Monday, August 29, 2005

We're Naughty by Nature too!

From a fellow Internet user...

blessed Mum said...
Hi.today is 23rd July 2008.

One Good news to all you guys who was force [SIC] to buy from this company. I just brought them to Court and won!! Yeah! Full refund was ordered by the court! Yipee!

12:42 AM


Last week, I received a call telling me I had *won* a free makeover with 2 complimentary shots from Naughty By Nature (nbyn). Then I asked the lady where she'd gotten my contact from - she mentioned Taka/Wisma - one of those shopping centre lucky draws. The problem is - I can't remember the last time I actually went shopping at these two places and filled in a lucky draw coupon for a *free* makeover! So I kinda knew - go there, they make u up, make u happy, take photos, then make u spend ALOT OF MONEY to buy their products. Where got free lunch?

So I made an appointment for the family shoot (which they happily obliged - a further confirmation that they want our money - otherwise it'll strictly be for ONE person only) for last saturday. We went there, and saw a rather spacious place. When we proceeded to the makeup room, there were A MILLION PEOPLE in the changing room. All won lucky draw? (I'll explain their overall marketing strategy later). So we wanted to reschedule - as advised by our 'Image Consultant' Joanne. Quite a nice girl although super heavily made up - Abby kept wanting to be carried by her! Abby took to her, much to our surprise (and pleasure). Abby was a darling throughout the whole shoot! Kept laughing, clapping, and just ready to exhibit her full vocabulary and signs! We didn't reschedule as the crowd suddenly disappeared and they did my make up while Ben & Abby watched. We took our 'casual' shot and Abby looked the best - as usual.

After taking about 80 shots, we had another look - the langar formal look. I had a purple evening gown on that hid my bulging belly, Abby had a semi-formal sun dress (ok, not *that* formal) and Ben and a black striped shirt with a *tuxedo* coat. Quite an 'interesting' combination - upon hindsight.

Took another gazillion shots.

Later, we sat down infront of their mega flat screen Imac (which they boasted about later) and previewed the pictures. After viewing, the image consultant asked 'Which book (refering to size) do you want?" Ah-hah! Start of opening sales talk. Before that, NO mention of albums at all. Sigh. We've been through a 'package' wedding to know what's gonna hit.

Although when I first visited their website and didn't like what I saw - very different from what I've been used to - the 'Coverlooks' style - those hip in the 90s will know which studio I'm referring to... heh. Clean, simple, no fuss look. This one, quite a bit OTT. :S But as we saw the photos, there were so many which Abby looked so good in! So we thought, okie, perhaps we'll take a few we like, pay for the extra, have it loose so we can frame them up for our new place, and get out of that place.

But noooo...

The manager soon came over and threw us the entire LOT of their marketing strategy. First, he said - just for the SMALL album - exercise book size - dunno which 'R', we pay $2000 plus! But, (but!) if we have some ABCD credit card, we don't have to pay that price, we just pay $1600plus! But since we want to go for loose prints (manager calculates and jots down) we just pay $1188! for a limited no of prints! OH! And on top of that, we'll get the *privilege* card(!) Wah! So special hor! Imagine that! Member leh! Not everyone can do that coz they only accept referrals (we have to betray everyone on our contact list, pretend it's not us while they call them and bluff them to come down for a 'free' makeover that costs one month's salary for some people and make them 'lifetime' members while we'll get $100/$200/$300 commission depending on the number of successful suckers referrals). Although they claim they do not accept walk-ins, how come their site got FREE TRIAL OFFER also? (Go get ur two free shots and get out of the place if u're interested!) They won't accept money thrown in their face meh? Anyway, they also offer to re-shoot *properly* unlike this trial so that we'll have more to choose from, and can go back every year for a shoot FOR A LIFETIME (that's in the member's privileges) (I wonder who'll live longer - them or their customers) and got two free makeovers every year also! Before going to D&D or some fancy function, go there then they paint your face for you - whether to your liking or not - that's subjective lah. As long as they happy can already. So, how? Wan buy or not?

"OH. But if you walk out of this place not buying, I'll have to shoot you," implies the manager.

So after the image consultant tries to unsuccessfully spend half an hour of our lives poorly photoshopping our photos (their designers too busy lah. Business too good.) then claims that her skills are poor, by then the pregnant mother with slumbering daughter in her arms was too weak/too hungry/too upset because of hunger/and with a bursting bladder. So I nicely passed the daughter over to the father and excused myself to go to the toilet after Ben tries to ask the manager if we could have some time to consider. The manager shook his head. "No, if you leave here, the offer will lapse." Wah. Scared. Ben explained that we've got a very hungry first trimester pregnant lady who NEEDS TO EAT OR ELSE SHE'LL BITE OFF THE HEAD OF THE MANAGER and the manager kinda relented. Said, nearby got kopi-tiam, mac's, etc.

So I went to the toilet. And during then Ben explained (being a nice guy) that it's been a long day and we really need to eat (it was past abby's meal time - about 3.10pm already - we were there since noon) and the manager actually said, "Well, the procedure to purchase takes only ten minutes. If you buy now then all of you can leave and have your lunch already!" Last try tactic. "Well, we'll really need to discuss," Ben insists. "If so, then I'm afraid I'll have to delete ALL YOUR PHOTOS if you walk out that door," threatens the manager. "Ok." replies Ben, unruffled.

Wah. Hero!

That kinda knocked the wind out of the manager a little. "Oh, then I think you and your wife better go have lunch first and discuss." He was shocked. His tactic backfired. YAY!!!

So the wife and the hero, together with the babe in arms, descended the scary flight of stairs and went for lunch. When we came back, we declined the package (as expected) and got our two free shots, unedited. Image consultant says that CDROM is scratch proof! Must be the ultra special Imation CD-R that won't even come in an envelope.

So the Image Consultant chose two photos - one of happy Abby and the other one which she tried to mutilate us (didn't need much effort lah). I was thinking of Xiaxue-who-has-fantastic-photoshop-skills-and-barely-saved-the-scary-Furong-Jie-Jie while she edited our family portrait (hoping that XX can salvage whatever was being destroyed...).

Image Hosted by ImageShack.us
Edited to protect Abby's modesty!

Image Hosted by ImageShack.us

So, if you want TWO(!) free photos and are strong enough not to part with your hard-earned money, go ahead, fill in the form (as long as you're not a student or unemployed - they say they dowan this kind) and SMILE! :S

P.S. Oh. Other studios charge about $100 for such packages. Nbyn claims to be the largest studio and charges about $200-$300 more than the other studios and have 400 over studios in singapore (YAH RIGHT!) and is opening up in KL, Africa or Egypt or somewhere really far away, and has 'potential'!! So they say. And they even offer to train and employ your nieces and nephews to be their image consultants and pay them $1.2k a month plus commission. Ah. That's why Joanne wasn't happy when we left.

