I'm currently having a bad situation with Advanced Hair Studio! Heres my story...

Last september 2005 i visted AHS in London. I had a consultation and was shown a video about 'strand by strand'.
I was told it is like a fine skin like membrane which my hair would be pulled through and hair would be added to it. I thought it sounded great and placed my order 3000 pounds worth. When it arrived and i had it fitted. I found it to be a wig. Technically it had a thick monofilament base with a PU perimeter. It was first tied to my head rather painfully and i was told to come back the next day. When i did, they shaved the top of my head and stuck it on with glue. It was unnatural, itchy and in no way looked like what was in there brochures on described in the consulatation. I wrote a letter of complaint and they have offered to remake the piece with a more natural appearance. I rejected the offer as it does not change the fundamental point of misrepresentation and goods that are cheap and not fit for it purpose. Im now taking proceedings through my credit card company and may possibly take them to court to redeem my money.
I have now purchased another 'hair system' from another supplier which is far more natural, breathable and cost on 199 pounds! thats right one hundred and nineteen nine pounds!

Please could you post your experiences or email me if you have any stories about AHS
I'm currently in contact with a few of there ex clients and a ex employee.

Thanks
Andrew

Please find a photo attached

DSC00453.JPG (291 Kb, 3452 downloads) strand by stand (yeah right!!)

That sucks about what happened to you with that company. It's unfortunate that there is not one facet in the hair loss industry that is not rife with scams, false promises, and misrepresentation.

Good luck with your new piece.

I do have a question about the pic you posted - Is that the one from AMS? When they say "strand-by-strand" I always thought they meant thatyour natural hair was pulled through also. The lies that they get away with are awful. I wish you the best of luck in pushing back against these people.

-Robert

Yes the picture is the 'strand by strand' unit!
Just a wig!
I really don't understand how they've managed to trade this long! madness!

I've only just started researching hair transplants/hair systems. The first site i went to was AHS as i had remembered seeing Graham Gooch on the tv once and thinking he looked great. I honestly believed their 'strand by strand' method was a way of restoring hair. I'm so glad for forums like this after seeing that 'comedy' wig in the picture. I can't believe that was £3000!! A word of warning to anyone who looks at the AHS website to get full details of their treatments, you have to register your details. Once this is done, you can expect a constant bombardment of phonecalls - 2/3 phonecalls on my mobile every day plus numerous voicemail messages and messages left on my home telephone. They disguised their contact number on one occasion as it showed up as a private number on my phone, this after i had rejected numerous calls when i could see it was their Nottingham office trying to contact me. From what i have read so far, they appear to be worth steering well clear of!

Hello Andrew,

I am also a cutomer of AHS. But as its too expensive so looking for some cheaper options.

Can you send me the name/contact details of the supplier from where you got a cheaper hair system.


Thanks.
Bonna

Where abouts do you live Bonna?

How long you been a client?

Hi Grav15,
I'm from Australia and I am having a problem with AHS. I just got my wig installed yesterday and not happy with it. It is starting to bubble on top and the glue is peeling off my scalp. I would like to apply for refund but not sure if I will have any luck. I really would like to get my money back but from what I read it's sound impossible. I am thinking of possibly taking it to court. Any advice or suggestion for me mate? Hope to hear from you.

Cheers,
Az

Hi Az,

What you need to do is firstly arrange a meeting with your consultant and complain. They will probably give you a free refusion and say that they will use a different adhesive. After that make your that you get EVERYTHING IN WRITING! Write to them detailing the meeting and stating your refund. There should be a regional client relations manager that they will pass you off to if they can't con you again. They will not refund you. You have to become a threat to them i.e go to the media then possibly they will get you to sign a gagging order.

Don't waste time with correspondance with them.

Hope this helps

Good luck

Hi Andrew, Thank you very much for your quick response and advise. I feel it will be an uphill battle that I will fight for. I have created a detailed log from the first day of the fitting with all the faults. I have attached a picture of only the 3rd day it has been installed. Tell me what you think? $6000.00 worth??? I will go tomorrow to let them know I am not happy. Do you think I have a chance of a refund? Fingers crossed.

101206a.jpg (58 Kb, 1845 downloads)

Hi,

I'm having problem with the AHS as well...

They are business oriented sharks only interested in your money and I'm also amazed they survived the market for so long...

My experience is negative (did you doubt)
with laser hair regrowth :-(
No joy, after several months of efforts.

Now I want to exit the treatment, since it's time waste and Strand-by-strand they offered I heard enough about.

