Man accuses Jem store staff of changing his 68-year-old mother’s ATM limit to buy $11,048 package
A 68-year-old woman walked into a store at Jem shopping mall “with no intention of buying anything” but ended up with an $11,048 beauty package, much to her son’s dismay.
In response to a Stomp query, the police confirmed that a report was lodged and are looking into the matter.
Stomper Anonymous, the woman’s son, said the incident occurred at the Dualsonic store on Sept 8.
According to Anonymous, his mother had been shopping at the mall after her medical appointment at Ng Teng Fong General Hospital when a staff member who was handing out free facial samples approached her.
He shared: “My mum initially refused, explaining that she didn’t know how to use these. The staff brought her into the store to ‘show her how to use it’.
“Whilst showing her, the staff also took the opportunity to sell her their latest laser solution ($2,700) that will help with her facial problems.
“They said that because she was an NTUC member, they would give a discounted price of $2,160.”
His mother paid $2,000 via NETS and the remaining $160 via cash, said Anonymous.
How an elderly woman ended up buying an $11,048 beauty package
He alleged that the shop’s staff then gave his mother a beauty soap to “curry favour” while telling her that it was not meant to be given out for free.
“Since she spent so much, the staff offered to sit her down and give her a free facial scan, during which they shared more about her facial problems and the beauty packages that they had, priced at $8,888 for 12 sessions and $15,888 for 24 sessions,” the Stomper claimed.
Describing the process as an “extended sales pitch”, Anonymous added: “My mum said that it was too expensive. The manager came out and said they would give her the earlier $2,160 product for free if she bought the $15,000 package. They said this was a special deal only for her.”
Anonymous said his mother wanted the $8,888 package, but the amount was “too much”. As she had hit her ATM limit, she offered to pay the next day.
The Stomper added: “However, the staff suggested accessing her DBS digibank on her phone, so that they could ‘help’ her to process the transaction.
“Given that my 68-year-old mother is not tech-savvy, she logged in to her digibank, and the staff changed the ATM limit on her phone. They then accompanied her to the ATM nearby to withdraw 4 × $2,000 in cash, which she handed to them on the spot.
“For the remaining $888, they used her joint account with me to transfer another $1,000 and gave her $112 as change.”
Anonymous alleged that the shop’s staff “breezed through” their refund policy and “got her to sign on the receipt”, which his mother did not fully understand as she was not fluent in English.
“After which, they offered to buy her dinner in an attempt to keep her,” he said.
At 8.52pm, Anonymous received a call from his mother, informing him about the dinner.
“I found out that she was being tricked into buying all this nonsense and had been kept in the store for more than three hours,” he told Stomp.
“I told her loudly over the phone to be at home at 10pm and not to make any more purchases. Overhearing that I was upset, my mum left the store hurriedly but before she left, the manager said they would give her another six sessions for free to thank her.”
In total, the Stomper’s mother paid $11,048.
Anonymous, who shared screenshots of the multiple transactions made to the store, took issue with what the shop’s staff purportedly did.
He reiterated: “Here’s the part I most want people to know about: my mother is not tech-savvy and doesn’t use mobile banking very much.
“To process the payment, in the name of assisting my mum, the store’s staff used her phone and used her banking app themselves to raise her daily withdrawal limit, so that the transactions could go through.
“She did not fully understand what was being done on her phone while it was in their hands.”
Stomper receives notification about ATM limit change
The Stomper believes his mother’s ATM limit was changed from $2,000 to $10,000. He said he had received a notification from his bank about the change while he was at work.
“I initially thought it was a scam as my elderly mother wouldn’t have been tech-savvy enough to do it herself,” Anonymous added.
He said his mother has not used any part of the package except for the free trials and samples at the store.
The Stomper subsequently reported the matter to the police, the Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) and Jem’s management.
Anonymous said: “I want other families with elderly parents to know this can happen in a regular mall storefront.”
Company says staff ‘acted in response’ to customer’s request
In response to a Stomp query, a Dualsonic spokesperson said the company takes all feedback from the public seriously.
“Upon receiving the feedback, we conducted an internal investigation, including a review of the available CCTV footage, relating to the sales process and payment transaction,” the spokesperson said on Sept 10.
Dualsonic does not condone inappropriate or improper sales practices, said the spokesperson, adding that the company has strict rules and standard operating procedures in place that all sales staff must comply with.
“Based on our review of the available CCTV footage and accompanying audio recording, we did not observe or hear anything during the sales process that, based on the material reviewed, would indicate that the customer was unaware of the items being purchased or the total amount involved.”
According to the spokesperson, the footage and audio also appear to show that the items and purchase amount were communicated during the transaction.
“That said, we recognise that CCTV footage and audio recordings may not, by themselves, establish a person’s complete understanding, intentions or subjective state of mind,” the spokesperson added.
“Accordingly, we do not wish to draw conclusions beyond what can reasonably and objectively be established from the material reviewed.”
The company’s investigation also identified an “issue” concerning the payment process, said the spokesperson.
“Based on the information available to us and our review of the relevant footage and audio, the customer requested assistance from one of our staff members in increasing her daily banking withdrawal limit to facilitate the payment. The staff member appears to have acted in response to the customer’s request by assisting with this banking-related process.”
The spokesperson added that Dualsonic is reviewing its internal procedures and reinforcing the relevant requirements with its sales staff to minimise the risk of similar situations arising in the future.
Stomper says company agreed to full refund
Anonymous did not directly address the company’s response, but told Stomp that he was “honestly not satisfied” unless he could get a full refund.
He also pointed to negative Google reviews by other customers, who he felt had similar experiences to his mother’s at Dualsonic.
The Stomper visited Dualsonic on the evening of Sept 11 and said the shop agreed to a full refund.
“However, they said I needed to sign a form which will restrict me from any further claims against them,” he added.
On Sept 15, Anonymous told Stomp that the case had been “successfully resolved” and that he would be receiving a full refund.
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