P.P.S. Most makeover studios don't last very long. Coverlooks - one of the best, has come and gone. (Update: Oops, they are still around. Paiseh.) Glamourshots, I think is also still around. Don't really know the rest coz can't be bothered. Oh, there's Picture Me and a whole million bridal studios who're ever ready to do your photos as well as really good photographers. So if they (nbyn) offer LIFETIME PACKAGE you must recommend enough successful referrals to sustain their business so that you can go back every year. Otherwise, no refund hor.

Update: Anyway, for those people who have nothing positive to comment, pleaase do everyone a favour - don't comment. Those nasty stuff outta your lips/mind/fingers will only serve to reveal your character. Also, if you're really that gutsy, don't be a coward - leave your name instead of remaining anonymous.

115 comments:

Patrick said...

Wahahaha interesting story... Too bad i got no wife or GF to take photo shot with me... Lolz... If not follow ur style and go take free shots... =)

M said...

LOL! $1+K is crazy. Great free shots though! :)
Hey u can bring to Kodak to scan- make copies for ur wallet or something :) .

M said...

BTW *they* chose the free shots? Cos Abby's err, bloomers, are showing- why did they choose that (or didn't crop off)?

Audrey said...

Patrick, it's actually meant for individual shots. U can go also! No need wife or girlfriend one! They doing 'favour' for us by allowing us to take family portrait.

Mel, yah, they chose - or rather the pretty young (read: inexperienced) image consultant chose. They gave us the images - and sadly, most pictures had her showing off her bloomers! :P

Da Froggie said...

Sorry...hor...I think the pics are damm crass...I can do better...

Unknown said...

Congrates! You managed to get 2 free photos and get out of that place alive!

With digicams and photopapers so cheap nowadays, I don't see any reason why anyone should fall into their trap!

katongking said...

I got the same call a few weeks ago, and decided to let my wife try it out. She was quite excited about it, but we were both quite wary about what was the catch.

Long story short, she got her make up done, all dressed up, and about a hundred photos taken. Then the hard sell began. Fortunately my wife is extremely thick skinned, and she can say 'No' when she has to. There was a Brit guy trying to work his charm on her (As part of the sell), and when that didn't work, he got progressively nastier. And a two hour shot ended up taking 5.

She finally got the two photos out of it on a CD. So she came back home and showed me the photos. The make up was quite bad, and I had to do some of my own photoshopping to get it to look better.

All in all, not a pleasant experience. Someone ought to report these guys.

Audrey said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Audrey said...

Katongking,
I think it breaches (CASE) Unfair Practice using pressure tactics to sell their products. Abit like Time-sharing. They're not the only ones using this strategy - we encountered a few bridal boutiques who do likewise. Yah, we saw the Ang Moh guy. Ours was the tall Indian guy.

BBBBBBB said...

Noooooo another unscrupulous business! But this is the ultimate lor! Lucky your husband was there to help also. Some women are more soft-hearted. Bleah. Actually I'll just walk out and say nonononononono.

the spear carrier said...

hi, surf in here via tomorrow.sg. Your husband looks very familiar, but i cannot recall where i get to know him. Does he serve in the artillery or studied in GMSS? hmmm... he is too familiar a face but i seriously cannot recall.

btw, congrats on your next one coming. but as your 1st is still young, hope u will be mentally and physically prepared to deal with 2 young children. They can literally drained all energy out of you 2, turning you into zombies that can't recall their surname when asked... and i ain't joking

Anonymous said...

hey, thanks soooo much, Naughty by nature approached me too, on the phone duh! so natuarally, i would go check out if it was a scam:) and i chanced upon your blog!! and now, the truth is finally revealed!! ha!! those scammers!! saved my 2 hours so i can go for tuition now! really, your blog saved my time, and voice( or i'd be shouting my head off there) who knows, i can even get an A for my prelims cause i can save time and study!! hee, thanks a million again:)

Audrey said...

Hi Cherie!

You're most welcome! Well, we didn't buy anything, so we don't really have a case against them (pun intended). So the next best thing? BLOG!! =D I'm glad you found it useful! :) All the best for your prelims! =D

Anonymous said...

CONSUMER PROTECTION (FAIR TRADING) ACT
(CHAPTER 52A)

SPECIFIC UNFAIR PRACTICES

12. Taking advantage of a consumer by exerting undue pressure or undue influence on the consumer to enter into a transaction involving goods or services.

Hey hey... we should report them to the police!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Audrey said...

Yup! But we didn't purchase anything... I don't think we have a case to begin with. I read somewhere that businesses are not allowed to threaten to withdraw their offer when the 'consumer' wants some time to decide. There's also a 'cooling off' period - but I think that applies to time-sharing only. Not sure about that.

rinaz said...

Ick, thats not nice, trying to use tactics like that to sell something. I mean if they are good, they wont need to resort to these type of tactics.

Actually coverlooks are still around, in fact they opened a new location at city hall just recently. I took some photography lessons and am going there for a makeover with a friend. We got for ourselves a voucher for a makeover, photoshoot and free 2-4R pics.

:)

Naughty by nature? I dont think I'd ever go there. Saw their portfolio ... Am not impressed ...

Cal said...

Hi hi, this is Carol. They call themselves professional ah?!!! Sorry, I think your family portrait is below par, the lighting sucks, think I get kav to retake for you (not trying to sell his services ah). You thinking of taking another pregnant shots with baby number 2?

Anonymous said...

WOW! i though i was the only one. Well, for me it is a worse case. I was ask to build an additional html page for them. Upon completion of the html page and uploaded, NBYN's boss decide to slash the promised price by half and tell me to take it or the deal is off.
Such a disppointment on how they handle people.

Anonymous said...

lol you poor people..cannot afford a measley album ? LOL

Anonymous said...

Hi,

I chanced upon your blog and would just like to share. I was recently a "victim" of the same company's sales tactics and bought the $2288 package. I regretted it the very next day and wanted to cancel. The customer sales manager told me i can't! The bank is also unable to help me stop the payment to these guys.

Now I am hoping that CASE can help me get a refund. Apparently, I was not the first to make such a complaint on the company!

Actually, I don't mind spending the money. I just don't like feeling like I've been exploited. I want to spend my money happily. And honestly, I rather spend the $2288 on something else!

In any case, there is little else I can do now except to cross my fingers and hope that CASE can help me get my money back. I wish I had read your blog earlier.

Anonymous said...

i oso received a call from nbyn..due to go down tomorrow for the makeover supposedly won from a 'lucky draw' which i hav 'won' from the great singapore sale last year!!! i could barely recall wat i hav bought that time coz i din really joined in the sale. i was very skeptical abt the whole thing even though i made the appointment to go down. there was no letter & after i knew the company name, i did a google search to see if other ppl oso encountered such a thing. after reading ur story, think i wanna cancel the appointment. :S i could have made use of the time after i knock off to rest instead.

