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Consumer watchdog raps Courts and Prism+ for misleading shoppers with unfair practices
Courts had added unsolicited items into consumers’ shopping carts, while Prism+ used fake countdown timers to create false urgency.
The Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore has taken action against Courts and Prism+ for misleading website features. (Photos: CNA/Alyssa Tan, Facebook/Prism+)
Read a summary of this article on FAST.
SINGAPORE: Courts and Prism+ have been taken to task by Singapore's consumer watchdog for using certain website features to mislead shoppers into making purchases.
"Courts automatically added unsolicited items into consumers’ shopping carts, while Prism+ used fake countdown timers and misleading stock indicators to pressure consumers into purchases,” the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCS) said in a media release on Monday (Dec 8).
The two retailers of consumer electronics and home appliances have given an undertaking to CCS not to engage in any unfair trade practices, said the agency.
COURTS
Following a consumer complaint, CCS investigations found that during certain promotion periods, Courts would automatically add items to shoppers' online carts without seeking consent.For instance, an Acer vacuum cleaner was added to a consumer’s cart after that consumer selected an Apple iPad for purchase, said CCS.
This practice puts consumers at risk of unknowingly paying for the unsolicited items if they fail to notice and remove such items before checkout.
"Despite receiving customer complaints about this practice in as early as 2024, Courts made no changes until CCS intervened in June 2025," the agency said.
“Courts has given an undertaking to CCS to cease this practice immediately. In addition to making changes to its website, Courts also agreed to refund customers affected by this unfair trade practice."
In response to CNA's queries, a Courts spokesperson on Monday confirmed that it has made changes to its website and processed refunds to all affected customers.
"We understand the impact this incident may have had on our customers and are fully committed to enhancing our consumer protection policies to prevent similar occurrences in the future," the spokesperson said.
PRISM+
In a separate investigation, CCS found multiple design features on the Prism+ website that pressured consumers into making purchases by creating false urgency.These included fake countdown timers displaying messages claiming that popular items are selling fast, urging shoppers to purchase quickly to "avoid losing out".
"However, these timers served no technical function, were not linked to any of Prism+'s inventory systems and simply reset after reaching zero without affecting the checkout process," CCS said.
Prism+ also used misleading indicators claiming that stock was running low despite substantial inventory being available. For one product, the indicator was displayed even though the monthly sales figures represented only 7 per cent of Prism+'s total available stock, said CCS.
“Prism+ explained that the indicator 'In Stock: Running Low' is used for any product with inventory levels above 100 units," the agency said, noting, however, that this threshold was not disclosed to consumers.
The agency also found that Prism+ used unsubstantiated statements like "while other brands are all out-of-stock due to supply chain disruption", and "there’s an industry-wide shortage and all brands are sold out completely" on product pages.
"Prism+ could not substantiate the statements when asked by CCS and claimed the statements were made in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic," the agency said.
In addition, CCS said investigations revealed that for 10 products, Prism+ inflated discounts by offering “up to 67 per cent off” despite the maximum discount being unachievable.
For one product, the actual discount only amounted to 38 per cent.
"Prism+ attributed this to technical errors,” said CCS.
The agency added that Prism+ has rectified the website issues and provided an undertaking not to engage in any unfair trade practices.
In a statement on Monday, Prism+ acknowledged CCS' findings regarding what it called a "small number of legacy marketing practices" on its website.
"These included genuine unintentional errors in our internal stock metafields, legacy COVID-period shortage messaging that was not updated, and website-level discount claims that were not always aligned with specific product offers."
It added that it cooperated "fully" to review and amend its website after CCS reached out to the firm. "All required corrections were made swiftly within days and strengthened safeguards have since been implemented," it said, adding that no recent customers have been affected.
Prism+ said that since May 2025, all prices and discounts displayed on its website accurately reflect the offers available.
"We regret any concern caused to customers in the past and have strengthened our internal processes to uphold the highest standards of transparency."
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When contacted for more information, CCS said that it has been "stepping up" enforcement against businesses that utilise dark patterns, or website design features to mislead or deceive customers.It pointed to actions it took against Agoda and Lambency Detailing, for misleading website design and fake reviews respectively.
"Consumers who are harmed by dark patterns from errant businesses can approach CASE for advice or assistance."
CCS, which falls under the Ministry of Trade and Industry, is the administering agency of the Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) Act (CPFTA).
While it does not have any legal power to compel businesses to provide redress or compensation to affected consumers, it can gather evidence and take enforcement actions.
In egregious cases, CCS can file for court orders to stop businesses from engaging in unfair trade practices. Non-compliance with a court order may result in contempt of court, which carries penalties of a fine or jail term.
“Under Singapore’s fair trading laws, it is an unfair trade practice for businesses to charge for the supply of unsolicited products, or to make false or misleading claims to pressure consumers into making purchases,” CCS said on Monday.
“Countdown timers should only reflect genuine timelines given to consumers, while stock indicators should be reasonable.”
The commission also advised consumers to review their shopping carts for unexpected items when shopping online and verify that payment amounts match intended purchases.
Customers should also question the authenticity of urgency claims before making impulse purchases.
“These two interventions form part of a series of recent enforcement actions taken by CCS against businesses that employ dark patterns to mislead and pressure consumers into unintended purchases,” said CCS chief executive Alvin Koh.
"CCS remains committed to ensuring fair, transparent and honest business practices in the digital space, enabling genuine competition amongst suppliers while empowering consumers to make informed decisions.”
