Here's a copy of the letter I sent to them in case anyone wants to see:
Billing and Refund Department
Makeover Studios London
57 Warren Street
London
W1T 5NR
To Whom It May Concern:
I would like to request a refund of my booking deposit that was taken from my Paypal account on the 19th of July, 2012.
I received a phone call on 17th July from Lisa and I was told that I won a competition to receive the Platinum Photoshoot package and that it was all free, but that I would need to pay a booking fee of £50 to secure my appointment. Lisa said that I would get that fully refunded on the day. I didn't want to give my bank details over the phone, so she told me to book the 'Angels' package on their website through Paypal (£99) and that even though it was more than £50, it didn't matter because I would get it all refunded on the day. She assured me several times that my money would be fully REFUNDED on the day, as long as I turned up for the appointment. I kept checking repeatedly that there were no fees and that all my money would be refunded, and Lisa assured me that it would be fully refunded on the day.
I went to my appointment on Sunday, 29th July at 12:00pm. When I got to the studio, it became clear that you have to buy any photos that are taken, so I told the makeup artist (as there were no actual members of Makeover Studios London there to help) that I didn't want to do the photoshoot since I wouldn't be buying any photos. I said I wanted to get my refund straightaway, but the makeup artist said they couldn't do it because they were 'consultants', so we had to wait for the manager to get there to process the refund. They said that we should get our hair and makeup done while we were waiting anyway, and even if we didn't do the photoshoot, then at least we would get our hair and makeup done for free.
After that, I still wanted to get the refund, so the photographer, Enzo, called the manager Mark. I spoke to the manager Mark on the phone (since all the people that worked there were 'consultants' and couldn't process my refund). I asked for my refund, as I was promised. Mark said that I had to do the photoshoot and 'experience the full package' before I got my refund.
I DID NOT WANT TO DO THE PHOTOSHOOT. I only took a few pictures to ensure I got my refund, as Mark told me I had to do. You can see this from the pictures that there is only 1 picture of me and a few of my friends. I obviously was not happy with doing the photoshoot. The Platinum package should have had hundreds of pictures and last at least 2 hours, but there were only about 5 pictures taken, which is evidence of my unwillingness to take the pictures.
After we did all of that, I then went into the office to talk to the guy selling the pictures (again, another ‘consultant’), and he then tells me that he can't refund my money and that it is only redeemable against purchase of the photos and that I would need to call head office to make a complaint. Every person I spoke to lied to me.
I saw that one of your colleagues wrote a response to my complaint to Paypal saying that I received a letter stating the terms and conditions and was fully aware of these. However, the tracking number on the letter that YOUR COMPANY (sent recorded delivery : AU318641325GB) shows that this letter wasn’t received until Monday, 30th July AFTER MY APPOINTMENT.
I would like a full refund of my £100 for these reasons:
1) I was told by Lisa that the £50 was a FULLY REDEEMABLE booking fee that was just to ensure that I showed up for the appointment.
2) Lisa told me to buy the Angels package and spend £100 just as a FULLY REDEEMABLE booking fee and that it didn’t matter that it was more than the original £50 because I WOULD GET IT ALL REFUNDED AS LONG AS I SHOWED UP.
3) When I got to the appointment, I fulfilled my part of the agreement by not missing my appointment. I WAS NOT TAKING ADVANTAGE OF ANY SERVICES BECAUSE I TOLD ALL OF YOUR STAFF REPEATEDLY AT THE STUDIO THAT I DID NOT WANT ANY OF YOUR SERVICES AT ANY TIME IF I HAD TO PAY FOR ANYTHING. There is not a single member of your staff that I did not tell that I did not want these services done. I have voice recordings of conversations that can attest to this.
4) Furthermore, I have called your office and left a message with the person that answered the phone over one week ago and no one has called me back.
I would like to believe that your company would not permit such fraudulent business practises and would not knowingly take people’s money for services that were unwanted and based on lies. I look forward to hearing your response.
Yours sincerely,