Anonymous said...

wahhh....thanks for the sharing...I just called by them this afternoon and set an appointment tommorrow...I dun think I wanna go ^^'

Anonymous said...

hihi..i got a call from nbyn today telling the same old thing about winning a free makeover. thank goodness for your blog post!

Anonymous said...

its boil down to $$$. its just too bad ur family cant afford it, i believe they didnt force u to buy right? so get on with life losers

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the blog entry! I was supposed to go to the makeover in the evening! I think you had saved many people hard-earned money!This company should stop doing this!I hope someone will report this.

stars in the sky said...

hullo, i got this call too. thank goodness i googled nbyn and found ur blog entry. thanks for sharing! =)
God bless.

Anonymous said...

Just because you feel that way don't mean that everyone else who goes in will end up like you. Save your comments and get on with life instead of ranting about your "bad" experience there. You're feeling sore because you can't do something nice for your family.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for sharing your experience.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for exposing such unscrupulous so called image consultants. This type of company should not operate in Singapore. They are real cheat.

Anonymous said...

Thank goodness I googled and found this first.

Anonymous said...

Got my 2 free shots and walk out of the place....very hungry and tired! People without strong will power cannot go there...will get 'suckered' to purchase something they do not need. Also, if you happen to tell them that you are a banker, they will quote you a higher package: $2800! I wonder how the CASE is taking action....really don't want to see innocent people cheated. Betty

Anonymous said...

THANK YOU for writing about this! I got a call from them today saying I won in the same draw (couldn't remember entering any competition like that though and all their answers to my questions were so vague). This saves me the hassle of even thinking about the offer! Your descriptions of how you guys dealt with them really made me laugh - GOOD for you. These kinds of companies need to remember that not everyone is a sucker. And it's wonderful that you got your two shots at the end. Your family looks great and the little one is a natural in front of the camera, that's for sure. Thanks again! :)

Anonymous said...

HI, thank for sharing... My bf gotten a call fr them yesterday n we were scheduled to go down today... But yah, I had some doubts and decided to check.. great.. now the truth is out.. I can use the afternoon to work on our newly acquired flat and save the $$$ for our reno... :)

lastly... hugs to your 2 adorable little ones... :)

Anonymous said...

Gee!!! I wish I read your blog earlier... but it's too late for us. In fact, our photoshoot with nbyn was last year (in Dec), and we've already paid deposit of 800+. After we left, we felt really terrible, cuz we went on a weekday after work, and were there from 6pm to 10:30pm! I was so faint, and my hubby had gastric pains. A week later, we decided to give up our deposit, and just forget the whole thing and treat it as an expensive lesson, but recently, we received a letter from them demanding for the outstanding payment! Any idea what if there has been any luck with the CASE complaints against them?
=(

Audrey said...

Gosh! I'm sorry to hear that they are doing such a terrible thing! Have you received any services from them? Or just paid the deposit but not serviced yet? If you want CASE's intervention, you've gotta be their member, which is quite a simple procedure really. They could represent you if you have a valid case. Hope it works out fine! :)

Anonymous said...

I got a call from Naughty By Nature and googled about the company and found your blog entry.

Thank you for posting this entry up.

Best wishes for yr family

;)

Anonymous said...

Hi! Thanks for the blog...I am already dressed today and picking some dress to bring along with me...and since my appointment is 1pm and it is only 10, I decided to search the place and the company, coz, afraid that something bad would happen to me because I am keeping this a secret to my husband. Good thing I happened to read your blog and so thankful that internet exist and so as people like you...I sms them already and told them that I am cancelling my appointment.

I am keeping this to my husband because he, himself is studying photography and would surely get lonely if I tried someone else have my picture taken...anyway he i better than the one who took your pic I guess..

Thanks so much again!

VanJo

Anonymous said...

AlmOst gOnnA cOn By TheM...OuGht 2b CaRefuL..iTs lIKE tImESharINg..

GoD bleSS u

Anonymous said...

Thanks god i goggle upon your blog. i just got a call from them and was schedule for tmr's appointment. i'm going to give it a miss.

Anonymous said...

Today is 14 Sep 2006. One of the post mentioned a gentleman was there in Dec 2004. I wonder how an organisation can sustain for close to 2 years with such business tactics. I received a call yeaterday with the exact same story. For two years, no innovative advancement??? Appreciate all the sharing of experiences and i'm am definitely not going to waste my time. Save wasting my money. Thanks everyone.

Anonymous said...

i would like to recommend the makeover studios in City Square JB,which is a lot a lot cheaper n nicer than sin's makeovers,therefore,don waste ur hard-earned money on that stupid ex package in sin

Anonymous said...

HappyGoLucky said.....
Hi....I was one of the weak ones that got sucked into buying the package. CASE can't do much cos' NByN made u sign without telling and letting u see the contract...so the clauses are non refundable, non-cancellable and non transferrable. I felt cheated but CASE said consumers got to be wary and read the contract before signing. Anyway, went for a re-shoot...and it turned out to be very good, in fact I am rather happy with all the shots and the effects that they put in. My daughters have made use of the free makeup lessons and makeover before a function and they were happy with the outcome. NByN was already warned by CASE not to use the hard sell method but I don't think they ever bother. I am still making full use of their services. AFter the CASE complaint, they are more careful when I called for appointment. One tip I can share to any of u wanting to try, even with some spa or beauty package. Before u start with any of these freebies as they claimed, just tell them directly on their face that:
You don't like to be pressurise to buy their product and u are just here to try. U will always give yourself a few days to consider before buying. If they said, u only have today to consider...tell them u are not interested then.
So far this has worked for me when I go for spa or beauty trials.
Good Luck!!

Anonymous said...

i think everything's up to the individual, some people do feel that they can benefit from NbyN's offers and other privilages, so they may choose to buy their albums. every company is after money and fighting for survival, NbyN is just another one of them. in any case, i dont feel that any party should be blamed (or flamed) as long as the customer did what he/she wants and made a decision without regrets; be it buying or not buying an album from NbyN (:

Anonymous said...

Hello guys.. The story is interestin. Best of all im workin thr as a telemarketer. Just gt fired recently. E company is so damn lame. And furthur more its insultin for me to work thr as all i have gt to do is to cal up peepz and tell them e make over is totally free.. and we won pursued them to buy ani of our packages. Nt till i knew that e package cost thousands of dollars. Well im really glad tat u ppl know well abt this damn company. So pls dont bother entertaining any of their cals.

Anonymous said...

Like to share my story for your amusement & entertainment.

Basically I made an appointment but couldn't go at the last minute. Over the next few days, they kept calling me. It happens that each time I wasn't able to take the call & I also didn't return their call.

Which is just as well, because it's been more than a week now, and on average I get 1 call a day from them. There was once I got 3 calls in 1 day.

Can't imagine being chased to "claim my lucky draw prize". I will leave the wise reader to figure what kind of business operation this is.

Sometimes, I wonder if they ever bother to Google & read all these blogs/posts about them?

