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WARNING ABOUT GRUMPY BUT GORGEOUS PAMPER PARTIES

55 replies

user1465738063 · 14/06/2016 18:25

Do not trust this business or hand over money under any circumstances. We booked them to do a pamper party for my daughters 8th birthday and paid them a 50% deposit. We also paid extra for the convenience of party bags. The party was booked for today (11 June 2016). Late yesterday afternoon my wife receives a phone call informing her that she will not be getting party bags (despite the fact that we had already paid for them). This caused unnecessary and unexpected stress as we had to run around the night before trying to sort out more party bags. Little did we know that this was just the beginning of one of the most unprofessional and distressing experiences a parent (and child) could have. Despite being informed that two therapists would attend the party (for 12 girls) only one arrives at the venue. One therapist (artiste) can clearly not pamper 12 girls on her own so we immediately became a little suspicious. 30 minutes before the party was due to begin the 'grumpy but gorgeous' representative came in and informed us that the party was not going ahead as the venue was 'unsuitable'. The reasons given for this were 'parking' and the fact that she had to climb a short flight of stairs (around 15 stairs altogether). She also mumbled something about insufficient 'plug points'. Her reasons were absolutely ludicrous. We had hired first floor rooms in the Windlesham church building which based in a small village. The parking could not have been easier or more convenient. There was ample parking within 25 meters of the front door. Furthermore, she was literally able to drive and even park her car within 2 meters the front door for the purposes of loading/unloading any equipment (which my wife and I also offered to do for her) if she had wanted to. There were also at least 14 plug points in the venue. It soon became clear that she had never intended to do the party (she even had a male passenger waiting for her in her car). The 'Grumpy but Gorgeous Pamper Party' did not go ahead and we were all left extremely distressed by the whole incident. Fortunately, a group of mums jumped into action. While one of the mothers entertained the kids 'Brownies' style the others rushed off and purchased pampering products and equipment. The kids ended up being pampered 'mummy style' and giving each other beauty treatments. They had a ball doing it. We are so grateful to the mothers that helped out. Thank you so much. It is nice to know that the world is still full of such genuine, kind and wonderful people.

We need to ensure that no other parents or children fall victim to this unscrupulous business.

Since being scammed I have been doing more research on this business. See below:

UPDATE 1: I draw your attention to the following link with the heading (Pamper party scam - grumpy but gorgeous) which appears to indicate a dubious history behind the Grumpy But Gorgeous pamper party provider (forums.moneysavingexpert…)

UPDATE 2: The more I dig around the more information I find. I have now also ascertained the 'Grumpy But Gorgeous' appeared on RIP OFF BRITAIN (series 6 Episode 8) in 2014. There is also a Facebook group called 'Grumpy but Gorgeous Girls Pamper Parties Scam' of people who have been scammed over the past few years.

UPDATE 3: She is refusing to refund us unless we delete the reviews. There is no way I am deleting a genuine, accurate review.

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Whynotnowbaby · 16/06/2016 09:11

What an awful thing to happen, well done for managing to salvage something of it. You need to take her to the small claims court to get your money back. I've never done this but understand it's very easy to do and they will have to pay your costs. You could contact them telling them you plan to do so first and that might galvanise them into refunding and save you the faff.