Woman wins $807.50 worth of coins in game, but Shopee takes them back as wrong amount credited due to error
Shopee has apologised after the coins that people won in a Shopee game called Fruits were clawed back by the e-commerce platform.
Stomper Linda had "lost" $807.50 worth of Shopee coins this way.
Another Shopee user, Stomper Guo, said "Shopee launched an event in the game called Juice Vendor on July 1 with coin payouts, but defrauded account holders out of the game earnings without even informing us.
"There was no communication at all when they changed the terms and conditions of the game event. It was supposed to last the whole month of July, but Shopee unilaterally changed it to end within a week. And then, they terminated the game on July 2.
"Whatever coins earned from it was deducted from account holders with no explanation."
Another Stomper explained how the game worked.
She said: "When the player completes each level, the player will receive coins as a prize, After level 10, the coin prize will be either 1,000 or 2,000."
Each coin is worth 1 cent. So 1,000 coins are equivalent to $10 that you can use to make a purchase on Shopee.
The Stomper had earned 14,563 coins.
"My coins worth $145.63 were clawed back by Shopee without notifying the player," she claimed.
Another player, Stomper Bxxxx9, had accumulated more than double that – $357.50.
She recounted: "Without my authorisation, Shopee forfeited the 35,750 from my Shopee wallet.
"After an enquiry, Shopee customer service said that due to a 'system error', the wrong number of coins were credited to players' accounts and the correct amount was re-credited to our wallets by the end of July 2."
The Stomper ranted: "Shopee designed the game, tested the game and, for a properly managed company, definitely some managers would have verified and given the go-ahead for the launch.
"Then we players spent time and effort playing for more than a day just to have our winnings forfeited.
"There are many other players who experienced the same issue as me. I heard some players are domestic helpers who were so happy to win some extra pocket money and then had their happiness all taken away just because of this 'system error'.
"Is this the way to do things? If you made an error, shouldn't you be brave enough to take responsibility and honour it rather than make us pay for it?"
It didn't help when the "correct amount" was eventually credited at the end of the day.
"The amount was just 65 coins compared to the 35,750 coins taken away from me," revealed the Stomper.
"It was really adding insult to injury."
Other Shopee users also expressed their frustrations in the Complaint Singapore Facebook group.
In response to a Stomp query, a spokesperson said: "We sincerely apologise to users who were affected by the recent coin adjustment in the Shopee Fruits mini-game on July 1.
"A system configuration error led to an incorrect amount of Shopee Coins being credited to some users. Once the issue was identified, we took prompt action to correct the balances, and the appropriate coin amounts have since been re-credited.
"We understand that this situation has been frustrating for many, and we are committed to supporting those impacted. Our customer service team remains available through the Shopee Help Centre in the app to assist any users who require further support or clarification."
The spokesperson added: "We take this matter seriously and are conducting a thorough review of our internal processes to prevent similar issues from recurring and to ensure a seamless, trusted experience on our platform."
See something interesting? Contribute your story to us.
Explore more on these topics
