Woman spends $11K on salon package only for salon to suddenly close without refund

SINGAPORE: A woman has been left in the lurch with thousands of dollars out of pocket after she paid more than S$11,000 for a hair colouring package before she discovered that the salon had shuttered abruptly.

The customer, Joanne, told Stomp that she lodged a complaint with the Consumers Association of Singapore (Case) on Aug 23 regarding One Style Salon, which was previously located at Block 482 Tampines Street 43.

In her complaint, Joanne wrote: “In August or September 2024, I purchased a colour package of 45 sessions at a price of S$11,000.55.

“This purchase was made after being pressured by a staff member named May, who shared her personal hardships and pleaded with me to support her.

“She claimed she needed the money for her children’s education in Malaysia and that she was suffering domestic abuse from her husband if she failed to remit money to him. I agreed reluctantly out of compassion.”

However, on Aug 22 this year, when Joanne returned to the same location, she was shocked to find that One Style Salon had been replaced by another business, Meow Aesthetics.

“The staff of the new place politely explained that their boss had agreed to honour previous packages by continuing to provide hair-styling, treatment, colouring and even offering gel manicure, pedicure, lashes, makeup, and lip embroidery services,” Joanne told Stomp.

She added that she tried to reach One Style Salon via its listed phone number but did not receive any response.

“I also spoke with someone who claimed to be the landlord and/or boss. His response was extremely rude and dismissive. He stated that he did not track these packages as he was ‘too busy’ and alleged that the ex-employee, May, might have pocketed the money herself,” she shared with Stomp.

“This is wholly unacceptable. This appears to be a scam — collecting payment for packages, shutting down and abandoning customers’ prepaid sessions.”

Joanne may not be the only one affected. A Google review posted in August by another customer read: “Purchased package for haircut and treatment, which cost quite a lot. However, the salon suddenly closed down when I visited it yesterday. Can I know if you have other branches where I can use the package? Or get a refund?”

On Google, One Style Salon is now listed as “permanently closed,” with no other outlets indicated.