Latest news with #CASE
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
HairFun admits to unfair trade practices in Singapore; elderly customers pressured into expensive treatments
SINGAPORE, June 4 — Hair salon chain HairFun has admitted to using unfair trade practices targeting elderly customers and has agreed to cease such conduct, refund affected individuals, and implement consumer protection measures, authorities said. The Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS) launched investigations into HairFun following complaints received by the Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) about aggressive and misleading sales tactics, according to a report published in Channel News Asia today. Unannounced visits to three HairFun outlets in October 2024 revealed that from May 2023 to July 2024, the salons lured elderly customers with offers of low-cost haircuts, then pressured them into paying for expensive treatment packages they did not request. In one case, an elderly man visited the Ang Mo Kio outlet for an S$8 (RM26) haircut but was falsely told he had scalp haemorrhaging. He was then charged nearly S$1,000 for a hair wash and 10-session treatment package he had not consented to. The customer only discovered the deception after a doctor confirmed there was nothing wrong with his scalp. CCCS also found that the same salons previously operated under the name Scissor & Comb, against which similar complaints were lodged between 2018 and 2022. HairFun Beauty Pte Ltd, HairFun Pte Ltd, and their directors, Roland Teo Jian Hao and Chiong Hong Hioh, have admitted to the unfair practices and committed to ceasing such actions. They also agreed to a five-day cooling-off period for package purchases and have cooperated with CASE to refund nearly all affected consumers, amounting to about S$12,500. CCCS chief executive Mr Alvin Koh stressed the importance of protecting elderly consumers and urged businesses to ensure clarity and consent in all transactions. CASE president Melvin Yong welcomed the outcome and said the organisation will continue working with CCCS to hold unethical businesses accountable.
Malay Mail
a day ago
- Business
- Malay Mail
HairFun admits to unfair trade practices in Singapore; elderly customers pressured into expensive treatments
SINGAPORE, June 4 — Hair salon chain HairFun has admitted to using unfair trade practices targeting elderly customers and has agreed to cease such conduct, refund affected individuals, and implement consumer protection measures, authorities said. The Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS) launched investigations into HairFun following complaints received by the Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) about aggressive and misleading sales tactics, according to a report published in Channel News Asia today. Unannounced visits to three HairFun outlets in October 2024 revealed that from May 2023 to July 2024, the salons lured elderly customers with offers of low-cost haircuts, then pressured them into paying for expensive treatment packages they did not request. In one case, an elderly man visited the Ang Mo Kio outlet for an S$8 (RM26) haircut but was falsely told he had scalp haemorrhaging. He was then charged nearly S$1,000 for a hair wash and 10-session treatment package he had not consented to. The customer only discovered the deception after a doctor confirmed there was nothing wrong with his scalp. CCCS also found that the same salons previously operated under the name Scissor & Comb, against which similar complaints were lodged between 2018 and 2022. HairFun Beauty Pte Ltd, HairFun Pte Ltd, and their directors, Roland Teo Jian Hao and Chiong Hong Hioh, have admitted to the unfair practices and committed to ceasing such actions. They also agreed to a five-day cooling-off period for package purchases and have cooperated with CASE to refund nearly all affected consumers, amounting to about S$12,500. CCCS chief executive Mr Alvin Koh stressed the importance of protecting elderly consumers and urged businesses to ensure clarity and consent in all transactions. CASE president Melvin Yong welcomed the outcome and said the organisation will continue working with CCCS to hold unethical businesses accountable.
