SINGAPORE: A shopper has claimed that she was “scammed” at a boutique in Far East Plaza on May 29, after she was charged a hefty $1,097 for two unbranded blouses and one unbranded pair of shorts.
She added that the shop staff kept dodging her repeated questions about the prices while she was shopping.
Sharing that the incident took place at the Angel boutique on the third floor of Far East Plaza, Shermaine told Stomp, “I walked into the shop, tried on three pieces of clothing, and repeatedly asked the lady, who appeared to be from China, for the prices. But she kept dodging the question, chatting with me to distract me.
I reminded her again to show me the prices, but instead she handed me the card machine and asked which card I wanted to tap. The moment I tapped, I saw the charge: $1,097. I immediately said, ‘Stop! Don’t process that,’ and asked for the price breakdown. That was the first time she showed me the tags.”
The receipt Shermaine shared showed that she was charged $599 for a cotton shirt, $299 for another top, and another $299 for a pair of cotton shorts. Shermaine told Stomp, “I was shocked. The clothes were completely unbranded and probably cost $50 to at most $100 a piece if premium.”
She added, “My girlfriends know I’m not someone who bargains a lot, but this was daylight robbery.”
Shermaine told the boutique staff that she didn’t want the clothes and wanted a refund, but the staff claimed she couldn’t void the payment because she wasn’t the boss. The staff apparently claimed that the money had already gone straight to the bank, so it couldn’t be reversed.
The shocked customer told Stomp, “That’s not true – she is the boss, and every card machine can refund if done quickly.”
She decided to call the police and said the boutique owner told the police that she had shown the prices to the shopper in advance. The owner also apparently “made excuse after excuse” when she was asked to show the CCTV footage, but finally showed the footage,e which had no audio.
Shermaine said, “After the police finished taking my statement, she was grumbling at the side saying I looked like someone ‘too pretty and classy to ask about price’ – and that she usually avoids talking about price because customers get offended and had told her off for belittling them for being unable to afford them.”
Shermaine has since filed a complaint with the Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE). She told Stomp that the boutique owner is now claiming that she is owed an extra payment for the time that was spent helping her try on the clothes.
The shopper asserted, “She says I owe her for her ‘customer service’ but this isn’t service – this is scamming and bullying. If you’ve experienced something similar – or know someone who has – please speak up. No one should ever be pressured, lied to, or scammed into paying hundreds for clothes they didn’t agree to. We need to stop these practices before more people get hurt.”
Shin Min Daily News reports that Shermaine is not the only one who has faced similar treatment at the same store. Another customer apparently paid $300 for what she thought was a limited edition dress, only to find another nearby shop selling the same dress for $180.
She later discovered that the same dress was sold for different prices at three shops owned by the same individual. When she approached the boutique for a refund, she was refused one and was told that the materials used were different, even if it was indiscernible to the customer.
Angel has been operating for over 20 years and currently has five outlets. Stomp reported that the shop displayed price tags on their clothes when a reporter visited the shop. A staff member told the reporter that she was willing to give Shermaine a discount to avoid making things awkward. She also claimed that she might have offered a refund had Shermaine paid cash.