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Sharon Hale and Linda Cook from Cardiff

Companies offering a makeover followed by photographs taken in a professional studio, is a growing trend – you can walk away with some nicely airbrushed photographs looking like a super model.

But when X-Ray viewers, Sharon Hale, Linda Cook and Sarah Hughes tried their hand at posing for the camera with New ID Studios in Cardiff last year, they came away more angry than attractive.

Sharon, who is partially sighted, told us she was sold her package after a representative cold called at her front door, “I couldn’t see what it said on the brochure. And she read all through the brochure and I said: what’s the catch? And she said there was no catch!�

She handed over £50 for a day of pampering and photograph for two, but when she booked in for her and her friend Linda - New ID wanted another £50 as a refundable deposit in case they didn’t turn up.

Linda also told us, “Included in the package was supposed to be a glass of bubbly - well they couldn’t even give us a cup of coffee because they didn’t have any milk there.

“[There was] supposed to be a head massage, well that turned out to be a conditioner that they put on our head, then full facial was, for Sharon baby wipes and for me nothing.

“But that aside, they did cut our hair and it was excellent.

After four hours the weather had turned bad and the ladies wanted to leave, but they were told they couldn’t have the £50 reimbursed, unless they went ahead with the photo shoot.

So they spent the next hour posing, after which they were shown into another room where they were expecting to pick up their free photographs. But Linda said she was told there’s no such thing as a free photograph.

Linda told us, “A beauty experience, whether a haircut or make up should be a pleasurable experience not something where you go inside a building and you feel like a prisoner that can’t get out.�

They refused to hand over any more money but ended up paying £45 for a CD with a photo of each of them on. New ID took the payment from their deposit.

For Sarah Hughes from Port Talbot, though, it was a different story.

She was bought a package for her 30th birthday as a present and took along her mum. She told us they enjoyed their makeovers and the photo shoot.

But afterwards they were also taken into a small room and asked to choose between photos. “We were told that we couldn’t have our three photos that we’d already paid for [or] the complimentary ones, [and] that we would have to do a package if we wanted more photos.

“It was all kind of confusing, throwing all these figures at us. I didn’t quite understand what was going on, you know.�

Tired of saying no, she ended up reluctantly forking out £450 for 14 photographs on a CD, which meant that altogether Sarah paid out £550 for something which should have been a present. And the CD then took six months and a lot of nagging to arrive.

She told us it’s left her feeling bitter, “[I] just feel gutted about the whole situation. What could’ve been a lovely experience has just been a lot of hassle.

“My friends are obviously gutted that they bought this as a birthday present for me as a lovely experience and this has come out of it and all this hassle to follow.�

We asked Consumer Direct for their advice. Jamie Roberts told us, “The key is to remember your rights. Remember you are not under any obligation to say yes. You can say no without feeling rude.

“Sellers sell, it’s their job to try and sell you a product and they will try and get you to say yes. The key is to realise you don’t have to say yes. You don’t have to offer an explanation as to why you are saying no.�

We contacted New ID studios and told them about Sarah, Sharon and Linda’s concerns. In their response they say they are extremely sorry.Ìý

They admit that in the two isolated cases we bought to their attention their customer services policy was not effective. They say they take complaints very seriously and have apologised to these customers and they have been fully refunded.

They explain that their pricing policy is clearly displayed in all studios, and on their website. They frequently run offers and promotions, and as a result, the price someone pays for a package of images will of course change when a promotion launches or expires.

They point out that because of the nature of the business, goods are all personalised to the individual. As with any photographic printing, once the order has been placed and production has begun, it is only of use to the individual who has ordered it and cannot be sold on to anyone else. For that reason, if a customer then cancels an order after it has been placed, they are not entitled to a refund.

If any of our customers are not entirely satisfied with the service they receive, their terms and conditions clearly state a contact number, email and web address for customers to contact.

New ID Studios say they have in excess of 50,000 people experiencing their makeovers every year and unfortunately these are two cases that have not had the same positive experience that they know their guests receive.Ìý