CNA
2 days ago
- Business
- CNA
Salon chain HairFun admits to unfair practices targeting elderly customers
SINGAPORE: Hair salons operating under the HairFun brand have admitted to engaging in unfair trade practices targeting elderly consumers, and have agreed to refund affected customers and stop such conduct, Singapore's consumer watchdog said on Wednesday (Jun 4). The Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS) launched investigations after the Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) received complaints about the sales tactics by HairFun employees. After conducting unannounced visits at three HairFun outlets in October 2024, CCCS said that it found that Hairfun Beauty Pte Ltd and Hairfun Pte Ltd, between May 2023 and July 2024, had targeted elderly consumers by offering free or low-cost haircuts ranging from S$4 (US$3) to S$10. CCCS also found through its investigations that the HairFun companies had misled elderly customers about the necessity of treatment packages and charged them expensive services and packages that they had not asked for. In one instance, an elderly customer visited a HairFun outlet in Ang Mo Kio for an S$8 haircut. A HairFun employee then showed the customer images on a monitor, claiming the images showed "haemorrhaging on the elderly consumer's scalp" despite no device having been used to scan the customer's head. Without the customer's consent, the employee proceeded to use a powder to wash the customer's hair. When the customer wanted to make the payment, the employee hid the payment amount and told the customer to enter their PIN into the payment device. The customer was charged nearly S$1,000 and told that he had a hair wash and a 10-session hair treatment package, both of which he had not consented to purchasing. CCCS said the customer only discovered he had been misled after consulting a doctor who confirmed that his head and scalp were normal and showed no signs of haemorrhaging. "As part of the undertaking given to CCCS, the HairFun companies and their directors, Mr Roland Teo Jian Hao and Mdm Chiong Hong Hioh, have admitted to engaging in unfair trade practices," said CCCS. They have promised to "stop all unfair trade practices, cooperate with CASE to resolve all complaints relating to unfair trade practices and provide a five-day cooling period for customs to cancel and get a refund for any prepaid packages", CCCS added. The hair salon chain has also agreed to refund all affected consumers and has, to date, completed almost all of the refunds. The refunded amount totalled approximately S$12,500. "CCCS is concerned about elderly consumers being targeted and misled by errant businesses to pay for services that they did not agree to purchase," said the Singapore consumer watchdog's CEO, Mr Alvin Koh. "In dealing with vulnerable consumers, which may include the elderly, businesses must exercise extra care and check that they fully understand and agree to what they are buying, including the price, before they complete the sale. "In view of Singapore's ageing population, CCCS will step up our community outreach to better educate and equip our seniors with knowledge so as to better protect them." CCCS advises businesses to recommend and provide goods and services that genuinely meet consumers' needs and should never resort to misleading consumers or using undue pressure sales tactics. Customers should also not feel obliged to pay for goods or services that they did not ask for, CCCS added.
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump Openly Sells Access To Those Who Put The Most Cash In His Pocket
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is taking his efforts to use his office for personal enrichment — the very definition of corruption — to new levels Thursday night, selling face time to those who put money into his bank account by purchasing nearly $200 million worth of his branded souvenir crypto coins. And while Trump will know who has parted with all that cash for the opportunity to spend a few hours to bend his ear, Americans will not — unless they can somehow match real names to monikers like 'MeCo,' 'CASE, 'GAnt' and 'REKT.' Those four individuals or organizations, identified only by their usernames and crypto 'wallet' addresses, collectively owned 2.7 million $TRUMP coins, worth a total of $38.3 million on Wednesday, based on the $14 price per coin that day. Heather Cox Richardson, a Boston College historian, said Trump's open corruption is unprecedented in American history. 'Interestingly, the real financial corruption in an administration is around the president, not usually the president himself,' she said. A White House official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the crypto coin business 'has nothing to do with the White House.' Anna Kelly, a White House deputy press secretary, denied Trump was doing anything wrong and instead attacked the news media for correctly reporting on his two federal prosecutions, his criminal conviction for falsifying business records and the civil judgment against his company for massive fraud. 'President Trump only acts in the best interests of the American public, which is why they overwhelmingly reelected him to this office, despite years of lies and false accusations against him and his businesses from the fake news media,' she said. Trump began selling his new tokens three days before his inauguration. The coin, which has zero intrinsic value, soared in price to as high as $75, allowing 58 early buyers to make over $10 million each before the coins plummeted in value. They were selling for about $8 each before Trump announced his contest in late April to award a 'gala' dinner at his golf resort in Sterling, Virginia, to the top 220 Trump coin purchasers, based on how much they held on average from Jan. 17 through May 15. The top 25 coin holders would also be invited to a 'VIP' reception with Trump before the dinner and then a tour the following day. The contest website originally had promised a White House tour, but subsequently changed the page to delete the White House reference. According to a 'leaderboard' maintained by the company that is managing the coin sales, the 220 winning coin holders in total owned 13.8 million coins on the May 15 close of the contest, worth just over $192 million. Just over $20 million of that total was held by the single biggest Trump coin holder, Chinese-born crypto billionaire Justin Sun, who is among the few of the contest winners whose identities are known because they have boasted about it publicly. 