Anonymous said...

i will post a complaint to CASE. thank u for all the info, they called me earlier.. it saved my trip.

Anonymous said...

i will post a complaint to CASE. thank u for all the info, they called me earlier.. it saved my trip.

Anonymous said...

I got a call from them to go down too. I did my 2 free shots and then on came the hard sell tactics. I was quoted a price of over $3k for the smallest album. I must have looked like some huge sucker that they can con. Anyway, I've had lots of training from rejecting beauty salons hard sell tactics so i managed to get out of the place alive. lol. however, i must say that other than that i actually did have fun at the photo shoot and the photos did turn out really nice for me. :)

Anonymous said...

I got a call too saying that i have won a lucky draw and they kept insisting that i bring over my husband.....and i did sense something fishy about the whole thing.I have an appt. with them this afternoon and it was only sometime back that my hubby decided to search more about them and came across ur blog.
now i have decided to cancel the appt.
thanks to my hubby and all the others who have posted their comments and saved ny week end.

Anonymous said...

Hey Bros and Sisters,

Thanks a lot you have saved me and my family a trip to circular road. I travel a lot for my job, and they have been chasing me for last two months and at last I made an appointment today - June 3rd 2007. As I was getting ready with my family, I thot I should check for any scam (as I was smelling one), and now I have decided not to go there.
Cheers

Anonymous said...

I was tricked into signing a package for over S$4K on 2 Jun2006 and I went back the next day to cancel. They refused.
I am praying to Father God that He will move the Management to cancel my order and cancel my credit card instalment.
I know that I am a fool to fall into their pressure selling

Juliet Pang said...

Thank God for your writeup. I'm about an hr away from the makeover session which i was so sketptical about that i decided to check forums. The funniest thing was they had to ask for my surname. That would never happen should i have filled up any lucky draws! I like your sense of humour. God bless you and your lovely family.

Anonymous said...

Hey,guess this is so long before you posted this but nbyn suckerface shop nearly tricked my mother out of hard selling tactics. The people started saying that we are too poor for such a thing which is ridiculous. We wanted to purchase but we had to leave at that time. Worst still, they don't tell us the price until we 'select' the albums!

Anonymous said...

Thank you Mdm, I really want to thank you. I got suspicious when told that I was 'lucky' to be selected by them from the Great Singapore Sale just now. They gave me the same details as given to you to attend the photo taking tomorrow(12/7) at 7pm. I wondered why, among so many handsome men and beautiful ladies, they want my photo for Singapore? So I checked by clicking their company name and I got to know 'so much' about them now. And you should know what I am going to do tomorrow. Thank you again. I am NOT going.

Anonymous said...

Hi there:

today is 12th july 2007, like everyone else, i got the phone call with the usual sales call. I was traveling and only managed to make appointment tonight.

oh a new tactics they are using, instead of using Naughty By nature name, they used "NbN" to make google harder. Unfortunately the lady accidentally mentioned the full name, which lead to your site after google.

thank you for posting this. it sure save my time traveling there and the effort arguing with them, which i reckon will not be worthy for the 2 free shoots.

Anonymous said...

Wished i had read your blog earlier. i felt cheated as my client is one of the photographer there and he invited me down to discuss with him about some new policies( i m an insurance agent). But the minute i reach there, he told me i can get a complimentary make over and bring home 2 pics without having to buy anything and if i just walk in without an appt, they will say bye to me. And the irritating and disgusting part is the britian guy, one of the co owners i think, is VERY agressive. first when i rejected after he said i can pay 169 per month for 24 months with my credit card, he looked at me and say, u said if i can offer u a good price u might take it up. and now i did but here u r telling me this. of cuz my reply was, sorry i m not interested and this is not a good price u are offering.

And then he rebutted, 3k is nothing to me. i am wearing 1k on my feet and i cant even buy ANYTHING with the 3k and insisted that i cant afforf it.

next he showed me a whole stack of namecards of some fellow insurance agents frm my co, including my co's CFO whom he claims is a personal friend of him. but frankly, who cares?

Sorry for the long post, just wanted to vent some frustration as i am very offended by the britian guy who think he is cute and can insult ppl.

Anonymous said...

yea..for all the negative talk of nbyn...u went all the way for 2 free photos man... for 3 hours ?? tthat shows alot of your threshold in your ultimate pursuit of geting free stuff... ahaha...

Anonymous said...

"And then he rebutted, 3k is nothing to me. i am wearing 1k on my feet and i cant even buy ANYTHING with the 3k and insisted that i cant afforf it."?

Goodness, that is SO annoying! I can't stand people who act like money should be spent like water. I like what one of the other comments said about telling them "that I'm just here to try.. and if I have to decide by today, then I'm not interested." Sometimes it can be quite intimidating, especially when they look at you intently and make you feel like you've just wasted their time with all the effort gone into the shoot. But I mantain that a customer should be at liberty to mantain his/her independent consumers choice, void of any sense of commercial rapaciousness.

I just went for a complimentary photoshoot at Photogallery (rival to NbN) and I must say that although they used more or less the same tactics ("you're invited for a free photoshoot", "you can pay by credit card which gives a much cheaper rate", "you should invest in this life-long gift for you and your family), the staffsperson were much more civilised than NBN. They smiled and although did hardsell for a bit, they got the idea after I repeated a few times that I was not going to buy on the spot. That, and their packages certainly don't cost $3k! The highest was 800plus, and either way, my sales consultant Jayet was a wonderful lady who told me that I shouldn't feel pressurised to sign up. One of the managers Daniel also said "It's okay, we understand". So while lifestyle studios might have a bad name, I think as consumers we should realise that it certainly doesn't reflect the entirety of the industry. Not all of them are necessarily the pits of hell.

Anonymous said...

Today is 7th Aug 07 and yes, they called me for appointment. Seem not much changes in their tactics..

A lady called and told me i won this package cos i bought somethg cost 29.90 at one of the 6 shopping centres (she named to me).. Hmm... they really put a lot of effort in bluffing ppl..

Save my trip then :)

Anonymous said...

Today is 13 August 2007, I was at NbyN one week ago. Apparently they are still in business. Same procedure... The make-up was lousy and they made me put on their dirty clothes. Yak! I hate the studio photo too, quality was bad.

Without reading your post beforehand, I walked out alive without committing to any plans they offered (so lucky nei). Simply because the photo they took are really lousy and I won't pay a penny for that!

Just be brave and give them a big NO!

Anonymous said...

Today is 13 August 2007, I was at NbyN one week ago. Apparently they are still in business. Same procedure... The make-up was lousy and they made me put on their dirty clothes. Yak! I hate the studio photo too, quality was bad.

Without reading your post beforehand, I walked out alive without committing to any plans they offered. Simply because the photo they took are really lousy and I won't pay a penny for that!

Just be brave and give them a big NO!

Anonymous said...

oh dear! i just went down and they offered me 3k plus for a book!!! and they only offered you 1k plus, heavens, they are trying to cheat me!!!!

