‘Pulled into the counter’: Man complains that his mother was forced to spend $5,000 on skincare in a department store

SINGAPORE: A woman was left traumatised after allegedly being pressured by a beauty salon into spending nearly $5,000 on skincare products, prompting her son to take legal action over the incident.

A 43-year-old son reported to Shin Min Daily News that his 79-year-old mother was forcibly pulled into a beauty counter to try skincare products at a shopping mall in Ang Mo Kio last December.

“After they pulled my mother into the counter, they immediately applied serum and face cream to her cheeks and palms, saying it could improve her dark spots and ‘trigger finger’ (tendon inflammation caused by repetitive hand labour),” the son said.  

The products being offered—including six bottles of serum and a facial massager— cost a total of $5,000. With this pricing, he stated that his mother was tempted and agreed to go to a bank to withdraw. 

Furthermore, when his mother could only withdraw a total amount of $300, the staff asked her to hand over her bank card as password, and then operated their system to transfer the remaining balance. When he confronted the salesperson a few days later, they declared that her mother voluntarily purchased the products, and they needed to email the company for a refund. However, they refused his application. The son admitted that even though his mother has become confused due to her old age, she is still capable of taking care of herself and has never made any large purchases. 

The mother also claimed that the staff made her sign an agreement without explaining the terms. “They take advantage of the fact that elderly people are easily swayed by others and forcefully sell to them, which I think is outrageous,” the son declared. 

In response to this incident, the beauty salon stated that they will have an internal investigation and strengthen relevant training for employees. 

 “There are countless ways to do business. We’ve had our counter here for over a year and have built up a lot of repeat customers. We haven’t engaged in any aggressive sales tactics. After the other party filed a lawsuit, we fully cooperated with the investigation and negotiations, and have already agreed to a full refund,” the beauty salon said. 

Elsewhere, a food stall owner issued an apology after a video showing an employee washing a wooden steamer on the floor triggered criticism over hygiene standards online.

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