Makeover Studios London Lovin' Studios Told me I won a competition and needed to pay a booking fee to hold my place that was FULLY REFUNDABLE - but they won't refund my money! Internet

Hello,

Can you please help me to get my money back after a scam?  This company has ripped off a lot of people and have already had to change their names once because of previous rip offs (they were previously 'Lovin' studios'). Maybe someone could investigate this company or at least make people aware of what they are doing so that they do not rip off any more people!  This is what happened:

I would like to report a scam by Make-Over London (http://www.makeoverlondon.co.uk/) - a photography studio in London:
I received a phone call 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, but that I would get that fully refunded on the day.  I didn't want to give my bank details over the phone, so they told me to book the 'Angels' package on their website through paypal (99) and that even though it was more than 50, I didn't matter because I would get it all refunded on the day.  She assured me, as I checked repeatedly that there were no fees and that all my money would be refunded, and she assured me  that it would be fully refunded on the day.  When I got there, it became clear that you have to buy any photos that are taken, so I said 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 that 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.  He said that I had to do the photoshoot and 'experience the full package' before I got my refund.  After we did all of that, they then tell me that they 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 and it was obviously a big con.

Unfortunately, I do not have a recording of the phone conversation where I originally made the booking, but I am 100% certain that they said that the money would be fully refundable.  There was another lady there with her family that had been told the same thing and they were obviously very upset as well.  This clearly happens a lot and they need to be shut down.

They have come back saying that I was fully aware of the terms and conditions and that since I did the photoshoot, I should not get the money refunded.  THEY SAID THAT I HAD TO DO THE PHOTOSHOOT TO GET MY REFUND!!!!  This has happened to lots of other people (after researching this on the web) and there was another lady there that had also been ripped off.  Please help me with this - and help everyone else that is likely to get ripped off by this company!

Thank you,
Sarah Sakimoto