Customer left with over $5,000 in unused packages after Orchard Road spa closes down: 'I trusted them'
A Royal Secrets Wellness customer has been left with more than $5,000 in unused packages after the Orchard Road beauty spa ceased operations on Feb 28.
Stomper M said she had been a customer of the spa for 20 years, and the closure was "sudden".
"On Feb 12, when I went for my scheduled pre-Chinese New Year monthly facial, I was informed on-site — for the first time — that the salon would be closing in just two weeks," recounted M.
Royal Secrets Wellness opened in the basement of Winsland House at Kiliney Road in 1997.
"Over the years, I had been encouraged to sign up for multiple packages," said the Stomper, who paid up to at least $1,800 for each package.
"Like many beauty customers in Singapore, I trusted the brand and consultants after being with them for over two decades and definitely did not expect operations to cease so abruptly."
She calculated that the unused sessions left in her four remaining facial and body packages amounted to more than $5,000 in total. She has since been trying to recover the money.
"I was initially told I could request a refund, which is subject to management approval, or transfer my packages to other spas," said M.
"On Feb 25, I was informed that management had decided to proceed with liquidation and refunds would not be possible."
In a Feb 28 Facebook post announcing the closure, Royal Secrets Wellness said it was working with several established spa service providers to assist customers.
"Kindly take note that these spa provider(s) are coming forward purely out of goodwill to assist," said the post.
The Stomper shared a screenshot of a message from Royal Secrets Wellness listing the spa service providers in the Orchard Road area. They are Spa Rael, Adeva Spa and The Ultimate.
M said she contacted the listed spas and was told that only packages signed from March 1, 2024, onwards qualified. The transfer amount was also capped at $1,000.
"This means that out of my $5,000 plus balance, only up to $1,000 may potentially be transferred, leaving more than $4,000 at risk," explained the Stomper.
She has lodged a complaint with Consumers Association of Singapore (Case).
"As consumers, we often bear significant financial risk when businesses operating on prepaid models close abruptly," said M.
"I hope greater clarity can be provided on whether existing regulations adequately protect consumers — and if not, whether stronger safeguards are being considered."
In response to a Stomp query, Case president Melvin Yong confirmed that the association received a complaint against Royal Secrets Wellness regarding the unused prepaid package balances.
"We are currently assisting the consumer," said Mr Yong.
He added that Case encourages consumers to patronise CaseTrust-accredited beauty, spa and wellness businesses, which are required to have prepayment protection mechanisms in place to protect consumers' prepayments.
M told Stomp: "After more than 20 years of loyalty, I never expected to find myself in this situation.
"I hope that by sharing my experience, other affected customers may come forward and greater clarity can be provided."
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