In March 2016, my dad excitedly let me know he had won a “Premier Photographic Experience valued at $500″ from Premier Studio (premierstudio.com.au) by entering a competition in the HIA Perth Home Show. Given I have two young daughters, he was looking forward to getting some family portraits of them for his home. I took it on board to arrange a time suitable for all of us.
Within a few days I called Premier Studio to see what $500 worth of photography would get us. The voucher already mentioned a weekday appointment would cost $100, with a weekend appointment costing $200. I was happy to take a day off work to make the most of the voucher. For some reason Premier Studio were extremely hesitant to disclose what could be purchased with the voucher. Stating my dad had to call and get a personalised package, as it depended on where he placed it in his house, and over different furniture.
It was only at the end of the call that Premier Studio mentioned $350 is the price of their smallest framed photo which was 10″ by 8”. I mentioned this to my dad and we agreed a nice photo of the two girls would be ideal.
I was aware that my dad had to be present since he had the voucher. I thought I would take the girls with him to get the portrait, leaving my wife home to get some time to herself and a chance to study. When I called to book the appointment with Premier Studio, things took a strange turn. Premier Studio insisted that the whole family needed to be present, I mentioned that it was difficult due to a full car already, but they insisted that these were part of their terms and conditions. I mentioned that I didn’t remember previously reading about this. When I got home and reread the terms and conditions, I noticed Premier Studio added the additional terms. Below is a screenshot of the additional terms (they also took the opportunity to fix a spelling error).
Premier Studio T&C’s March 2016. View the old T&Cs here.
Premier Studio T&C’s April 2016. The addition of “Premier Studio reserves the right to refuse service if the entire family does not attend the photographic shoot. ”
After Premier Studio changed their Terms and Conditions after speaking to me, we decided we didn’t want to deal with this dishonest company. There was no mention on their T&Cs that they had a right to modify T&Cs.
To not disappoint my dad, we ended up taking our own photos in Kings Park. My dad is very happy.
Update 20th March 2018: Two years later, Premier Studio contacted me via phone and re-offered their Premier Photographic Experience, I declined their offer.
I have also taken this update opportunity to ensure the contents of this review is substantially true.
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