A few mums got this exact same reply - from NYC Studios/Limitless/Firefly, after writing complaining, of course there was no mention that M0del did not exist. I wonder why?:
"Further to your email, we would like to apologise for any ill will you seem to now have with our services. We do not like any of our customers to bear any bad feeling and hope we can appease your situation amicably.
"We have been open and honest with you at every point of contact, from calling to book your appointment over the phone, confirmation email explaining where to go and what to expect, to information given at our premises. The confirmation email states in black and white that there is no cost to yourself for the shoot, but if one wished to purchase images there would be an option to do so on the day. This is sent prior to you coming for your shoot. We are a completely separate company to the agency and have nothing to do with the modelling side of things. In purchasing your images from ourselves you have taken a product away with you and your finance relates to this purchase. These goods can be used however you see fit, but irrespective of their usage, they do need to be paid for.
"We are surprised at your comments, as the package purchased was made after viewing the images/goods in question, and these images have not since changed. There were a range of smaller packages available at this time also.
"Due to the nature of the product and goods in question, which you left happy with on the day of your appointment with us, a no cancellation policy applies. Essentially in purchasing the copyrights to your images you obtain intellectual property, and as I'm sure can be appreciated it would be very easy for anyone to purchase images in this way, transfer them to any hardware device before returning the disc and asking for money's to be returned. We as photographers follow the industry standard policies and protect ourselves from being open to theft.
"We are not here in any way accusing you of intentionally acting in such a way, just merely stating the facts, and trying to outline the reasons for such policies to be in place. Of course if such regulations were not adhered to, the photography industry could quickly come to a halt.
"The contractual agreements signed in accordance with your purchase do explain all of the above and you have signed ascertaining you have understood.
We are in no way unreasonable here at New York City, and we would always hope to conclude a dispute amicably. We are therefore happy to discuss the matter further. If you would like to call our office on 0161 763 2675 are open between 11am – 7pm Monday to Friday."