Sim Lim Square 黑店
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The High Court of Singapore has granted a permanent injunction against an electronics wholesale company, Cyber Maestro Pte Ltd, the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) said yesterday.The injunction restrains the company and its employees and agents from engaging in several unfair practices, under the Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) Act. STB had applied for the injunction in response to complaints against the company's trade practices.The complaints against Cyber Maestro included overcharging, exerting undue pressure to enter into a transaction and misleading consumers about prices and availability of goods.The company continued with these practices despite warnings from the Consumers Association of Singapore (Case), and STB's requests.Case listed Cyber Maestro among the shops in Sim Lim Square with the most consumer complaints from July to September this year. The store at #02-77 had seven complaints against it.STB encourages consumers to report unfair practices, saying it takes a "serious view of errant retailers who besmirch the reputation of Singapore as a premier tourist destination".Consumers should also protect their interests by researching the product, comparing prices, clarifying return policies, checking receipts or invoices for accuracy and verifying coverage of warranties, STB said.
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Paying over $1000 in coins is so immature, look where that got him
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What else can be done?
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Tax evasion?
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Vietnamese tourist kneels down and tearfully begs for iPhone 6 refund at Sim Lim Square shop
A Vietnamese tourist was left in tears after a nighmarish ordeal when buying an iPhone 6 for his girlfriend at Mobile Air, a shop in Sim Lim Square.
Mobile Air made headlines recently for refunding a woman $1,010 in coins, which included one-cents and five-cents.
According to a report in Lianhe Zaobao, the Vietnamese tourist was on holiday with his girlfriend in Singapore and after some research, he found out there was ready stock for the phone in Sim Lim Square.
He is reportedly a factory worker with a monthly income of $200 and took months to save up for the phone as his girlfriend's birthday present.
The report states he was quoted $950 for the phone at Mobile Air and he excitedly made payment in cash. Thinking is was safe to shop in Singapore, he did not scrutinize the documents closely.
In addition, he was not fluent in English. When he wanted to leave the shop with the phone, staff members from Mobile Air then asked if he wanted a warranty package of one or two years.
He decided to take the one-year package, thinking it was complimentary.
To his surprise, he was asked to fork out another $1,500 for the one-year warranty package. He was told that he did not pay up, he could not leave with the phone.
Not knowing what to do, he knelt down and tearfully begged for a refund.
He said staff members at Mobile Air laughed at him and no passers-by were willing to help him.
Mobile Air subsequently agreed to refund him $600, but his girlfriend refused to leave the shop $350 poorer. Staff members at the shop also told her they will retract their offer of $600 if she called the police.
However, his girlfriend decided to call the police.
When the police arrived, Mobile Air showed them the signed invoice and offered to refund the couple $70.
CASE officers were called in subsequently and the couple got back a refund of $400. The tourist said he accepted the refund because he had to return to Vietnam in two days and was not sure if CASE could help him get back his full refund back.
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Conman there will always be, just seems that many gather at Sim Lim Square
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ignorant tourists there will always be
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You speak like somebody I know.
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pls leh, we know each other almost 10 yrs soon
still wanna act first time ah
u dont chibai
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you dont chibai
fifi want this t shirt from sgag?
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Netizens expose personal data of Sim Lim Square mobile shop owner
SINGAPORE — Outraged by reports of unscrupulous business practices at Sim Lim Square, members of the public have taken matters into their own hands to dish out justice, as they called for more action by the authorities.
Personal data of the owner of Mobile Air — the Sim Lim Square retailer which, when ordered by the Small Claims Tribunal to refund a customer, tried to pay the customer S$1,010 in coins — were exposed via a campaign by satirical Facebook group SMRT Ltd (Feedback) yesterday (Nov 4). These posts featuring addresses of his various businesses, photos of him posing shirtless, his mobile number, have received thousands of likes, with some calling for pranks to be played on him.
Another campaign was launched by Mr Gabriel Kang raised funds via crowdfunding platform Indiegogo to buy an iPhone 6 for the Vietnamese tourist Pham Van Thoai, a Mobile Air customer who reportedly went down on his knees to beg for a refund for the S$950 phone but recovered only S$400.
The campaign, launched this afternoon, aimed to raise US$1,350 (S$1,688) for Mr Pham but has since exceeded its target, raising US$6,286 as of 10.30pm.
Mr Kang, an owner of a robotics start-up, told TODAY that he felt “really bad” for Mr Pham and felt such unfair practices reflected badly on Singapore. The 37-year-old had wanted to buy a phone for Mr Pham, but realising that many others wanted to do so as well, decided to start a crowdfunding campaign.
A check by Channel NewsAsia also revealed that Mobile Air owner Jover Chew closed his shop at Sim Lim Square today. The Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) said 25 complaints had been lodged against the shop from August to October.
Commenting on the backlash against Mobile 22, CASE Executive Director Seah Seng Choon said the public’s strong reaction is “inevitable” and that errant retailers “should have known better”.
“Netizens are also consumers themselves and of course there is no stopping them from dispensing their own justice in cyber space. We just want to advice that they do so within the ambit of the law,” said Mr Seah.
CASE has invited Mobile Air to sign a Voluntary Compliance agreement (VCA) and will take legal action if they refuse to do so, said Mr Seah, adding that CASE will continue to keep a “close watch” on the practices of Sim Lim Square shops.
While the incidents have led some to complain that CASE has been ineffectual in handling consumers’ grievances, Mr Seah said the association works behind the scenes and will take appropriate action when necessary.
Most businesses which sign VCAs stop engaging in these unfair practices, he said, adding about 70 per cent of disputes between businesses and consumers have been resolved over the past decade.
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Originally posted by laurence82:
you dont chibai
fifi want this t shirt from sgag?
waiting for the crop top version
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Any photos of Mobile Air owner Jover Chew so that we can recognize if we happen to bump into him?
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.
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dont think he dare come out now without a bag over his head
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Thought the space was replaced by another shop ?
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yup, they close shop leow
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It's usually the same owner with different shop name...
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all the shops eventually lead to one big boss
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he will ushroom again with a different name in a different locality
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problematic -_-