I remember watching Seven’s Today Tonight show about the heavy handedness used by the mob at Studio 2000. The way they suck people in is by having competitions where the prize is a free professional photo sitting. You can imagine how many prizes they actually hand out for this competition, but while photo shoot is free it’s when they get you back in to view the photos that they come in with all guns blazing.
Gone are the friendly photographers and in come the high pressure sales people who’s only consideration is to get a sale before you leave their premises. If they are having problems then they get the managers involved and they both jump in on the attack. If I remember correctly, after telling one young mother how beautiful her child looked in the photos and they were still having trouble getting the big bucks out of her, they come up with the line, “if for some reason your baby was to die, wouldn’t you want a nice funeral photo for him?” I can still remember the horrid look on her face as she was telling the story. She fortunately got out with only one photo.
Another lady wasn’t so lucky and it actually was going to put her in debt to the tune of several thousands of dollars. It seems that this unscrupulous mob love to prey on the weak. I did a bit of a search and found a transcript of the show. You can view it on the Today Tonight site.
Basically the thing to remember is that nothing is for free and when it is then there is a catch somewhere just waiting to get into your wallet. Oh, and one other thing, unless you were stupid enough to sign something, you don’t actually have to buy a damn thing.
{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }
This is so bloody stupid… I’ve been reading up on this situation over the past few days, and every single person who has complained about being in debt and “being conned” have all done it to themselves. Their excuses are “I was young and weak”… what the hell is that?! If you’re too bloody stupid to realise you can’t pay for something, you weren’t raised properly and it won’t just be Studio 2000 you have an issue with. This ignorance to basic math and common sense is probably not your fault, but that of your parents for not raising you properly. If you are in there, and they’re trying to sell you something you can’t afford, don’t buy it. If you say “Gee, I don’t think I can afford that” … then you can’t… and that’s just too bad… you don’t have a good enough income to afford this kind of luxury, just like you can’t afford a new Ferrari or to buy a house. If you find yourself in this situation, don’t sign… you don’t go and look at a brand new car worth $70,000 and sign up for it, knowing you can’t afford it – because you say to yourself “No, i can’t afford this, it’s silly to think I can” and then you walk out…
Grow up and learn to manage your finances and stop looking for someone else to blame for your own stupidity.
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I don’t think you understand the situation at all. These people are sucked in on the premise that they won a free photo sitting. When they come back to see the photo the sales pitch starts. If after awhile it seems that it isn’t working they bring in another salesperson in to try and browbeat the customer.
Not everyone has the strength to consistently say no when they are being ganged up on.
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BS Artist is right, these people are being sucked in, i work at studio 2000 as a bookings consultant, these people think that they are going to have $95 taken away from them if they don’t come in to view the photos after the shoot, but this is a huge load of shit, the $95 is only for the actual shoot, they don’t need to come in to view the photos, but they are told they will be charged $95 if they don’t so they come in against their own will where they are bulldozed by very well trained sales staff who bully them into a debt they cant pay off! I’m planning on brining these guys down from the inside, and i honestly feel bad for every single person i have booked in, i really do wish they had never answered their phones to me :( the reason i know all of this is because they have done the same to me, and now I’m in debt well over $4000, and i work there, imagine what they will do to someone who has no idea how this company works!
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BS Artist reply on June 10th, 2009:
Wow! Thanks for being so forthright with your comment. Too bad that knowing how they operated you were still foolish enough to let them rip you off. I hope it all works out for you. :)
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The Mole reply on June 18th, 2009:
I’d only just started working there so I was still unsure as to what was going on, but we were lied to by the sales rep and told certain aspects of the payment plan were optional, my partner and I had no problem with the actual weekly payments it was the deposit that we were un-sure of, and we were told if we could pay it by the date then we would recieve an extra enlargment with the deal but if we couldn’t make the payment then we just wouldnt get that extra enlargment, so we were happy with that, but then we found out that it wasnt optional and it was going to be sucked off my credit card wherther i liked it or not :( unfortuantley I’ve had to quit my job because I’m currently trying to get myself out of this mess and I can’t be working at a place to sign people up to something I am trying to get out of myself… But I’ve been into consumer affairs and it turns out these guys have been in alot of trouble in the past for this kind of thing, its all on the consumer affairs website, just type them into google and then go from there, you shouldn’t have much trouble finding it all.
