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Angry customers of 'Wax in the City' band together & take action
By Satish Cheney, Shaffiq Alkhatib | Posted: 02 April 2010 2317 hrs
Angry customers of 'Wax in the City' band together & take action
SINGAPORE: Anger against a beauty chain which went bust last month is escalating.
Some 20 customers of the now-defunct Wax In The City banded together on Friday to seek compensation.
They gathered outside another spa, Silky Temptation, in Circular Road, suspecting that it is linked to the company which owns Wax In the City.
About 20 women, upset and furious, tried to ambush a woman who they suspect is connected with the general manager of the Wax in the City chain, Alexis Zhou.
Accusations flew when they came face to face.
The women managed to enter the shop and the woman they ambushed claimed that she was the ex-girlfriend of the Wax in the City boss, Alexis Zhou and she had broken up with him two months ago.
She insisted that she has nothing to do with the saga and is just a shareholder of the new spa, Silky Temptation.
She said she only moved inside after Wax In The City closed down and is only shareholder and not the owner.
Soon, the police arrived.
Some of the women had made police reports. Each had spent more than S$1,000 on the packages.
A few even made sure they won't be shortchanged.
One affected customer, Joylyn Ho said: "I said 'If I sign up for this package will you guys ever close down?' Then he said 'My company is so big, there are three outlets. We're having renovations at Boat Quay. If our company Wax in the City ever close down, my head will be chopped off.’”
Over at another outlet of Wax In the City, another customer was also looking for answers.
Another affected customer, Serena Liew, said: "I have sent an official e-mail to the bank asking them if they can waive the balance instalments and what the bank replied me is that according to the terms, conditions and regulations, they're not able to do any waiver and we have to continue to pay the instalments.”
On Facebook, a string of complaints and pages of angry words can be found. Over 500 people are in the group, lobbying for collective action and rallying behind each other to nail down the culprit.
Some of the posts talk about legal aspects of the case while others are wondering how they should seek help from their credit card companies.
Meanwhile, the Consumers Association of Singapore said customers should be careful when they buy packages involving instalments.
Seah Seng Choon, executive director, Consumers Association Of Singapore, said: “This pre-payment packages arrangement is totally unregulated and customers need to understand that. They need to be mindful of this and take steps to protect their interests for the time being. There are several disadvantages for consumers to sign up for packages."
His advice - "pay as you use" as this gives you the freedom to choose any spa you want to visit. - CNA/vm
By Satish Cheney, Shaffiq Alkhatib | Posted: 02 April 2010 2317 hrs
Angry customers of 'Wax in the City' band together & take action
SINGAPORE: Anger against a beauty chain which went bust last month is escalating.
Some 20 customers of the now-defunct Wax In The City banded together on Friday to seek compensation.
They gathered outside another spa, Silky Temptation, in Circular Road, suspecting that it is linked to the company which owns Wax In the City.
About 20 women, upset and furious, tried to ambush a woman who they suspect is connected with the general manager of the Wax in the City chain, Alexis Zhou.
Accusations flew when they came face to face.
The women managed to enter the shop and the woman they ambushed claimed that she was the ex-girlfriend of the Wax in the City boss, Alexis Zhou and she had broken up with him two months ago.
She insisted that she has nothing to do with the saga and is just a shareholder of the new spa, Silky Temptation.
She said she only moved inside after Wax In The City closed down and is only shareholder and not the owner.
Soon, the police arrived.
Some of the women had made police reports. Each had spent more than S$1,000 on the packages.
A few even made sure they won't be shortchanged.
One affected customer, Joylyn Ho said: "I said 'If I sign up for this package will you guys ever close down?' Then he said 'My company is so big, there are three outlets. We're having renovations at Boat Quay. If our company Wax in the City ever close down, my head will be chopped off.’”
Over at another outlet of Wax In the City, another customer was also looking for answers.
Another affected customer, Serena Liew, said: "I have sent an official e-mail to the bank asking them if they can waive the balance instalments and what the bank replied me is that according to the terms, conditions and regulations, they're not able to do any waiver and we have to continue to pay the instalments.”
On Facebook, a string of complaints and pages of angry words can be found. Over 500 people are in the group, lobbying for collective action and rallying behind each other to nail down the culprit.
Some of the posts talk about legal aspects of the case while others are wondering how they should seek help from their credit card companies.
Meanwhile, the Consumers Association of Singapore said customers should be careful when they buy packages involving instalments.
Seah Seng Choon, executive director, Consumers Association Of Singapore, said: “This pre-payment packages arrangement is totally unregulated and customers need to understand that. They need to be mindful of this and take steps to protect their interests for the time being. There are several disadvantages for consumers to sign up for packages."
His advice - "pay as you use" as this gives you the freedom to choose any spa you want to visit. - CNA/vm