'Honored to support @POTUS and grateful for the invitation from @GetTrumpMemes to attend President Trump's Gala Dinner as his TOP fan!' Sun wrote in a social media post Wednesday. 'As the top holder of $TRUMP, I'm excited to connect with everyone, talk crypto, and discuss the future of our industry.' Sun last year bought $75 million of crypto coins issued by a different Trump family business, World Liberty Financial. Not long after Trump retook the White House, the Securities and Exchange Commission asked a federal court to pause its two-year-old civil fraud suit against Sun and his businesses. It is unknown and, from the public record, unknowable what other coin buyers want out of their meeting with Trump. One publicly traded trucking logistics company revealed in an SEC filing that it planned to buy as much as $20 million in Trump coin 'to advocate for fair, balanced and free trade between Mexico and the U.S.' The company, Freight Technologies, however, said through a spokesperson that it is not attending the dinner. The Trump meme coin is just one piece of Trump's open attempts to use his presidency for his personal gain. While he did the same in his first term through his hotels and golf resorts, he has focused this time around on his various crypto ventures. Indeed, his World Liberty Financial brokerage announced just before Trump's recent trip to the Middle East that a state-backed firm in the United Arab Emirates was using its 'stable' coin for a $2 billion transaction. How much, precisely, Trump is earning through these various schemes may never be known, because — unlike every other president in recent times — he has refused to release his tax returns to the public. A recent Washington Post analysis found that Trump and his partners in the Trump coin business made $3 million in transaction fees since the contest was announced in April, and $43 million in fees and $312 million in coin sales since Jan. 17 — all despite the Constitution's prohibition against presidents accepting income other than their salary. Trump's lack of interest in abiding by constitutional rules on outside income and gifts, in fact, appears to have become an international joke. On Wednesday, Trump angrily defended his decision to accept a $400 million luxury Boeing 747 from Qatar, attacking a reporter who asked about it during an Oval Office photo opportunity with South Africa's president. Cyril Ramaphosa, who came to the White House to win a trade agreement, told Trump: 'I'm sorry I don't have a plane to give you.' Trump responded: 'I wish you did. I would take it.'
CNA
06-05-2025
- Entertainment
- CNA
CNA938 Rewind - Old school arcade machines FTW – the RetroCade story with founder KJ
CNA938 Rewind I n 'Made in SG', Melanie Oliveiro speaks with Poh Keng Jin – better known as KJ - creative director and founder of RetroCade. A maker and seller of retro arcade machines, RetroCade also offers old-school arcade machine assembly workshops in Singapore. Poh will talk about how his passion for building such machines started, how he came up with new designs for such machines, and how he started conducting workshops for fans from all walks of life. Latest Episodes CNA938 Rewind - Author & biz development manager Gerry Oh's Foodie Travels In 'Destination Anywhere', Melanie Oliveiro speaks with author, business consultant, foodie and frequent traveller, Gerry Oh, about his journeys around the world. In Part 1 of their chat, Oh recalls his foodie trips to Rome, Bangkok, Tokyo and New York City. He'll talk about savouring 'Saltimbocca alla Romana', a classic Roman veal dish; where in BKK to get 'Khao Soi', a northern Thai noodle curry dish; where to get homestyle 'Tonkatsu Teishoku', a breaded and deep-fried pork cutlet in Tokyo; and which NYC street hotdog brand gets the thumbs up from him. 19 mins CNA938 Rewind - Zombies in Singapore? Find them in author Felix Cheong's 'Be Real' In 'Culture Club', Melanie Oliveiro speaks with Felix Cheong, Singaporean author and poet now promoting his graphic novel 'Be Real: A Guide to Authenticity'. It's about a zombie epidemic that takes over the world, with protagonist, Zachary Kwan, stuck in the middle of it all. Readers follow Zachary's plight as he goes from an unpopular writer trapped in a failing marriage to a flesh-eating zombie. Cheong talks about the zombie apocalypse genre and what it was like working with Arif Rafhan, an award-winning comics artist. 30 mins CNA938 Rewind - Old school arcade machines FTW – the RetroCade story with founder KJ I n 'Made in SG', Melanie Oliveiro speaks with Poh Keng Jin – better known as KJ - creative director and founder of RetroCade. A maker and seller of retro arcade machines, RetroCade also offers old-school arcade machine assembly workshops in Singapore. Poh will talk about how his passion for building such machines started, how he came up with new designs for such machines, and how he started conducting workshops for fans from all walks of life. 31 mins CNA938 Rewind - Mind Your Money - HomeMatch Renovation journey According to the Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE), consumers lost SGD 1.93m last year after making advance payments for services that were never delivered. Out of the 962 complaints CASE received against renovation contractors, 97% were against non-CASE Trust-accredited contractors. Hui Wong speaks with HomeMatch co-founder Mervin Foo on how platforms like HomeMatch that could save some sleep when you embark on your renovation journey. 17 mins