If anyone wants any advice on what to do, just message me on this forum and I will help out as much as I can with any loopholes that I may know off.
Always watching…
The Mole
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BS Artist reply on June 19th, 2009:
Thanks again for your input. For those interested in what Consumer affairs had to say they can click on this link
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One of Intelligence reply on December 20th, 2009:
you have no one else to blame but yourself these guys know what there doing thats why they have the business and you were their empolyee glad that your gone and that you no longer work there you dont understand the concept of a business and how to run one. these guys have been in business for more the 25 years and are still well known and still have clients that love to be booked in and love to be photographed by the professionals that work there.
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BS Artist reply on December 21st, 2009:
If they’re photography is so good it sort of makes you wonder why they have to resort to these tactics to make a sale?
We had some professional photos done of our kids from Anthony Of Adelaide, and they didn’t have to resort to this form of Gestapo tactics.
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Hi I’ve only had one experience with studio 2000. My friend called me to say she had won a free photoshoot with studio 2000 and at first I was reluctant because I heard they would be dodgy. But I did it for my friend and I was stupid to give my bank details over the phone and so I was locked in their contract. I came to the photoshoot and at the last minute my friend bailed out on me. I wanted to bail out too, but I couldn’t afford the $90 cancellation fee. The photoshoot seemed fun, I had a good time. I told them I wasn’t going to buy any photos. Then I was forced to come in to view my photos, but if I didn’t go I would have to pay $90. I kept telling the salespeople I wasn’t interested, but they made me feel like I should buy at least one photo. I felt so guilty for not buying one. But I knew I just couldn’t afford any photos not even one. I came there because it was “free” and I didn’t even get a free photo… lol.
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Well Lil’Fish, I reckon one experience is enough, wouldn’t you ;)
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I did a shoot with studio 2000 not very long ago and I was tremendously pleased with the results.
I think you all need to grow up and stop blaming ’sharks’. No one is making any one do anything they don’t like and it takes a really immature person to pass the blame.
People who win free shots DO NOT have to accept the prize. They have the choice to call up and have it canceled, to turn it down from the beginning, or to take the shoot and say ‘no’ to the prints.
When I did my shoot I had a wonderful day with my sister. It really was allot of fun and I know when she moves to England it will be one of those memories I will treasure- and I will have the photos to reminice over!
The entire reason Studio 2000 has a bad name is because of immature individuals going in, then being angry at themeless because they didn’t do the maths and work out a budget before they spent their money.
We walked in there and had the prices explained to us from the very beginning. They certainly do not do the shoot, keep the prices a secret and come in later with “all guns blazing”.
Sure, the studio has some hefty prices but it is a professional business. Its no ones fault but your own if you think you got ‘ripped off’. It just shows the rest of the world what kind of person you are for going out and treating yourself when you couldn’t afford it or didn’t think their photography was worth the cost.
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Thanks for your reply Wendy, and no-one is saying that their product is substandard. The complaint is about the high handed tactics they use to get the sale. They use the freebies to suck people in and when people try to buy the minimum they brow beat them into buying more than they can afford.
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Chris reply on October 25th, 2009:
If people can’t handle a “brow beating”, they need to learn to… It’s not Studio 2000’s fault that they crumble because someone makes the POOR and HELPLESS consumer feel bad. People have got to start taking responsibility for their own actions. The clients of Studio 2000 were offered a free photoshoot. Providing there is no fine print saying otherwise, they can take that free photoshoot! There is no obligation to buy, so if they have to go back for a viewing, they just need to keep in mind that there is no obligation to buy! Just GET UP AND WALK OUT! Do you really think people are actually going to kidnap you, take your hand and forge your signature onto a contract you don’t want while you sit there with duct tape over your mouth, a gun to your mother’s head and tears rolling down your face? I don’t think so. Just stand up, say “I cant afford this” or “I don’t want this” and just walk out. Why is that so hard? And really, you don’t even need to be that rude, BUT YOU CAN if you need to. Whatever stops you from purchasing those photos.