Anonymous said...

GOODNESS i AM SUPPOSE TO GO FOR AN APPOINTMENT TIS EVE...i AM THANKFUL FOR THIS BLOG POST...i CERTAINLY AM GRATEFUL!!! i AM ALSO ANGRY FOR THE IDIOT THAT GAVE MY NUMBER TO THEM..I GOT REALLY SUSPICIOUS WHEN THEY MES ME SO MANY TIMES TO COME DOWN FOR THE MAKEOVER ...SEEMS SO PERSISTENT..THATS WHY I WENT TO SEARCH FOR THEIR DETAILS OVER THE NET...THANKS ONCE AGAIN!!!! GOD BLESS YOUR FAMILY!

Ayu said...

I feel so cheated I wanna cry!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My aunt and I were called up by them too around last year 2006. And same thing, you won free makeover from lucky draw, blah blah blah.. And then at the end of the day pressurized us to buy their package which in the end we did. Omg so stupid!!!! And it's already been over a year now and we still haven't got out album!! We only got the cd of our photos.. I called them again this morning and it keeps asking me to leave a voice message. It doesn't even have a tone and just directly brought me to the voicemail. Omg stupid fucking scammers. I'm discussing this issue with my aunt and we're planning to bring this case to court and sue their ass.
Those with similar cases, maybe we can work something out together.. Dumb ass of a makeover agency!!!!

Gelainza K. said...

whoa! I just got a call fr them ytd to go for a 'paid' makeover package! haaa! Being sceptical and extra cautious abt such, I made a search for this and found ur site. Thanks for sharing and I believe many will benefit from this info here!

Felicia

Anonymous said...

It's Sep 07 and they are still in business. Over two years. Apparently thrives on the same tactics that most scams do; the small catch of big $$$ that justifies those 'tireless' hounding tactics at the end of the day. The trap of vanity and not wanting to part with your own photos. How well they capitalize on and manipulate the human psyche. Luckily today I had the impulse to check out for the remotest possibility of a scam related to such marketing tricks. Am glad it wasn't all that remote. I just didn't feel at ease over the past two days thinking about having to go there and burning my weekend afternoon. I would have gone two days ago if I weren't busy then (ok, vanity speaks out loud). A stroke of luck to have chanced upon your blog, good tidings. In any case 2 hours is too much to bear and I detest hard selling downright. I'm not a photographer, but I would say their portfolio insults even amateurs. NbyN. Yeah, they try to discourage research with such obscure acronyms. Did I hear they are new too? Or at least that was the impression I got. Too bad their bad reputation precedes them online. Spread the word - they shouldn't be in the business and give it a bad name.

Anonymous said...

Hi! I have made an appointment to go down for the 'free trial' tomorrow. Initially, I was a little apprehesive but wanted to go check it out.

I am so glad that I have read your blog. Now I am very sure I won't be going down. Thank you so much! :)

Anonymous said...

Hi, your blog really saved my day!
Thanks a lot for the information as i am about to bring my daughter today, 14 Sep 2007 @4pm.

Jalisa

eliz said...

Whew luckily i googled NbyN to check out what type of 'makeover' place they are. i already felt quite apprehensive of the whole thing especially when they couldn't tell me who recommended me for it (only told me the person has surname Lim). and because im below 21, i'll need my parent's consent or have a family makeover package instead. NOW I KNOW BETTER. they want me to bring my mom cos she has the CREDIT CARD and SPENDING POWER. money cheaters?

Anonymous said...

hey there..
i'm used to work at 'Naughty by Nature'..what i can say is that the company is not worth of going in signing the package..i know everything abt thre tactics..frst of all they will call call n how they get all ur cntcts is actlly from the singtel guideline books contain a lot of citizen telephone numbers..secondly they will say that is a free makeover that u guys wil not pay though its free 4 the frst time, the truth is u guys wil be force by their sweet talk after the photo session cuz there is a package from $1500-$3000 or more 4 u guys to choose from..so lets say u guys get a phone call n say that is from the 'NBYN' or 'NBN'..u wil hv to ask nbyn or nbn stand for?? if they say sumthing which similar to these,'Naughty by Nature' means it gonna be doomed 2 u all alrdy..at first they can be very nice but after that they can be nasty if u guys didnt buy their package..cuz the story now is already in the forum they also wil hv a meeting to chng their tactic on how to attract customer to buy the package..actly all the package wil b given but most priority wil be given for those who sign up more than 3k..all of us in the make up studio were so pity for them who actly came for the makeover and we r not allowed to talk to the customer anything on how they get selected, or wil b sack immediately so we juz talk abt sumting else when customer tried to ask question abt the free makeover..
The thing that really angers me is that when they employ me they juz offered me $1,100 for starting..isn't that so little?? i learnt makeup abt $3000..but at that point of time i dun 1 2 think anything cuz i'm in need of money so i juz took up the offer as a makeup artist over there..and i know i won't be long werking there..as u all know whoever work there can only last than a yr..but i wont regret cuz now i have a stable job as a makeup artist which offers me $1500 with comm..isn't that fantastic cuz i enjoy my werking plc nw..so ppl plz b careful my auntie gotta same trick but luckily i was so fast or else....when i told her abt the studio she go n kol n ask the telmkr abt the free makeoven the package that they tried to sell,quickly the sales staff put tdown the phone n didnt want to call my aunt again..i urge that u all hv to report these matter to the authoruty..im sorry for those who put a deposit there but if u guys wanna a refund,u guys hv to go to court becos before signing the contract u ppl hv to really read the rules n regulations,one of the regulations is there is no refund or u hv to go to court to fight for these case.. so plz beware for these makeover studio..hopefully they wil closed down or else they wil prey a lot of ppl..thnks u..

Anonymous said...

I oso received a call from Naughty by Nature Today (23OCT2007).
As there are so many phone cheats reported in recent months, I was weiry of these phone calls, so I ask whether will I b "force" to sign any package with them. The lady telemarketer was rather polite and told me that if I believe them, I can leave all my $$ and Credit cards at home. Tat was then I feel at eased and make an appointment (Next Fri) wif her.

But the more I think, the more I'm skeptical abt the whole thing, so I did an online search to check the Company out. (Coz still feel tat there's no free lunch in dis world mah!)
Lucky,I found your blog entry and after reading ur story and others' comments, I wanna cancel the appointment.(I know my ears r rather light 1!}

Thanks sooooo much, you have indeed help me and lot of other people.
[Eve]

Anonymous said...

Today 26 Oct 07,I was harrassed by one of these guys too. 7:50pm got a missed call, called up NbN a guy ans. same tactic again - he replied that the person who called me has gone hm n started to tell me abt lucky draw ..... told him I am not interested, said bye in a very sarcastic way and slammed down the phone. So pissed off that I called bk asking for the Manager, a lady ans given the name as JENNIFER TAN n said that she is the Manager there. Shocking enough she is as rude, so I understand why now !!! EMILY

Anonymous said...

