Beauty Salon Cons 70 People Over RM400k By Selling Cheap Packages

The beauty salon offered more than 100 treatments for only RM520.

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If it’s too good to be true, it’s probably a scam.

A beauty salon managed to con RM400,000 from 70 victims – including 40 men – by selling beauty packages cheaply.

The packages were sold during the Movement Control Order (MCO) period, which started in March 2020.

However, later on, the beauty salon refused to fulfil the packages.

Felling deceived, the victims reported to the police and the Consumer Claims Tribunal.

The victims said the beauty salon’s promotions were advertised through social media and text messages.

The beauty salon offered several medical beauty treatments, including picosecond laser freckle removal, hyaluronic acid moisturizing and fat-dissolving treatments.

The packages could be purchased for as low as RM520.

Each treatment can be used more than 100 times; in other words, the average price is less than RM1, so consumers are flocking to it.

Seeking Justice

Six victims, accompanied by DAP Ampang Jaya City Councillor Yew Jia Haur, held a press conference recently to complain about the con.

They also want to warn other consumers not to be fooled.

A 37-year-old housewife known as Zou was among the victims.

According to Sin Chew, she spent RM25,000 on the packages, including beauty accessories and products, from May 2021 to August this year.

In the beginning, the service of the beauty salon was really good, so after listening to the staff, I was willing to sign up for the packages. Earlier this month, the beauty salon suddenly issued a notice to customers that the company had changed hands, so the package purchased earlier could not be used.
37-year-old housewife Zou to Sin Chew and how the con unfolded.

Zou only managed to utilise about 10 per cent of the packages bought before the change of management.

She revealed that the new management allows the customers to convert the packages purchased this year into points to offset part of the amount of the new package.

However, the new package treatments did not reflect the market price, causing customer dissatisfaction.

At the same time, some customers said they tried to contact the beauty salon on its social media page but were unsuccessful.

The posts and photos were deleted shortly after, and the contact number was constantly changed, so the salon could not be contacted.

She said the affected customers created a group to connect, hoping to find a way to get justice.

Zou also said that after checking with the Companies Commission of Malaysia (SSM), it was discovered that another company had acquired the beauty salon in April but continued to use the same name until October.

The information obtained from SSM also shows that both companies belonged to the same person.

Consumer Protection

Many countries have set up small claims courts to avoid lengthy and expensive litigations.

In Malaysia, consumers can seek redress from the Tribunal for Consumer Claims, and consumers need to pay only RM5 to file a claim.

Ramai2 boleh lodge police report atau buat tuntutan tribunal pengguna https://t.co/YbJk2R80Zd
— fake luktur (@lilacfla) October 28, 2022

The tribunal was established under section 85, Part XII of The Consumer Protection Act 1999 [Act 599].

It operates under the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs to:

Provide an alternative forum to civil courts for consumers to claim redress in respect of any goods and services purchased in a convenient, fast manner and at a minimal cost.
Hear and determine claims in an independent and just manner.
Develop the law on consumer protection.

The claims filed must not exceed RM25,000 and do not apply to specific industries.

A Practical Guide To File A Complaint At Tribunal For Consumer Claims Malaysia. https://t.co/nFYDd1iWMB
— Conventus Law (@conventuslaw) September 1, 2022

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