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BS Artist reply on October 26th, 2009:
Of course it’s their fault if they decide to use those tactics, and they use them because they know that there are people who are intimidated by others and do not know how to protect themselves, which is why these sort of tactics are illegal as is shown by this report.
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brad reply on November 16th, 2009:
ohh god, i would totAlly love for you to both get scammed, good on ya’s both for knowing absolutely everything,
totally disagree as you are both probably to good to get scammed *raises eyebrows*
as mentioned about 50,000 times above to u stupid idiots, they don’t mention anything about any cost, so it seems legit and free. but at the end of the day they try suk u in bout paying for cancelation/photos.
and yeh too you, u may actually budget for it, but its extremely sad that they target 15 yr old kids and promise them something sounding so gr8 then there parents have to bail em out,
just hope u both get conned and have worst of luck.
jeeze u got me mad
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BS Artist reply on November 17th, 2009:
Hey Brad, have you had a bad experience with this mob, or perhaps someone you know has?
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Well it seems alot has gone on since my last post… To Wendy and Chris, I have to say that I dont think you know entirley what it is you are actually talking about, as an ex-employee, I can tell you right now that what Studio 2000 is doing is most certainly not up to par, I can understand when you say that they don’t have to go into the photoshoot, I mean, once they mention the credit card details, most people back right off, but quite a few people think to themselves that a “free” photoshoot will be alot of fun, so they agree to lock in the appointment, what they dont realise, is that they keep those details and once you’ve made it to the photoshoot, after getting together all the different outfits you want to wear during the shoot, (and trust me when I say that alot of these people especially the girls go to alot of effort to make sure they bring exactly what they want to the shoot) , and not to mention getting there, some of these people come from all different areas of Adelaide, not just the city, they then tell you before you can even do the shoot, you have to sign a form saying you will come back and view the photos, or be charged once again $90, now they can choose to say no to this, but then they can’t go on with the photoshoot and are charged the $90 cancelation fee, (thats right there screams illegal) and after all the efort they have put in, most people will just sign off, no intention to buy, but the moment they come back to view the photo’s its a completley different story, when I view my photos the camera guy couldn’t even remember me or my partner, but acording to him we were the best couple he had seen all day, but reguardless of that, these people have now come back to view their photos, because they had no other choice, view the picture or loose $90 which is alot to some people, and thats when the “sales sharks” step in, their job is to make sure you leave with something, and trust me when I say they are good at what they do, they wouldn’t be hired if they weren’t, their job is to make you feel bad for not buying. They use a number of different tactics to make you purchace from flattery to regret (telling you an offer like this will never come around again) So I’m sorry to say, but although you may have had a fun time, and you can afford it, most people can’t but it’s their job to make you pay reguardless. But what I am more curious about, is how you actually found this fourum? becaus ehwn you look up Studio 2000 on its own, this sight doesn’t come up, so it would seem you would actually have to look up sites claiming that Sudio 2000 is a rip off, now why would you do that? It could be that you are just in the mood to bad mouth some un lucky people, but in my opinion, it seems as though you may have more of a link to Studio 2000 then you let on, I’m not asking you to admit or deny this claim, but I think you’ll find many people will agree with what I am saying…
Always watching…
The Mole
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curious reply on November 25th, 2009:
I’m glad that there are people like you on this planet that know when something wrong is going on in the world and even though you are caught up in the middle of it you do the right thing by the people, Thank you!! I heard that studio 2000 could be dodgy, but some people I know got some photos done and had no complaints at all. But anyway my friend got called up and asked me to come along so I agreed I would. I am happy to go to the shoot with her but do not intend to buy any photos (I’m really going for my friend for moral support and incase they pressure her she has back up) so I am worried about the part where you said that they ask you to sign a form agreeing to view the photos or you will be charged and if you say no to it then you can’t go on with the photo shoot and they will charge you the cancellation fee. Well that is rediculous. I only agreed to come to the photo shoot, they never mentioned anything about what you just said. thats horrible they can’t do that. If they say this to me and I say no I can just walk out without having to pay any fee, right? I mean that would sound more normal. Do you have any advice for me? I’m worried what do I do?
thanku… hope eveything works out for you :)
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Chris reply on November 25th, 2009:
Yes, you’re right… you CAN just walk out. That’s all you need to do. GET UP AND WALK OUT… Don’t say anything if you don’t want to. They can’t shut the door on you and keep you from leaving. So just take it to the extreme if you need to. Just. Walk. Out. It’s easy. Then, if you decide not to buy anything and you DO walk out, come back here, and tell everyone about it. The sales people will try to get you to stay as best as they can, BUT ALL YOU NEED TO DO IS WALK OUT. Just continue to say “no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no” as you’re walking out. Let me know how it goes.