Hi all. too bad i'm only reading this now because i went to NbyN this evening. you guys have raised interesting points though:-

1. that the telemarketer is separate from the co. the telemarketer promised a cd of all photos taken and 2 free prints. that was a lie.

2. that a number of complaints have been made to CASE and that their hard-sell tactics haven't stopped.

3. seems to me that the masterminds of the place have hired for themselves quite of lot of young people caught up to work for them and to participate in their schemes. you out there working with them please know that there are companies which work with INTEGRITY and do good profit.

4. and to ALL OF YOU OUT THERE, please read VERY CAREFULLY before you sign anything. start from the standpoint that EVERYTHING can be negotiated and as a weaker contract party (being the consumer), always consider your exit routes.

Emmanuel Alex Wong said...

Thanks to this post I have saved my trip.
They have changed the tactics a little. They will call you and said you are referral by a friend, instead of wining a prize from a lucky draw. Minutes later my friend called me to tell me that he had been pressured to buy an expensive package and unless he refers friends he could not get a discount off the package offered to him. Based on his warning and your post I hope everyone spread the news of these incidents to the public. for those who are immune to these hardselling tactics, take a picture of that British Guy with your handphone and post it up. *bleah

Anonymous said...

i signed up for the package too almost 2 years ago. The WORST thing is that they don't even provide you the service which you have paid for and you can't ever reach them or get appointments ! RIDICULOUS!!!

Anonymous said...

Thanks very much for sharing the valuable information. I am supposed to go there tomorrow, but thankfully searched on google when I got their SMS.
Thanks again.

Anonymous said...

The story I was told was that a friend put my name and cell number in their guest book. And they chose 5 people to receive a free makeover. They wanted me to experience it and then I would go and tell my friends.....very persistent and rude. One lady rang and asked "are you married" "do you work" "do you know lots of ladies here?" SCARY.

Anonymous said...

today is 15th March 2008, suppose to be there at 5pm. but google it and saw this. Was thinking to go experience the hardselling..

Anonymous said...

thanks for posting this! now, confirmed we're not going back. i actually went there yest wif my hubby n 2 baby boys n my very own eye infection. was told dat it'd take 2 hours. we decided not to go ahead cos we'd be missing our aftertn prayers if we agreed.

Anonymous said...

its 22 March 2008, and me too also received a call from them. i cant believe its been going on for so long!

luckily i chance upon this blog, had an appointment with them tomor, but i'll be cancelling it.

their sms included the shop name NbyN, so it was easy for me to google it to check about other people comments. wonder why would they want to leave their shop name if they knew that there are so many complaints about them online. hehe..

anyway.. thanks alot! =) i wont have to waste my time on them.

Anonymous said...

Oh my God!NbyN is still here since 2005? I can't believe it. Just this week I received a call from them. As I have never heard of such a name before, I told them I'll think about it.

Over the next 2days, they called as I didnt want to pick up their call. This lady by the name of Jess kept wanting to fix up an appointment for me but I didn't want to. Apparently she said someone gave them my number but she said she can't find out who as it was just a signature. I wonder who is that idiot. Somehow this lady didnt want to tell me NbyN actually stands for naughty by Nature, insisting its just NbyN

Knowing this has to be some kind of hard sell after the photoshoot, I passed this offer. Furthermore, I have never heard of such a company who does makeovers. I'm glad it's a good decision made esp after reading your story (and others online). I wouldn't want to waste my time just to get 2 photos in a CD.

Anonymous said...

OMG! They NbyN called me yesterday afternoon as well. I was skeptical as there's no such thing as a free lunch. The woman on the phone, Mavis even told me to leave my credit card and cash at home if I am worried I might have to part with my money! After reading countless of BAD experiences by so many people, I think I'm just gonna be a no show for my appointment later. Thank goodness I googled them on the Internet and found your blog and several others with negative comments. I was a freelance photographer as well and yes I must say other than having a proper studio and background, their photography is nothing to scream about.

Tien (Tina) Le said...

Fairy_vn: I think they are making good business. Two days ago (8 April 2008) I still received call from them. This time they have different tactics, saying that somebody has left my HP no with them and the person did sign the form or something but they are unable to reveal who that person is.

Thanks for warning people so that I won't have the unnecessary trouble.

Anonymous said...

Hi Audrey,

Today is 12th April 2008. I will sincerely like to thank you that your blog has been a blessing to many, though it's 2 years late for me. But at this instance, I felt the courage to step out to tell my story.

I wanted so much to declare my victory online once I had it. But in the reality realm I don't seem to see it, so I shall just declare justice is done and Jesus is taking care of it.

My story:
I was forced and pressured to sign a package worth $2888 with NbyN on Oct 2006. I totally regretted after they swiped my card. I asked for a refund on the spot, but they just told me it's not possible. By consumer rights, we have 3 working days to ask for refund. So since they declined my request, I went to CASE, though I got a fraction of the money back, (3digit) but what I want is the full amount. And because of time constraint, I do not have enough time to think if I should take the cheque or to pursue the matter further. Taking the CASE officer advice, I took and cheque but am unaware that I can go to small claim tribunal (SCT). 2 yrs later, a friend told me I should still have a chance for I'm still paying for a service which had not been rendered.

So I tried going to SCT and the process was really smooth, I got it all done and I got the date to meet the registrar 1week later. Praise the Lord.

The day comes... when I'm going to meet the registrar. Though the outcome didn't turn out what I was expecting in the first place, as I did not get back my full payment. The registrar stated that my case had passed the validity date of 1 year. But in a way, I did not lose, because I tried. The guy from NbyN said they are willing to offer me something since I'm still paying.

Last Friday, I called them up, was transferred to this rude Chinese woman and she’s the manager. She took my number and said she will get back to me but I never hear from them.

So today, I called again to speak with someone with authority so that I do not have to repeat my story like an old record. I was transferred to the director. Sorry for cursing Lord, the stupid ang mor, using his sarcastic British accent. Why does it have to be him Lord? His full name is Edward Noel Herbert, the director. I could hardly make out what is he trying to ask me, for his stupid accent. He’s rather rude too, almost shouting at the end, when I just asked to speak to that manager I met up at SCT, he commented ‘he’s ON MC, chicken pox, u understand?’ I wonder where he got his education. As usual, he took down my number and my card number. I just have this feeling he is not going to call at all. I’m glad the call ended, I was fuming mad. I shall pray in tongues. Psalm 96.

Dear folks, I hope if you have similar situation, and do not know what to do? I am most willing to help, to even testify in court if it’s required, for my case had passed the validity date. Though in the natural realm, I’m not able to do anything anymore. We pray in Jesus name that it’s finished! Amen~

Anonymous said...

18 May 2008 - Wow! They're STILL goin strong! As others have said, I'm thankful i came across your blog (and others), cos i'm supposed to go on Monday evening! I think I'll just stand them up... and use my time for something more meaningful!

