A beauty salon in Ang Mo Kio, Salon One, and 7 of its related entities were found to have committed unfair practices by making false claims and using pressure sales tactics to mislead their customers, following an investigation by the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS).
Following the investigation findings, Salon One has since made a promise to CCCS that they will not be making false claims in their sales practices anymore after receiving a warning.
Among the unfair practices that they were found guilty of engaging in include (according to CCCS’ press release):
a) Falsely representing to consumers, through its marketing materials or staff, that there were price discounts for basic haircuts for members and non-members, where in fact, these perceived discounts never existed as they were discounted from prices that were never offered;
b) Making unsubstantiated representations on the Salon One Entities’ treatments including claims that their “Herbal Head Spa” treatment was able to prevent Alzheimer’s disease, brain stroke, cerebral infarction, cerebral thrombosis and cerebral hemorrhage, as well as enhance memory. Such representations were also made to certain consumers who were not able to reasonably ascertain if the claimed efficacy and health benefits of the treatments existed.
CCCS’ statement
CCCS has found that Salon One Beauty Salon Pte. Ltd. located in Ang Mo Kio and seven other related entities engaged in misleading and false claims and pressure sales tactics in their transactions with consumers.
CCCS Chief Executive, Ms Sia Aik Kor, said “The beauty industry has consistently seen a high rate of consumer complaints. Businesses should provide consumers with clear and accurate information on their prices, discounts and promotions. Claims about the benefits, performance and qualities of their products and services should be accurate and substantiated.”
She added, “We also want to empower consumers to be able to say “No” when they come across situations such as pushy sales tactics, offers that seem too good to be true or dubious claims.”
Read more about the case: https://go.gov.sg/salonone