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BS Artist reply on November 25th, 2009:
Unfortunately Chris, not everyone is privy to this blog, and so not everyone has your strength to stand up for their rights. Perhaps rather than berate them for their weakness it would be more noble to stand up for them in ensuring that the likes of Studio 2000 do not take advantage of those unable to fend for themselves.
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It’s good to see you’re keeping an eye on things.
Sire´s last blog ..How Sexual Health Is Impoved By Oral Sex
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To everyone reading this, for or against studio 2000, YES, you can walk out the moment you get to the office to view the photo’s, but the point is you HAVE to go view the photos or be charged the $90 this is something that should be mentioned to the client from the very first phone call, but unfortunatley it’s not! And unfortunatley that little miscomunication is what gets people sucked in to having to go and have them selves put infront of the sales reps, to do what it is they were hired to do, SELL SELL SELL, and it is their job to play hard ball, and unfortunatley many people especially young girls fall victim to peer preasure and hard handedness… Like I said, the problem is not that you can’t just walk out, it’s that you have to have a swim with the sharks before you have the chance to say no! So to anyone who has been bulldozed into signing a contract, get yourself strait to consumer affairs, they will be more than happy to help out, and give you the information you need, also, if you gave them a credit card go into the bank and tell them the card was stolen, they will issue you a new card with a new number, stopping them from taking any further transactions from your card. And to anyone who needs my help and I haven’t replied strait away it is due to only getting the internet hooked up in my own home recently, so I appologise, but I will now be checking this site alot to make sure I can help out as much as I can.
Always watching…
The Mole
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to the mole,
my boyfriend entered in a comp for this “free” photo shoot at a shopping center like so many others and has booked me in for a shoot tomorrow and am taking my sister in law who has 2 little ones along for a bit of fun, i asked repeatedly over the phone and even called back twice to make sure i wasnt going to be stung with any extra fees and i have been re-assured that the only extra charge is $95 cancellation fee to pay for free-lace photographers, stylist etc….we do not have a credit card (thankfully!) but my boyfriend has handed over his regular bank account details, is this going to be a problem? please reply ASAP as we are going to the photoshoot tomorrow evening and i would like to know before hand…
thanks!
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The Mole reply on January 8th, 2010:
To Almost a customer, please note that it is a little bit trickier if you hand over your bank details as its not practical to just go in and close off your account, but what you can do is try and find out what bank details they use, take them to your bank and tell them you do not wish for anyone from that account to take money out, also if they try to hold you to it, get yourself into consumer affairs strait away, because it is illegal to hold somone over a barrel to come back to view the photos of something that is labled as “free” infact it is actually illegal for them to make you lock in with the 95 dollars also as you do not have any obligation to something that again is labled “free” they have been in trouble with consumer affairs before but promised they had cleaned up, but all they really did was try and find a better loop hole, but don’t worry, there are more people like me, and I will be starting a facebook page dedicated to taking these people down once and for all, I will post the link once it is ready to all who want to join me :)
Always Watching
The Mole…
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http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?ref=profile&id=100000618279532
Thats the link to the facebook, I did have a really pretty banner to put up, but apparently my computer HATES ME! anyway, I’m added under the alias of Gregory Host, so please, as I said before, feel free to add me and help the cause :)
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BS Artist reply on January 8th, 2010:
Sorry Mole, I had to delete a whole lot of those comments as it looked rather awful. left that last one though.
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The Mole reply on January 9th, 2010:
Thats ok BS, I was hoping someone could, they really just weren’t working they way I wanted them to, oh well, hopfully people click the link and help out, it’s about time someone took this fight to the strets, innocent people are being conned into debt, it’s time to stop!
Always Watching
The Mole…
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