India ― A salon was ordered by a consumer court in India to pay a model 20 million rupees (S$366,000) in damages for giving her the wrong haircut.
According to the woman, she relies on her long hair for jobs from hair product firms. The salon cut her hair short against her instructions, resulting in a huge loss for the model.
The consumer court noted that the salon, a part of a prominent hotel chain in Delhi, can appeal against the verdict.
The salon has not yet commented on the verdict, reported BBC on Friday (Sept 24).
The woman lost “her expected assignments and suffered a huge loss which completely changed her lifestyle and shattered her dream to be a top model,” noted the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC).
“She underwent severe mental breakdown and trauma due to negligence… in cutting her hair and could not concentrate on her job, and finally she lost her job,” it added.
The incident is reported to have happened in 2018, when the client went to the hotel for her haircut, giving specific instructions on the length and style she wanted.
In the end, the hairstylist left only four inches of hair from the top touching her shoulder, noted court documents.
“She stopped seeing herself in the mirror. She is a communication professional and [is] required to be involved in meetings and interactive sessions. But she lost her self-confidence due to little hair,” said the court.
The salon offered her a free hair treatment to compensate the model, yet the client found it “dubious and resulted in hair damage.”
“She also suffered loss of income due to mental breakdown after the shoddy haircut and, thereafter, the torturous hair treatment. She left her job also… She has gone through the pain and trauma for the last two years after this incident,” the court added, as reported by BBC.
Although a bad haircut usually grows out, clients under certain Consumer Rights Act like in the United Kingdom can request the salon to redo the process or ask for a discount.
Earlier this year, a hair salon in Singapore made news for a botched rebonding and hair colour treatment on a client that resulted in bald spots and hair loss.
The hair salon initially apologised for the negligence, although refused the S$10,000 compensation for damages requested by the client.
The company negotiated for a smaller amount of around S$1,000 to S$2,000, which the client rejected.
The woman allegedly received a letter from the salon’s lawyer denying any responsibility for the incident and became uncontactable by media. /TISG
Read related: Cecilia Cheung’s hairdo and makeup reportedly cost S$10,400