Anonymous said...

Today, 04/08/2008..i jus went for the trial thingy jus tis very afternoon!! Omg!! It's kinda unbelievable dat tis same old tactic can be used for more than 3 years!!

My story:
Yup, as usual, got tis call from them,(don rem wat reason they gave for havin my no) and arranged for the make-over. My very disappointing impression of this whole NbyN thingy- great before and after ATTITUDES OF THE STAFF!!

And ya, the british guy was super nice and "super sweet" initially, but dat attitude lasted till e very min I said no to e $3K plus package..ha ha..

Guess wat, when I said sorry for not wanting to sign up, his reply: No! I don't feel sorry!! I'm on a biz which earns me half a million (i don rem he said every month or every year)! I feel sorry for u instead!!

Shag..cant describe how humiliated I felt at dat very instant!! Ha ha..

But frankly speaking, i tink they din really put in effort into tis trial thingy..i mean, quality wise, it's really lousy. And believe me, it was all done in a real rush. E main thing was the selling part. Ha ha..

Anonymous said...

hi abby's mummy,
tr.jerreen here...rmb?!haha..was shocked to see your blog when im just searching around for "nbyn"..anyway,feel free to contact me @ hojerreen@yahoo.com.sg ..really miss abby so much,esp upon seeing the photos that i took with her.. =)
cheers!

Anonymous said...

Hi all..
I've heard of nasty comments from NbyN too. But i'm here to share other side of the story.
I went for free trial Oct 07, the shoots were quite well taken and the photograher n the guy who accompanied me (like a choreographer) were v.patient n nice. I had 2 diff images n 1 of them was really diff n i look almost like a model! after 2hrs of photoshooting... comes d hardsell (of coz!).
Quite pushy n keep throwing in albums, freebies, lower price... Finally..after hrs, i bought the package $4K (heartache n regret!!) with 5 albums in total & etc. I felt bad the next whole week, but no choice. so i better quickly made use of it b4 smthing bad happen.
My fiance n i use d smallest album to put our dating photo history into it. The designer changed halfway(which pissed us off) and we got a new designer- she's accomodating. and in 1mth + 2 meet ups, we got our album all printed out nicely. We're happy with d album. :-) We plan to use their photography n album for our wedding. We manage to argue for 2 free make up n free onsite photography on actual day of wedding....
So.. to those who bought it--quickly use it!
To those gg for trials- quite nice experience, but be FIRM with your stand-dun succumb to wat u don't want!!
~Good Luck!
10/6/08

Anonymous said...

http://lwb.lawnet.com.sg/legal/lgl/rss/legalnews/57379.html

Anonymous said...

I survived the same ordeal yesterday. Same tactic they used. However ur blog is much naughtier then them and almost laughed my teeth out! Haha

Cheers!

Anonymous said...

Hi.today is 23rd July 2008.

One Good news to all you guys who was force to buy from this company. I just brought them to Court and won!! Yeah! Full refund was ordered by the court! Yipee!

Audrey said...

Congratulations! Wow! I'm so happy for you! :D

Anonymous said...

28/8/08
my husband n i signed up for a 3k package 2 days ago
now feeling super regret.i din know about nbyn and only surfed online for its info after i got home. we spent 3hrs + there and were hardselled by a sales coordinator and a man and also an ang mo. as the pic they took were quite alright,the sales coordinator was really nice throughout my visit and we were super tired n hungry after 3 hrs+, we ended up signing the package.
blessed mum, how did you managed to get back ur refund?

Anonymous said...

hello, i have received the same call from them today as well. I have asked regarding the FOC trial and this caller actually told me that they may promote some packages to me after the FOC trial so is best not to bring too much money and leave my credit cards home. I find it weird so i checked it out on the web, and thanks goodness your blog have solved my doubts and save me from becoming the next victim...
Thank you for sharing your experience with us...

Anonymous said...

Dear Audrey
The photos here really look cool.May be it is the people inside the picture.hahaha.
I was one of the lucky winnner.I went down to say what is behind that free thing.
The photographer was lovely and friendly and the photo taken was good too.I will say this is one of the best photographer I have ever met in my life time.
Only thing is their poor sales tactices.
I was thinking to pay for the lowest package cos of the photographer effort.
I was thinking Come on.le us be practical.where got such thing as free.But i just want to make sure something before i pay.I asked where did they get my number.They LIED.I asked if I can think of and let them know.And if they talked normally i would payed and take the deal.
But then i saw a cheapskate behaviour which made me say no to them.Felt pity for them.
Beside the sales tactices I have nothing bad to say.But if anything bad behind the scenes the Govt should know.

Lastly would like to tell you being anonymous does not mean no guts.
My intention here same as you to be neutral.
Wish you all the best.
Crocodile Hunter

Unknown said...

waaaaah audrey, you are da bomb man. i also got a call yesterday night by joanne saying that i have been shortlisted to go down for a free shoot. being in sales i thot i should try and find a=out as much as i can la, shortlisted from what list? she cannot answer. where you get my number? taka draw? i told her i never go taka i very poor only go amk hub. then she said no no no my fault its your friend give me one but i cannot reveal the name. come on ah i also in sales think i one big stoop man. but then i ask ask ask all already she said no need anything just go back with the cdrom so in the end i decided to go down today(and i thot i was smart) i have a bad feeling ah to go and check nbyn out, so i did and found you. really thanks alot. i love going home to sleep after work so now i can instead of wasting 2-4 hours of my precious life!

babypanda said...

Wa~ Heng ar~ and really thanks alot for your post!

i also kenna. reject on the phone and still keep calling. ask for company's name and the person erhm, ehh, ahh... force den say something NBYN.
almost forgot about it le~ someone betrayed my contacts lo~ they say got from customer~ biang... who kenna cheated man??

Unknown said...

Today is 4th Sept.
Received their call last Fri and thot it was a good deal although I was kinda suspicious where they got my contact from, especially when they started asking about my job and blah blah blah... why do they need to know that??!!

Discussed with my fren who advised me against it as she has ever encountered those 2k+ "package" thingie... Wow~ that really shocked me, 2k for photos?? No way man, unless I'm getting married...

I din confirm the booking & decided to surf & check since I've finally figured out the name of the company. So this is how I got to this page... I'm SUPER glad I din get tempted and waste time there... can save time for better things to be done.
Thanks a lot for sharing!

Anonymous said...

Went down to NbyN on 4 Sep as I was kinda free... Went thru the entire process.. didnt expect much though have the thought of "no free lunch". I still went ahead. The lady seem nice and one tall Indian guy... The lady seem not very pro... still tell me she is fashion consultant, can't even advice what is nice for me... After taking the photos, she showed me the shoots and then came the HARD SELL... Minimum package was about $3.4K... Though everything looks interesting, I don't like to buy things on the spot and it is at least $3.4K package. so Ex.. When I firmly said NO... finally they relented. I can sense their disappointed and change of attitude... Like not interested to entertain U... Later in the same evening, a friend told me NbyN is sued by Court before.. thank goodness I didnt sign but get my 2 free photos.. haha

Anonymous said...

my appt is tomorrow sept 21, and this is the second time they tried calling me to fix the free trial. Over the phone, i kept asking them wat the "catch", the lady was very sweet n nice in assuring me its totally FREE and no hidden cost. like the rest of you, she said bring yr fav attire or can borrow from them for the adults.

