Snapshot of Olan Mills fiasco

Furious Express & Star readers today told how they shelled out hundreds of pounds to Olan Mills - only to be left heartbroken at Christmas.

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The photography company, which has branches in Wolverhampton, Aldridge and Stourbridge, went into administration on Friday.

It has left hundreds of people out of pocket - many of whom had paid for pictures just days ago and were hoping to pick them up this week ready for Christmas.

Nearly 1,000 jobs across the UK are being axed after the Olan Mills chain went bust.

Administrators KPMG were appointed by the High Court as administrators on Thursday and are now looking into the books of the company to see what can be retrieved.

One customer, Michelle Workman, aged 24, of Cannock, paid £275 for treasured memories but has been left with nothing.

The 24-year-old, who works in a hair salon, had pictures of herself, her husband and children Evie and Holly, aged three and two, taken six weeks ago.

When the pictures came through, they were flawed and so Michelle decided to send them back. She was then told the original files had been deleted, and was offered a new free photo session which was due to take place yesterday.

"They've not even phoned me to say they'd gone into receivership,"she said.

"They were meant to be pictures for my mum, my nan and my mum-in-law.

"We've got a frame, which is lovely, but no pictures to go in them."

Anita Hall, of Tipton, also missed out as a result of the Olan Mills collapse.

Mrs Hall, a childcare student at Sandwell College, said the company had contacted her to ask if she would like four photo shoots at the Wolverhampton branch in Worcester Street.

She paid £35 by debit card at the beginning of November, hoping for lasting memories of her four-year-old daughter Natasha.

Mrs Hall, aged 34, said: "They must have known what was going on then. We had the first lot taken onDecember 3, but we've not had the photos. We're not going to get the photos or our money back. I'm not very happy at all. If I'd have had one photo back, I wouldn't have been too upset."

She said she had been given the "hard sell" by the company, and had even seen a £175 package on offer. "I thank my lucky stars now that I didn't take it up."

Faye Salter, of Turton Road, had shelled out £90 for her daughters Siobhan, 11, Reanne, 10, Victoria, eight, and Sophie, seven, to have the glamorous treatment.

The 29-year-old said: "They were just so disappointed. We watch all of these makeover shows together so they were really looking forward to it.

"It's a lot of money for me to lose too. I can't afford it really. Having four children is a stretch at Christmas as it is, let alone having to spend so much money and getting nothing for it."

Mrs Salter said she was angry that no-one at Olan mills had warned her about the situation. She said: "I only booked it a few weeks ago. They must have known then how desperate the situation was but they let me part with the money anyway. It's heartbreaking."

Natalie Harrison, aged 28, of East Park, paid out £25 in the hope of getting a family portrait featuring 13 people.

Staff phoned her last Thursday to confirm a time for the shoot, but she missed the call.

Miss Harrison, who works in sterile services at New Cross Hospital, said: "I think I'm quite lucky not to have lost more. The photos aren't exactly cheap, but they are nice. The woman that I had been speaking to must have lost her job as well, so it's not very fair."

Care worker Donna Shaw handed over £170 for a montage of family images. The 28-year-old, of Wordsley, had been hoping to give the images of her, her husband Stevern, 30, Charlie, eight, and Corbern, four, as a Christmas gift to her mother and step-mother.

The photographs were taken inStourbridge on Wednesday at 4.30pm, when Mrs Shaw was told the gifts would be ready for the festive season.

She said she was "gutted" when word of the company's demise spread on Friday.

Mrs Shaw said: "My cousin phoned me up to say he had seen it on the news and we thought he was joking. We've had the free CD of the pictures and I can have them printed, but why should I when I've spent £170? I'm gutted, I just can't believe it.

"They should have known something was going to happen, so why were they still taking people's money?

"My mother-in-law hasn't got any other photographs of us. It was supposed to be special and it's been ruined. I can't afford to lose £170."

Housewife Kamaljit Kaur, aged 38, of Bilston, spent £30 with the company.

She has received just one photo of her five-year-old son Gurpreet, but had been expecting four images. "We've not lost that much, but there are people out there who have lost more. There was no warning or anything, it just happened."

Amanda Lissemore-Hart, aged 41, has lost £20. She had been hoping to give photos of the family to her parents and mother-in-law for Christmas.

The housewife, of Wombourne, said: "It would have been really nice for them, but it's not going to happen now."

Michelle Handley, aged 18, from Shire Oak, has lost £170.

She paid money up-front for a series of photo shoots, with her one-year-old niece Daisy, but the Walsall College worker has lost the lot. She said: "I had a package where I paid £20 for four sessions but I have committed myself to a credit agreement which I have been told I can't get out of.

"I'm gutted because I was looking forward to getting copies of the photos of one session because they were fantastic. Unfortunately I have also lost the CD they sent me."Amanda Duroe, from Jenner Close in Beechdale, also paid money up front for a series of photo shoots.

She is relieved she only lost £27, a package called Watch Me Grow aimed at catching a child's development, but said she felt for people who had lost much more.

"I wanted to have photos taken of my daughter Isabelle. She had her three month and six month photos done but we had an agreement with them to have some Christmas ones done as well.

"I have lost because I paid up front.

"We are lucky that we got some photos because I wanted the memories. I am not sure about going anywhere else now because the whole thing has just put me off."

Gail Proudman, of Hawskwood Drive, Moxley, wanted to give her photos as a gift to her husband on their wedding day.

"I have been using Olan Mills since my two daughters were born back in the eighties. Although the day was good, the morale amongst staff was really low.

"I decided to have the package as I am getting married in Cyprus next May and wanted to present the album as a surprise gift on our wedding day.

"I am gutted. I paid with credit card so will probably get refunded but it was the photos I wanted because it's a unique gift."

By Lee Perry