SINGAPORE: A recent incident at a local shopping mall left a woman in disbelief when her friend accidentally bumped into the mall’s barrier, leading to an unexpected bill of over $11,000!
The woman posted about the incident on Complaint Singapore. She said: “Unbelievable! A friend of mine had a little mishap at the shopping mall and accidentally bumped into the barrier. Now, the mall has sent them a quotation, and guess what? They need to replace the barriers and replace casing of the payment system and it’s costing them over $11000!”
The woman was appalled at the sight of the charges, stating that even the labour cost for the replacement could be lower than the amount she received.
After sharing her situation, she asked for advice, saying, “Any advice or experiences dealing with such unexpected charges would be greatly appreciated!”
In response to the post, several people in the comments shared their thoughts and advice.
Denson Kwek suggested that the person involved might be covered by insurance.
Keith Yeo recommended seeking legal counsel, emphasizing that legal fees typically wouldn’t exceed 3 or 4 thousand dollars.
Leonard Anthony raised the possibility that public liability should cover the incident.
Carol Sim advised getting a pro bono lawyer to offer assistance in the matter.
While Lin Xiu Yao was as much in disbelief as the woman who posted said: “This is really suay.(unlucky) 11k plus.”
Edmund Lee questioned why there’s a separate bill for entry and exit barriers, asking, “Why entry and exit barrier housing charge together? The incident only happened to either one, right? How could both housings be damaged simultaneously?”
Lam Mikey shared the same experience and told her it didn’t cost as much, “My company driver broke one previously at Sheng Siong Woodlands, and it cost $650 to replace it.”
Liam Chris, also confused as to why there are charges for both entry and exit, asked, “Accident at the exit barrier, how come there is another charge for the entrance housing? Were the two barriers and housings hit at the same time?”
One user named Cloudstop Chen explained, “It is usually like that when you damage management stuff because they already have a vendor handling the machine. Third-party vendors won’t want to handle the issue, and the current vendor won’t accept it either, as they will taiji. So you have to use their vendor.”
After other people shared their experiences and advice, Brandon Wong gave reassurance not to worry, saying, “Don’t worry. Just claim your motor insurance.”
With support and solutions in sight, we hope for a fair resolution for the woman and her friend.