Man Takes RM15 Facial Promo, Gets Duped into RM5,800 Package Instead

Going to a beauty salon to get a quick fix doesn’t come cheap, so it’s understandable that many people will be attracted when they hear that there are cheap deals. However, do be careful to look at the fine print because you may unwittingly get duped into paying more than you bargain for!

Source: straits times

Hong from Singapore was the victim of such marketing tactics from a beauty salon on Bencoolen Street near Bugis MRT station. This salon had apparently been embroiled in quite a few complaints in the past two years but Hong did not know that.

The 53-year-old told Lianhe Zaobao that he was walking past the beauty salon on May 30 and he heard some of the beauticians outside the shop promoting their mole-removing services, which would only cost S$5 (RM14.70). He decided to remove two moles that he had near his right eye and went inside the salon. 

Source: lianhe zaobao

Once inside, the beautician said that he had oily skin and recommended him to opt for a face cleanse. After cleansing, the beautician introduced a facial wash that would work better for his skin type and helped him wash his face again. After that, the beautician started removing his moles but to his surprise, the beautician did not inform him before removing 10 moles from the right side of his face. 

The beautician then told him that it would cost S$10 (approx. RM30) for each mole that was removed. Wow, sudden price increase? Hong said the beautician was very good at manipulating him and attracted him with the discounted prices. When the beautician presented his total bill to him, he was shocked to find that he needed to pay S$550 (RM1,620) instead.

For illustration purposes only | source: 99

As if that wasn’t enough, the beautician also recommended Hong to sign up for a facial package consisting of 10 facials priced at S$1,980 (RM5,833). The beautician said that since this time he needed to pay S$550 (RM1,620), he only had to pay the remaining S$1,430 (RM4,213) for the other 9 times. Why does it suddenly sound like Hong is being offered a very ‘good’ deal?

You would have thought that Hong would refuse the package, right? He said, “I felt that this offer was very expensive and I wanted to refuse. I didn’t expect the beautician to say sarcastically that men are only willing to spend money on alcohol and women.”

“After hearing that, I was so annoyed that I signed the package and paid S$700 (RM2,062) before I left.”

Source: lianhe zaobao

However, when Hong was home, the more he thought about it, the more dissatisfied he felt. He told his wife about the incident and she was very angry about how the beauty salon had treated her husband. They decided to lodge a complaint with the Consumers Association of Singapore and discovered that since 2016, there were already 18 complaints lodged against the beauty salon alleging that they had been forced to sign for beauty packages.

The association said that they will continue to monitor the salon and if there are other complaints, they will submit it to the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS) for investigation.

That sounds like a rather expensive lesson, though! Do you ever feel pressured to sign up for packages at beauty salons? What do they say to convince you? Tell us in the comments! 

Also read: M’sian Shares How She Almost Paid RM290 for Scam Parcel Labelled ‘Cash On Delivery’