*Platinum Member*
Centennial Member
Posts: 110098
Liked By: 63475
Joined: 30 Jun 10
Followers:
3
Tipsters
Championship:
Player
has
not started
|
SINGAPORE - An elderly consumer visited a hair salon in Ang Mo Kio for an $8 haircut but ended up paying nearly $1,000 for a hair wash and a 10-session hair treatment package, both of which he had not agreed to purchase.
The incident took place at a hair salon operating under the HairFun brand, which has since promised to stop engaging in unfair trade practices and to refund affected consumers.
Halfway through his haircut, the elderly customer was shown images on a monitor screen, which an employee claimed showed haemorrhaging on his scalp. However, no device had been used to scan the consumer’s head.
Without the customer’s consent, the employee washed his hair with a powder. The customer was later instructed to enter his personal identification number into the point-of-sale device, while the employee concealed the total payment amount.
The elderly customer later consulted a doctor, who confirmed that his head and scalp were normal and showed no signs of haemorrhaging.
The Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore, which disclosed the details of the case on June 4, did not state when the incident took place.
In its statement, it said it began investigations after receiving multiple consumer complaints concerning the sales tactics adopted by HairFun employees.
It then made unannounced visits to three branches of HairFun salon in October 2024 – Hairfun Beauty in Ang Mo Kio, Hairfun in Tampines, and Scissors & Comb in Toa Payoh Central.
The authority found that the first two outlets had targeted elderly consumers by offering free or low-cost haircuts between May 2023 and July 2024.
HairFun customers, particularly the elderly, were misled about their need for treatment packages, and were charged for expensive services and packages that they had not asked for, the investigations revealed.
The HairFun companies have since agreed to refund all affected consumers.
As part of the undertaking given to CCCS, the HairFun companies and their directors Roland Teo Jian Hao and Chiong Hong Hioh also pledged to stop all unfair trade practices, cooperate with the Consumers Association of Singapore (Case) to resolve all complaints relating to unfair trade practices and provide a five-day cooling period for customers to cancel and get a refund for any pre-paid packages.
“Close to $12,500 were recovered and returned to the affected consumers, many of whom are elderly residents living in the neighbourhood of the hair salon,” Case president Melvin Yong said in a Facebook post on June 4.
CCCS advised members of the public to not feel obliged to pay for goods or services that they did not ask for. It urged the public to learn more about the services and prices they will be paying before making payment.
|
Main Menu >
Gossip Corner >
Salon chain admits to unfair ractices targeting elderlies
[ 179 Chatters Online
]
1
) 
Find all Topics Started by LONGSTER
Find all Posts by LONGSTER
Follow / Unfollow
PM LONGSTER
Wednesday
2:13 PM (2 days ago)
1 Likes
Like
