Complaints

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• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/25/2024

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I took 26 screenshots, each numbered and titled so you can quickly see the nature of the picture. One email contains a link where I registered. The winner had to put down a deposit to schedule the shoot. I'm almost sure that there was no language about it being non-refundable. Even if it does, I don't think that matters because of the agreement we had. The initial call referenced involved her saying all the same things in the offer letter (#s 6-9 "Shoot Email"). That's when she made a very obvious sales pitch, a production about how wonderful each thing you must pay for is. It ended up being the "deal of a lifetime" for 2k. I thought that was extremely expensive and said that wouldn't be an option. She was able to "get it down to" 1k. I said I would be unlikely to pay that since I won a "free" session and I was not paying for any shoots (I was getting paid). She said she would refund the $200 I had to put down; I am pretty sure she wrote it in one of these messages. I have asked her to send me the $200 nine times, and I have been beyond patient. My last message was a bit catty, but this is frustrating, and it's clear she's trying to get out of the agreement. The email didn't go through, so she probably blocked me. I sent the same message to her via IG messenger. These companies exist to mislead people into thinking they won something and then pressuring them into a sale. In this instance, suddenly, it's broken up into a thousand costs that have to be covered, and the winner only gets one thing for free. It's just a slimy thing to do, and I'm sure most aren't willing to go to the effort to make her stop this practice. She's selling an intimate session primarily to attract first-time models. Likely a more vulnerable group. When I started I was paying to build my profile. Not one person has had all these various fees. I want her to pay me both because she agreed to a refund and because of the basic principle of being a decent human.

  Business Response

  Date: 11/11/2024

  [[BBB transcription via email, see attachments]]

   

  Ms. ******** applied for a model call I had put out offering a free session fee (with a minimum investment on products, so a discounted overall total). We communicated as I normally would with any client, combing over every detail twice with ample communication to let there be no confusion about any of the steps! however she continued to put off signing the actual contract and as the shoot became closer, she began bullying me to attempt to get an even larger and more than 50% off discount on my service. We had agreed on things and then she would flip the script again, complaining that she didn't deserve to pay the agreed upon said price. She ultimately ended up canceling her session ten days before. Meaning her deposit, that was stated no refundable SEVERAL times over the phone and in writing, in ads and emails, was spent as she understood it had been, on professional hair and makeup deposit, and the reservation of a shoot location, had been long spent on her session. In my contract, there is a $500 cancelation fee that close to your session (she booked 6/9, canceled 7/10, shoot was set for 7/21) however she had not signed the contract because she was insistent on bullying me into meeting her demands and essentially working for her for free. Given that had been so rude to me, I decided to refund the deposit assuming that since she had not signed the contract like a professional, I would face some unfair backlash for not being more insistent before on her signing her contract immediately. ****** learned. However, even with the loss of that investment and income, I was going to eventually earn back the $200 to refund her- I lost my friend tragically and unexpectedly at the very beginning of August and had to take the past few months away from my business to grieve, as being a hype woman and showing someone their most gorgeous glittering self does not come easy when your heart is in tatters on the floor. I communicated amply with ********, however she was very rude and made me feel like I was a scam artist and a fraud. I have help at least a hundred other model calls, I have worked hard to ensure there is no confusion on ANY part. I even communicated that I had lost my friend, taken time off, and she did not lighten up on me at all. At this point, it's no longer in my interest to appease and compensate FROM MY OWN POCKET a woman who has sought to take advantage of me & bully me out of my own empowerment. As kind as I've tried to be, fate was not on my side, and I have to uphold this policy. She had plenty of awareness of pricing structure, the deposit conditions and purpose, and plenty of time to tell me she could not financially make that happen. She chose to try and hurt my business and bully me out of my worth instead, and then couldn't even have any empathy or patience with all of the honesty I gave her. I am truly sorry this has been such a headache for everyone involved, my policies have changed even tighter thanks to ********, and deposits will be automatically refunded if the contract is not completed within 24 hours of our booking phone call. that was my error in judgement and trusting, but unfortunately my policies have to be upheld because my business just does not have the capacity for this extra expenditure. As our communication was spotty and all over the place, I converted every bit of text correspondence into a pdf so you don't miss anything, however, the voice memos and phone calls that apparently I should start recording, but haven't yet, won't be here.