Case study on right to be informed
Answers
Ms Chua* visited a beauty salon for an eyelash extensions service. She was informed by the beautician that if she purchased 30 facial sessions at $1,600, the eyelash extensions would be complimentary. She would also be given another two free sessions of eyelash extensions valued at $100 each. Two months later, she visited the salon for the complimentary eyelash extensions. The beautician accidentally glued her right eye shut causing her much pain. Ms Chua visited a doctor and was diagnosed with cornea inflammation. She lost confidence in the salon and requested for a refund of the facial package and reimbursement for her medical bills.
CASE contacted the beauty salon and was able to negotiate for a full refund of $1,600 together with $400 medical bill reimbursement for Ms Chua.
Case Study #2
Ms Wong visited a watch shop and requested to buy an automatic watch. She selected a design that she liked and paid $800 for the watch. Subsequently, the hands of the watch stopped moving. Ms Wong sent the watch for repair and only to find out that it was a quartz watch, not an automatic watch. She requested to return the watch for a refund as the salesperson had misrepresented the product information to her. However, the shop rejected her request for refund.
CASE highlighted that it was an unfair practice under the Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) Act to make misleading or false claims in relation to a consumer transaction. Upon CASE’s intervention, the shop agreed provide a full refund to Ms Wong.
Case Study #3
Mr Tan* visited a shop to buy a pair of shoes. The salesperson persuaded him to buy a pair of bigger sized shoes by claiming that the size would be suitable for him after wearing a pair of socks. Mr Tan agreed and paid $200 for the shoes. Upon reaching home, he tried out the shoes and discovered that they were still too big for him. Mr Tan went back to the shop and was informed that they would provide him with an exchange to a pair of smaller sized shoes when there was available stock. However, Mr Tan was not able to exchange the shoes even after multiple follow-ups with the salesperson. He has since waited for more than a year.
Upon CASE’s intervention, the shop provided Mr Tan with an exchange to another pair of smaller sized shoes worth $200 within two weeks.
Case Study #4
Mr Song* purchased 10 bottles of health supplements in China for RMB36,680. The salesperson claimed that the health supplements were manufactured by an accredited health product company in China. Subsequently, he found out that this was not true and the supplements he had purchased were self-manufactured.
As CASE has a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the China Consumers’ Association (CCA), we wrote to them to ask for their assistance in this matter. The company eventually agreed to provide a refund to Mr Song. CASE and CCA worked closely to ensure that the health products were shipped back to China and the refund process was successful.