Studio One to One S121 ::HUSTLING :: TRICKY :: DECEIVING :: CON:: Houston, Texas

Studio One to One is very tricky. First, they get you to "buy an account" with HOLD MY MEMORIES to get an affordable price on their pictures. The lady at the Baybrook location told me that it was NOT an option if I wanted to get my pictures (after the shoot). She said it was just a website to store my pictures from my sessions like a "family website" and that if I wanted to cancel within 6 months I could cancel and get a refund ($60).

After the 6 months she said it will automatically take out $10 a month from my account and add to the $60 to be applied to future sessions. I tried to cancel at the third month and it turns out you don't get a refund. You just LOSE the money. So I kept it and I now have about $70 in my account. I took my 6 year old and 9 month old for a frustrating photo session at the MEMORIAL CITY location in their halloween costume and Christmas clothes with a coupon for 50% off my entire order.

My husband went to pay for the CD of all my pictures, originally $400, reduced to $200 with coupon. Minus my credit of $75 it should have been down to 125. WRONG. They applied my credit to the FULL price of $400 and THEN gave me 50% off the balance. After my credit of $75 I STILL had to pay $182.14 after taxes charged to by husbands debit card.

This makes absolutely no sense. This gives me no incentive to even continue my membership with HMM. The money in my HMM account is not valued at half price. Every dollar in that account is a dollar that was taken from my pocket, so why is it worth LESS at the store? The HMM website is also very ugly and horrible to customize. I can't even choose which pictures from my session I do or don't want there. Not to mention that they just threw all the UNTOUCHED pictures in there. For how the devalue my dollars in my HMM account, I might as well pay directly from my bank account to get the REAL DISCOUNT as stated on the coupon instead of having a poorly assembled "family web page".

I called the corporate office and spoke to Christine and was told that this was in fact the policy even though I couldn't find that stipulation on the coupon or on their website. I cannot believe that they would con people into doing this. After two hours at the mall having to chase my children around and smile in one picture of course anyone is going to feel like they have no other option but to go with their "policy". I am currently waiting on a phone call from the district manager, per Christine, but no luck yet.

I will definitely be posting my ripoff report on their facebook page periodically for all to see as well as my facebook page and finding every way possible to show the public how S121 tries to extort families that are trying to make beautiful memories with pictures at affordable prices. Their advertisements to not properly explain their "policy".