Owners of Yorkshire photoshoot studio Chique Makeovers and Photography face trial on charges of misleading and aggressive business practices

Lawyers for Chique Makeovers & Photography have withdrawn an application to dismiss the charges against the company, which has sites in Garforth near Leeds, Hessle near Hull and the Meadowhall Business Park in Sheffield.

Owners Mark and Jane Earnshaw, who launched the business in Huddersfield in 2014, are to stand trial in June alongside former director Lauren Crainer.

The company offers packages for photoshoots for both the public and businesses, and has its own team of make-up artists and hair stylists.

The 10 counts faced by both the company and three individuals are all of engaging in either misleading, unfair or aggressive commercial practices between 2018 and 2020.

They include telling customers that they had won a photoshoot and makeover as a competition prize which they then had to pay an upfront fee for, placing customers under unnecessary pressure to make purchases by aggressive sales pitches, falsely telling customers that a product was available for a limited period of time in order to elicit and immediate decision, and omitting material information or providing in an unclear manner the terms of payment options.

All three defendants denied all charges except one count which Lauren Crainer pleaded guilty to. Her legal team have applied for the other charges against her to lie on file.

The trail in June is expected to last up to four weeks and City of York Council Trading Standards is the prosecuting authority.

Crainer, a photographer, resigned her director role with the company in 2020.