For me, she said i was recommended by one of my frds who tried the service and thot i would like to try the experience too, since its FREE.

After reading all these comments,i decided NOT to subject myself to the hard-sell tomorrow. Esp when i know my ears are soft....hard to say no when im under pressure. HAHAHHA.....

PHEW, save money!!

Anonymous said...

did you know, the owners of Naughty By Nature has opened a wax/nail parlour Wax In The City just next to their make-over studio? they're still using the same intro ("friend"recommended you), same lure (cheap mani/pedi/wax), same HARD SELLING TACTICS. i can't believe they're still at it.
warn all your friends! this is the same SCAM in another guise!
btw how did you get your refund, blessed mom? i went to CASE, and took them to Small Claims Court but failed to get them to pay me back!

Flondem Bikini said...

Hi there,

ITs 2008.. I am another girl who got cheated by NBYN!! Are you able to share with me how I can bring them to case and get a full refund? They quote me 3000 plus!! my goodness.. Please help me...

Kacy

Anonymous said...

I was shocked to see NbyN in my wife's credit card bill. Then I went to search about it and alas, it's a scam. Yesterday my wife and I went to NbyN to get a full refund. They did not budge. Like Kacy I would like to get a full refund. Blessed Mum, could you share with us how to bring them to court and get the full refund?

Anonymous said...

Compared to you, I had a good experience there. I had read this and other blogs, so I was prepared. When I came I said I was in a hurry cos I had to go to the airport (truth is I had to go back to class) and I convinced them to only do the evening shots and not the casual shots. The makeup was decent and I had done my hair in the moring myself, so that went fast. I had about 20 photos taken, of which several were really good. I chose two, got the CD and was out of there in 36 minutes! They did not try to pesuade me into buying anything. Before I left I asked for a price list "to give to my girlfriends in case they were interested". They said they didnt have any price list as such and that the prices ranged from 2000 to infinity. If any of my friends recieve a call from them, then I am going to show them this blog but tell them to go anyways.

Anonymous said...

Thank goodness read ur sharing here,i received a call y'day and was schedule to go over after wrk today. Having some doubts so I googled and found this.Thank god read ur blog here... i m kinda of soft heart .. if go.. sure *die*

cheers! God bless u.

Anonymous said...

Hi, I'm Anonymous from older post dated 10/6/2008.
We bought d package ($4k+) and utilize it. The smallest album is quite nice.
My ROM was in Sept and we got them to do my makeup & photography (no more add. charge)& rented a gown (Daniel Yam; paid $25 laundry fees only). Many pple praised my gown n makeup :-)
NbyN also gg to do my makeup n photos for Wedding Album. Hee.. hope it'll turn out well too.
~25th Nov 08

QQvisage said...

I have always received such calls but can't be bother to entertain them. I have the idea that there is no free lunch in the world. But recently a trial makeover session at "Snapz" studio, prove that my theory is correct :p
The "free 2pcs photos tactic", the pressurize sales tactic, the fake friendliness and the ultimate "er xin" photo,I can tell you...there are the same kind of studio! Probably they are partners too. So guys! Beware...the shop is at No.5 HongKong street! :( they told me that they are moving woh....so be very careful....

Jules said...

Hi Shirley,

Would you help how to get in the process of getting this in the SCT? I'm on my 11th month of paying NBYN and haven't used their service yet. I felt I want a full refund, how can i reach you?

Thanks,

Jules

Dwaeji said...

Help!!
We are also victim of NBYN.
We bought the package last year i think sometime in May or June 2008 and have not utilise their service.
I tried making appointments for their service but was told to wait for 2 months. I get suspicios and wanted to get a refund, but i keep chasing to speak to the owner/so called Boss for almost a month now, still can't get to speak to him.
Many excuse given, he will call me later, tomorrow, next week, etc, he is away overseas, etc.

Can you kindly share with us how to fight this case to Small claim tribunal? I think many people fall on their scamm.

pls contact me at 81818669 if you can help or have similar problem.
We want to get back our money hiks...

Little PigLet said...

Hi everyone, Today is 23 Dec 2009 and I'm a victim too... today my hubby went down to pass the CD to make into album... The worst case happened! The place was in a chaos! everythings gone! and my albums also... i'm going to Small Claims Tribunals to get back my hard earn money...

Anonymous said...

I was called up for a photoshoot by Snapz Image last week. The lady one the phone gave another name. Exec studio. Anyway she sms me the address so i have her number. Her number is 93686116, have fun with it.

Wow lucky I didnt sign up. I went for the photo shoot yesterday, I didnt want to sign up but they were quite persistent till i told them i dont intend to stay in singapore for long. Spend about 1.5 hours trying to left and just get my two photos. Wasted my time but the pictures are quite nice.

Maybe we should get lots of ppl to go for the photoshoot make sure all of them dont sign up. That would pissed them off. Lol

alex said...

Hi All, I'm trying to gather as many people as posible.
Do add in the list for the FB page if you have not like it.
So that we can have a easier communication and update.
Also we can have easier accounting for number of victims.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Snapz-victims/123969507694080

Was thinking of a mass civil suit case against them or wat..
Cos if the SCT and police fail we have to do things our way liao..
was thinking of going to their house...

VM said...

Wow I've just been reading all these stories about NBYN and am soooo glad they've shut down last year! I used to WORK for them and they were really horrible people. The 2 bosses, one is an Indian Singaporean and another, a South African. They also have a young guy Eddy, a British.

I remembered clearly once, there was an old Malay couple who came to the studio, I guessed after being called by the company's telemarketer. They didn't look well off. They were just the normal makcik and pakcik you'd see on the streets. I noticed the makcik even brought her own outfit. Looking at them, you can imagine their eagerness to try a new experience so called promised by NBYN.

One of the directors told me to send them away and I asked why. He said something along the line of them not being able to afford the albums and he wasn't nice about it. I was so shocked, I mean they came, with their own outfits on the hangers all excited yet uncomfortable.

I told my director I couldn't do it and he sent someone else to do it. I just took a walk and cried. They were heartless and that couple could be anyone's parents! Needless to say, after being humiliated, they left. It was a scene I'd never forget.

Desh said...

Hi,

Are they still around? Because my aunt got swindled by them in July 08 and they didn't even give the photos. Only got to know about it today because my aunt says if i can find them it'll help her alot financially.

Audrey said...

Hi! No, unfortunately (or should it be fortunately?) they've closed down. They closed several years back.