To be so annoyed I fell for a scam

rro · 2025-04-28T18:04:11+00:00

Not exactly a scam but … I got a phone call a few weeks ago saying I’d won a photoshoot after voting on an image on social media. I was really pleased. The studio wasn’t exactly local but it was free … Only of course it wasn’t. We got one free image and then had to go back. Ended up buying more after all the effort and they weren’t all that nice. And now to add insult to injury I have to drive back AGAIN to collect the bloody photos!

ScottBakula · 28/04/2025 20:02

Aww many many years ago my dm got scammed like this too , her free photo was about half the size of a post card and she was put under pressure to buy more , it cost her a weeks wage which she could ill afford at the time.

Worst of all she didn't even like the way she looked in the photos , she was much more heavily made in than she would normally make herself so she thought it looked false.

Maitri108 · 28/04/2025 20:06

You really didn't have to do anything. You could have accepted the free photo, realised it was a scam and moved on.

Original poster

rro · 28/04/2025 20:22

I know … but I didn’t!

OP posts:

mondaytosunday · 28/04/2025 20:26

Can’t they mail the photos?
It was probably in the small print, ‘prize includes one free photo, any extras will be charged at going rate’ kind of thing. Yea most people will have done as you did and bought more photos.

Yogibearspicnic · 28/04/2025 20:27

That’s basically the business model of most of these places. You ‘win’ a free shoot and get pressured/persuaded to fork out for other pricey ones.

IDontHateRainbows · 28/04/2025 20:34

Me and my daughter do these makeover / photoshoots where you get one free Pic all the time. Pay around £7, have a lovely day out getting glammed up and NEVER get more than the one image.

You are the one who bought more no one held a gun to your head.

ScottBakula · 28/04/2025 21:19

@IDontHateRainbows you are right , nobody held a gun to my dms head either but she was alone and bombarded with statements/ questions like
Well we have done all this for you and we need to earn a living too you know
But why don't you like them , dont you love your family enough to share your photos with them

It's only £xx surely that's not to much to ask for all the work we have done.

And yes She could if said no , but when there is the photographer, makeup and hair stylists all telling her if she doesn't buy more their family's will starve its very hard to say no

SleepingSerpent · 28/04/2025 21:25

Kindly, you could have said no. A friend dragged me along to one of these when I was about 23. After the photoshoot they sat us down and gave us the hard sell- I just said ‘no thank you’ over and over again. When asked why, I replied that I didn’t like any of the photos- which wasn’t entirely true, but they certainly weren’t worth much money. The woman got a bit snotty, said I’d wasted their time- I replied ‘you've wasted mine too, so we’re square.’ It was uncomfortable but nobody forced me to buy anything- same as nobody forced you.

IDontHateRainbows · 29/04/2025 21:46

ScottBakula · 28/04/2025 21:19

@IDontHateRainbows you are right , nobody held a gun to my dms head either but she was alone and bombarded with statements/ questions like
Well we have done all this for you and we need to earn a living too you know
But why don't you like them , dont you love your family enough to share your photos with them

It's only £xx surely that's not to much to ask for all the work we have done.

And yes She could if said no , but when there is the photographer, makeup and hair stylists all telling her if she doesn't buy more their family's will starve its very hard to say no

I like to turn it into a bit of a game. The more they try and hassle me or guilt trip.me the more I dig my heels in.
Had some lovely photos over the years, one at a time.
No one's family is starving if you don't buy some pics.

Mermaidsarereal · 30/04/2025 12:10

Ahh honestly, I've also fallen for this one. A friend and I once went for a 'makeover' and photoshoot and got one free picture, I looked like an 80s throwback so didn't buy any of them no matter how much they pestered. I did however, go back with my DD (who was around 4) and spent about £200 on pictures of her as they were absolutely gorgeous.

OriginalUsername2 · 30/04/2025 12:28

That’s how these things work. Even the photo studio Debenhams used to have would promote with a free studio sitting and hope people would buy after the effort.

The competition bit is a bit scammy. But don’t feel too scammed, it’s a common business model.

OriginalUsername2 · 30/04/2025 12:29

Mermaidsarereal · 30/04/2025 12:10

Ahh honestly, I've also fallen for this one. A friend and I once went for a 'makeover' and photoshoot and got one free picture, I looked like an 80s throwback so didn't buy any of them no matter how much they pestered. I did however, go back with my DD (who was around 4) and spent about £200 on pictures of her as they were absolutely gorgeous.

I think every slightly pretty girl I knew did this!

GertrudePerkinsPaperyThing · 30/04/2025 12:32

Dah!

That is annoying.

I recently fell for a scam to buy tickets to a v popular attraction as they are very clever and optimise their search above the official tickets.

Somehow I managed to get a refund of the amount but not sure how because when I looked at trust pilot it turns out there are warnings that it’s a scam. Should have checked first!

HugelyExpensiveCrystalDuck · 30/04/2025 12:44

It’s a tale as old as time, the photoshoot. I ‘won’ one at Boots when my now 21 yard old was a baby and the bloke pretty much told me I was a bad mother because I didn’t want any of the extra photos. It was a crazy amount pressure. I didn’t buy them because I didn’t have the money otherwise I’m sure I would have done,

TimeForTeaAndToast · 30/04/2025 12:48

When I was with our primary school PTA we were often offered "free studio sessions" as raffle prizes. I always refused them. It's not exactly a scam, but people are badgered into buying expensive photos.

ginasevern · 30/04/2025 13:13

I remember my then 18 year old SIL falling for this back in 1990. Of course it wasn't online, she'd entered a "competition" in a magazine. Anyway, she had to go to London (not close to us) where they ended up pressuring her to buy £700 worth of photos of herself. £700 was an eye watering amount in 1990. Her mother was not best pleased. So this particular scam is probably old as the hills.

grapesandmelon · 30/04/2025 13:46

It's not a scam as such, but a pressurised sales tactic.

I've done a few over the years. Sometimes just got the free photo, sometimes bought more. It's just like the timeshare "free" holidays in the 90s! You have to go in knowing what it is.

GeorgianaM · 30/04/2025 14:13

Crikey back in the 80s this kind of thing was a well known scam!

A woman I worked with won a photoshoot and they styled her hair and applied make up and had the photoshoot. Then the small print we pointed out that she had only won the photoshoot and not an actual photo or photos which cost extra! She was not allowed to leave with the make up and hair styles and it all has to be removed and brushed out!

Then the hard sell of telling her how lovely she looked and the photos were once in a lifetime so she paid around £200 just to get out of there and the photos she had were bloody awful, she looked like a man in drag!

HiddenInCubeOfCheese · 30/04/2025 14:21

It’s not really a scam though, is it? It’s a shit deal that you went along with.