my friend last year at the one in London. My friend was visiting so i thought it would be a nice day out. There was alot of waiting around between make-up, hair and photo shoot which wasnt a big deal but then we got in and the actualy photo shoot was very rushed and a little stressfull.
The it came to the viewing: we were ushered into a small room with a very rude woman. We looked through pictures and picked the free one we wanted that i had already paid for. Then came the hard sale she said we could have 10 photos for 900 quid. I straight up told her i was a student and couldn’t afford it so they she began on my friend who is not as firm as me. She bullied her for about 5 miniutes with different prices and effects they could put on the photos i knew my friend was going to decline but she didnt want to be rude.
after another 10 minutes i couldnt take it and took the lady we had somewhere else to be.
I’m so glad u started this blog as I thought it was a off with me and i was going to book it again for some other friends that are coming to visit me but after reading all this no bloody way !!
I feel bad for your friends cause it really does ruin your whole experience and it should be something fun and different to do.
I hope all your complaints go well ! X
on Dec 1st, 2009 at 8:57 am
I have had a totally different experience with this company and I thought my feedback might be useful to you. I went to the Birmingham branch and found everybody there, especially James the manager, to be really friendly and kind and welcoming and yes I admit I was not prepared for the cost of the pictures but I had a really nice day and I never at any time felt like I was under any pressure to buy more than I wanted to. Yeah I did by more than I could really afford but the pictures were so good it seemed a shame not to have as many as possible. It seems to me there are a few people out there that have had a really good experience with this company and as much as I feel really sorry for people that have had a bad time I think it’s worth a mention that some people have found it to be a great experience. What I have decided to do as it is not cheap is to save up for another make over next year and give what I have saved as a full deposit before I go and then they match that once you are there so that way you can get all of your pictures and its half price and works out to be a good deal. When you consider what you pay out each week or even day on other stuff its not actually that expensive and you get to keep the photos for life. Compared to what my husband spends on smoking its really actually very cheap! I don’t know if the staff have changed or what but from my end it was a great day out and I really enjoyed it and feel sorry that the people that made my day so great are getting really bad press.
Just thought it was worth sharing with you
Philly
on Dec 16th, 2009 at 4:15 pm
I have had the same problems with no resolve as yet and I have been waiting months for my photographs.
The added insult is that I have been sent someone else’s photographs. To my disgust, I am now worried that my photographs could be anywhere and other people looking at them. When I called to report this they didn’t seem too interested that I was looking at someone else’s (some partially nude) pictures. This worries me as they also do family portraits and what happens if pictures of your children are sent out into the wrong hands!!!
I still have the photos so if you had a photo shoot with your mother and have red hair, please get in touch as I would be happy to sort out some sort of joint complaint for breech of privacy?
on Dec 16th, 2009 at 8:43 pm
I went to New ID today for a photoshoot session. I had a great day and great pics taken. At first the sales man was offering me photos for £1400 on a cd. These guys are only doing there job. If you don’t want to buy just say no. Quite simple really. I actually found the free bubbly made me feel less worried about saying no lol.
You need to improve your haggling skills. In the end I got 5 pictures for £200 which is a bargain at £40 each. They were on a cd and retouched so they would have normally been £110 each. Professional photos do generally cost a lot of money. Nothing good comes for free or heavily reduced. It is worth haggling as they want you to part with some money so you might as well get a good deal on it.
on Dec 19th, 2009 at 10:30 am
omg i cannot believe what i am reading!!!!! i went yesterday to the one in london…. it was a loooong day we waited round for ages for the make up to be done and to actually get the photoshot done, it didnt really bother ne because i just thought that they was busy, when i finally got to do my photoshoot i thought it was done very quickly but i still had fun!!! hen we had to wait ages to see the photos but i did understand why because you have to see all your photos and then decise which ones you want which is a long process! when i saw my photos i thought they was absolutley brilliant i loves them and wanted them all!!! after abit of thinking and getting the best ones i got 23 photos on cd for 800 which i thought that it isnt that bad 35 a photo only so much a moonth thought brilliant……. when i got home the cd is blank!!! i am so annoyed i rang them up and now i am waiting for them to get back to me! if they have skammed me i wil be going back to london to speak to them in person i cannot believe this i feel like a rite mug i am 20 and got this present from my mum for my birthday!!! i just hope that i havent been robbed i really dont =(
on Dec 29th, 2009 at 3:40 pm
We had a photoshoot in which my two sisters and I were told that we were allowed upto four outfit changes. However as soon as the photographer saw the asian outfits we had brought along he refused to photograph us in them. After much persuasion from my twin sister and I, he allowed the two of us to have our final outfit change but did not allow my elder sister.. We did not like any of the images but the assistant told us she would retouch images as we liked for additional charges. She was very persistaent and even showed us an example of a retouch in front of us on how it would be done. Seeing as we did want some mementos we agreed to it. The images arrived on a cd a month later and NONE of the images had been altered,apart from the one shown to us on the day. The reason we agreed to buy any of the images in the first place was on the conditions that the images would be retouched. We paid approx £600 in total for 18 images and only 1 was retouched. We complained to them and asked for a refund but have been completely ignored. Can anyone help plz?
(Abby i read ur comments..please could you help me with what I have to do!)
(sorry hannah!)
thanksssssssssssssssssssss x
on Jan 2nd, 2010 at 11:41 am
Hello my dears - New ID contacted me directly and asked me to post the following comment:
“In the last 12 months, New ID Studios has undergone a massive development and repositioning in order to be more transparent to our clients, better manage their expectations, avoid mis-selling our services and improve our customer service.
