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Want $300 PSP? Pay $1,646

metalslug

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http://www.digitalone.com.sg/news/article/15057

Want $300 PSP? Pay $1,646
The refund slip also states an agreement that no complaint will be made against the shop to Case.

15057.jpg


By Chai Hung Yin,
The New Paper | Photo: TNP | 25-03-11


MOST foreign students or tourists would have suffered in silence.

A teenager from China almost succumbed to the same fate - until his gutsy Singaporean tutor intervened.

Miss Catherine Lim, a tutor in her mid 30s, said she had noticed during one of her lessons that her 15-year-old student, who is in a secondary school here, was depressed.

She told The New Paper: "He told me he couldn't sleep for three days because he had paid too much for a PSP."

James (not his real name), a Secondary 2 student, has been here for about eight months.

He was overcharged for the gaming console he bought from Sim Lim Square last month.

He paid $1,646 for a PlayStation Portable 3000 series, a screen protector, a crystal case, a game called Little Big Planet, a movie called Karate Kid, a battery and a 4GB memory card.

The package came with a two-year in-house warranty.

The New Paper found out that another shop, in the basement of Sim Lim Square, sold the same PSP model with a screen protector, a crystal case, a 4GB memory card and a USB cable for $309.

Genuine games cost $30 to $35 each and movies can be downloaded for free.

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The invoice for James' purchase of a PSP.

The recommended retail price for the same model on Sony Singapore's website is $299, including GST.

James said he had earlier withdrawn $2,000 in two $1,000 notes from his bank account intending to pay for three months' worth of his room rental.

On Feb 22, he went to Sim Lim Square to check if he could repair his laptop. A gaming console on display outside a shop called PlayEdge caught his attention.

A sticker on the box listed its cost as $193. He gave the salesman a $1,000 note and expected change.

He agreed to buy a screen protector and a crystal case. Without telling him the price, the salesman opened the box and put on the screen protector.

The salesman then thumped on the calculator and came up with a sum of $824.

'Too late'

Why didn't he return the goods?

"I had no choice," said James, "because the box was opened and (the salesman) had put on the screen protector.

"He said, 'It's too late. Are you going to pay?'"

The salesman then returned him the balance of $176 and told him that because the console was from the US, there was no warranty.

He offered James an in-house warranty of two years.

James agreed to buy the warranty without knowing how much it would cost him.

The salesman tapped out on the calculator a figure of $727 for the warranty.

Another $95 was added to the total bill for "taxes".

A locally-distributed console comes with a free one-year warranty by the manufacturer, according to Sony's customer service hotline.

But if a console is imported, the warranty would not apply.

James said: "I told them I have no money to pay, but they said that I'd better pay with the cash I have.

"They saw that I had cash with me because when I took out the earlier $1,000 note and I had another $1,000 note in my hand.

"I didn't want it, but they didn't want to cancel."

Miss Lim was outraged when she found out.

She said: "I was very angry. I went around checking the price and the more I found out, the angrier I became.

"They are cheating kids. He's an overseas student. He might not know the price. They are actually taking him for a ride."

Hard-earned cash

Said Miss Lim: "This is hard-earned money. His parents work very hard to send him over here to study."

She called the shop immediately to complain. She threatened to go to the Consumers Association of Singapore (Case).

She said: "They told me they didn't say they don't want to pay up. They said we can negotiate."

She went to the shop on March 12 to return the gadget and seek a refund. A team from The New Paper accompanied her incognito.

The salesman who sold the console said the boy couldn't return the item, but he could negotiate a refund.

The shop would only deduct the cost of a year's worth of in-house warranty and not the whole two years, he told her.

Despite repeated requests, the salesman refused to give an itemised bill, saying some of the items were bundled for free.

After about 90 minutes of negotiation, the salesman offered a refund of $1,000.

James agreed to the refund even though the final sum of $646 was still higher than the price other shops offer for the console and its accessories.

Miss Lim said: "In the end, he was still conned out of $300 plus. He is happy because $1,000 is still a lot of money to him."

But there was a catch: The salesman made the boy sign a handwritten agreement (below) that he would not raise the matter with Case.

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Scribbled on the note: "The customer, (the customer's name), hereby have agreed to settle the problem caused and did a refund of $1,000 and shall not bring up the matter again to Case Singapore."

Miss Lim said: "Why do they have to do that? They are just protecting themselves. This just means that they have many similar cases against them."

35 previous complaints against shop

THE teenager from China is not the shop's first victim.

Based on figures by the Consumers Association of Singapore (Case), Play Edge, on the second floor of Sim Lim Square, has had 35 complaints and feedback lodged against it since 2009 - six of which were made so far this year.

There were 25 complaints last year and four in 2009.

The cases refer to both filed and non-filed cases, but the majority of them were feedback cases. Filed cases involve consumers authorising Case to act for them.

Non-filed cases are feedback, inquiries or consumers who may have decided to deal with the vendors directly after seeking advice from Case.

Mr Seah Seng Choon, the executive director of Case, said in an e-mail reply: "Electronic shops can charge consumers for in-house warranty.

"However, there would be a breach of contract when the shop closes down as they are not able to fulfil their obligations on the warranty."

He added: "As a good business practice, we would urge vendors to present an itemised bill for transactions even without the consumers asking for it."

Calls to Play Edge's office number went unanswered.

STB and Case to share database to handle complaints

THE Singapore Tourism Board (STB) has roped in the Consumers Association of Singapore (Case) to handle tourist-related complaints together starting July 1.

Currently, STB deals with tourist-related complaints while Case handles complaints from local consumers.

Under the partnership, both agencies will share a common database to handle all tourist-related complaints effectively and efficiently.

STB received 1,557 complaints last year.

STB's executive director for Capability and Innovation, and Visitor Information and Feedback Divisions, Ms Neeta Lachmandas, said in a recent statement: "We believe this partnership with Case sends a stronger signal to recalcitrant retailers to curb unfair trade practices."

This article was first published in The New Paper.
 
"He said, 'It's too late. Are you going to pay?'"

Couldn't he say 'So what the box is open, it is not none of my business', and walk out?
 
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