...but they say I signed the contract, they have formal coverage for not returning me the money...
But I still beleive there must be the way to nail them down.

Does anybody have any experience with taking them to court?

They offered me to refund 1/3 of the money I gave them... I still think it's too much for absence of any result.

Guys, good luck with these sharks and don't hesitate to share your experience, this way, as customers, I think we can win our rights!

Cheers!

Hi there,

I nearly took them to court until they paid me off at the last minute.
Put your complaint in writing, saying that you will take them to court. Ask for client history report. Any information you can get to build your case. Check your contract again to see if anything has been witheld. On my strand by strand contract, I had the work order form and fitting schedule witheld and had to use the data protection act. What studio did you go to and who was your consulatant?

Hi Az,

What happended when you went back.
Let me guess, they said they will try a different adhesive.
This is a problem accross the hair replacement industry.
They will probably give a a couple of free refusions.
You won't get a refund. I'm afraid you've got a long battle ahead of you!
Check your contract... Does it mention a fitting schedule or work order form, if so, did you ever see these documents?

So guys,

another thing, when you go to Advanced Hair Studio, they are going to play you promising video, convince you it's going to work for you, and then they are going to rush you into the contract that doesn't have a cool-off period.

The contract you are about to sign is actually saying that the whole risk of treatment failiure is solely on customer and they won't refund you anything.

Since laser therapy isn't medically proven and
strand-by-strand is just a wig,
put it more forward, you are gambling with lots of money, with pretty high probability to loose it all.


Think twice. Let people know!

Hi Guys,

Well Grav15, I am currently close to settling my claim. I have reluctantly agreed to accept 65% refund money. Pretty much guys, AHS charged me $2000.00 for a wig that lasted 2 days. On the third day, after my first fitting, I shaved my head in disgust. They offered me a lot of useless options like refusion and laser therapy (which is funny because during my first consultation I was told that laser therapy was a waste of time for me by their own consultant). I really have to fight very hard with them to get my part refund. They told me that if i was not happy with their offer, i could seek legal advice. I also tried to ring them several times and they never returned a call. I got excuse after excuse and got tired of waiting. I have not seen the work order form that you refer to Grav15. My advice to anyone thinking about using AHS is to think very carefully before you plonk down thousands of hard earned dollars! I would be a few thousands dollars better off having not known them. I wish you guys all the best in your refund processing. It won't be easy.

Hi Persistent,

One last thing i remembered with my situation is to build an events log with photographs if possible. That way, you have all the evidence of the program not working for you. I also tried laser therapy with another organisation (which I won't mention) but the difference was I received a full refund after the program did not work for me. Why can't AHS do the same???

Hi Mr Hair,

Have you been asked you sign a release form (gagging order) to obtain your money. The wigs cost them less than £50 from the far east.
You should hold out for the full amount. It worked for me.
Ask to view the work order form and fitting schedule as it forms part of your contract. You could say that if you saw these prior to signing, you wouldnt of!


Which studio and who was your consultant out of interest?


Cheers

Victoria's Fair Trading Act 1999

http://www.consumer.vic.gov.au
then bullet Shopping & Trading for Goods&Services > Contracts


Unfair consumer contracts
Changes to Victoria's Fair Trading Act 1999, have ruled that certain 'terms' previously used in consumer contracts are unfair and are no longer acceptable for use.

Under the new law :

* consumers can take action if they believe their contract is unfair, and
* businesses must ensure that that their contracts comply.

The changes mean that :

* unfair terms in consumer contracts are void
* consumer Affairs Victoria can determine (prescribe) that a term is unfair, and
* it is an offence to use a prescribed unfair term in a consumer contract


What is an unfair term ?
An unfair term in a consumer contract is a term that disadvantages the consumer and is not within the concept of good faith.

What is good faith ?
Good faith implies that both the consumer and supplier are dealing openly and fairly.

Does an unfair term void a contract?
If a term in a consumer contract is assessed as being 'unfair', the term is made void. The contract will continue to bind the parties, but only if the contract can exist without the unfair term.

The strand by strand contract has been amended twice by the office of fair trading in the UK.
So i guess they now see it as fair.
The contract isn't fair due to the sliding scale of refunds taking into consideration how much the units actualy cost.
Also certain terms and conditions that are stated in the hair care booklet which is only given to you once you signed and given them your money which is not stated in the contract.

forget the rug get a hair transplant done you will be sorry

Hi all,

BBC watchdog once addressed this issue...

Have your say at www.bbc.co.uk/watchdog

It may trigger them to follow up again...

Cheers and good luck