We shut down the Margaret Street studio in Feb 09 and have relaunched our website with lawyer-certified terms and conditions, print and product sizing with retail prices and demonstration video’s of what a day at our studios entails – as much info as we could put forward to ensure our clients are fully informed before they come to our studios.
We truly value our reputation and client feedback (good and bad) and have methods in place such as our Customer Satisfaction Surveys to ensure that we fulfil our aim of ‘Constant and Never-Ending Improvement’ across our business.
We thank all our clients for their honest feedback and have a dedicated customer services team which aim to repair or replace any unsatisfactory products and ensure that all feedback is filtered back to the studio managers to improve on.
Please feel free to contact us on customerservices@newidstudios.com or our direct customer care lines 0121 634 6621/22/24 should you have any concerns you’d like us to address.
Take care, the New ID Studios team.”
on Jan 2nd, 2010 at 5:08 pm
Hi, I just wanted to share my thoughts in view of all the negative reviews posted. I must admit, I read the reviews before I went (only by chance however as I googled it to find out where it was and saw the links to the reviews). On reading the reviews I was horrified. This was a present for my wife, who due to a couple of major family crises needed a good experience. We arrived slightly apprehensively but her experience was fantastic. Freindly greeting, very pleasant staff, no waiting around, excellent hair cut and make up, good photoshoot and the sales guy was not pushy about selling the photos at the end. Sure, his job is to sell you those expensive packages but we never were made to feel pressured at all. In fact, we left with the best photo on CD having spent no more than we had budgeted for. Would I do it again…based on our experience - yes without doubt.
on Jan 5th, 2010 at 11:33 pm
I am so glad to have read the reviews on here about New Id Studios. I too got sucked into buying a package for £50 (2 for the price of 1, so £25 each) but thought it was a really good deal as my haircut costs around the same price anyway and I was getting all the extras for that price. After booking, I wished I hadn’t as the thing I was dreading was the photos but looking forward to having my hair done, etc.
A friend of mine said she would come along with me but has heard about a really bad experience from a friend of hers. My sister has also informed me of a work colleague having a bad experience. Rather than feeling pressured and intimidated I think I’m going to cancel the experience and lose the cost of the package but hope to get my deposit back! Wish me luck ….
on Jan 11th, 2010 at 10:20 pm
Went to london holloway branch, paid additional £50 for photos and were supposed to receive an additional 2 complimentary pics. Yet to receive anything at all. Pushy sales staff, when they realised we weren’t intending to top up any extra cash we were promptly hurried out. In tim from croydon’s words (who was in london branch that day) ” we have other customers here spending a lot of money who take priority!” Complained to head office, calls never returned. Awful company.
on Jan 13th, 2010 at 5:20 pm
hi all, i ordered 2 vouchers off buyagift as they were free, just had to pay p&p. i wouldn’t be buying any prints, just getting the one free a4 one offered. i would have to pay the £25 each deposit though, if I didn’t buy any extra prints would I be forced to forfeit this deposit in exchange for one even though it says it’s just to prevent cancellation? also has anyone had a particularly good or bad experience recently with either the oxford circus or the westfield branch as i need to choose between these two? thanks
on Jan 18th, 2010 at 12:49 pm
I have been reading the posts on here and i thought i shall put my comment on.
both myself and my sister have been to NewID in Birmingham. My sister went on 25/07/2009 and she only recieved her photos at the start of 2010 so 5 months waiting! She has been trying so hard to cancel her order but because she went for the credit agreement she was told she couldn’t cancel and they took money from her bank before the album arrived. The album arrived and the photos are terrible! they arent set out correctly and they look stretched!
I had my photos taken with my boyfriend on 10/10/2009 and i am still waiting for my photos and i am in a dispute with them at this very moment trying to get a delivery date! The customer services manager Emily is rude and doesn’t want to help. I have been waiting for many phone calls from them. I feel there is no one to contact to get it solved and i feel so stuck! Also from looking at my sisters photos i dont think i want my photos anymore!
its terrible and i don’t think they should be getting away with it!!
my rant over :o)
on Jan 26th, 2010 at 6:37 pm
I went to the NewID London studio last September 09. The sales man was very pushy and convincing and I ended up paying far more than I really wanted for a set of prints and a CD. The CD arrived fairly quickly in the end of October however the prints did not arrive. Since the day the CD arrived I have tried contacting their customer services department with no success. Every time I called the number I was on hold for over half an hour. When I tried calling the sales number and got through straight away (what a surprise), here I was told someone would get back to me. No one got back to me. I called over 5 times and received the same answer however no one ever got back to me no matter what I said to them on the phone.
Finally I managed to get through to them via email and was told I only paid for the CD. I was fuming. I emailed them a copy of the order form I had which the sales man had written ‘CD & prints’ in is handwriting. I was then told it was not valid as it was not typed! I emailed them back again and was told the matter would be pas on to a manager. After chasing them up 3 times I have still received a reply from the managers. It is now the end of January!! I have paid for both the CD and prints so expect to get what I paid for. They do whatever they can to get your money, then they don’t care about you. The after care is crap.
on Feb 21st, 2010 at 1:14 pm
My daughter and her friend went to New ID in Birmingham recently, they had the most fantastic day. They are 14 and 15. The photos came out really well, we had an A4 photo included in the price and I paid an extra £50.00 upfront which then paid for another two photos, so my daughter has three wonderful photos (although it was hard for her to pick 3). My daughter and I are going together to have a photo shoot at Birmingham as she really wants me to experience it with her. Just remember to look for the best deals on line 1st - thinkbubble are currently doing a good offer, decide on a budget before you go and pay upfront as that doubles your money (much better value).