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Two People’s Park Complex shops asked to sign compliance agreement

SINGAPORE — The Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) has asked two retailers at People’s Park Complex — Tele Infinity and Mobile Alliance — to sign a voluntary compliance agreement (VCA), a contract that binds errant companies to agree to stop unfair practices, within seven days, starting today.

SINGAPORE — The Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) has asked two retailers at People’s Park Complex — Tele Infinity and Mobile Alliance — to sign a voluntary compliance agreement (VCA), a contract that binds errant companies to agree to stop unfair practices, within seven days, starting today.

Under the Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) Act (CPFTA), unfair practices include making a false claim and taking advantage of a consumer by exerting undue pressure on the consumer to enter into a transaction.

In a press release issued yesterday, CASE said it had previously met the two retailers and warned them to cease their unfair practices, but they had refused to do so. “If the companies refuse to sign the VCA within the time stipulated, we will consider commencing injunction action against them,” it said.

The announcement by CASE comes a day after the consumer watchdog’s latest figures revealed People’s Park Complex to have the highest number of consumer complaints this year. From January to last month, 146 consumer complaints were lodged against retailers there, while those at Sim Lim Square received 103. The figures only included complaints that had been filed by locals and excludes those from tourists.

On Wednesday, CASE said it had started injunction proceedings against Sim Lim Square retailer Mobile Air after it refused to sign a VCA.

The rogue retailer had sparked outrage after images of a Vietnamese tourist going down on his knees to tearfully beg for a refund on its premises went viral. This happened shortly after the shop made headlines for trying to give another customer a S$1,010 refund in coins. The massive outcry over its unscrupulous tactics had forced Mobile Air to shut down for more than a week, but it reopened yesterday under a different name, HJ Mobile.

Injunction proceedings could take several months and approval has to be sought from relevant committees and the Injunctions Proposals Review Panel at the Ministry of Trade and Industry. If an injunction is granted by the courts, a company will be restricted from engaging in the unfair practices stated in the CPFTA.

CASE said it takes a serious view of errant retailers that have continuously engaged in unfair practices and that it would follow up closely on all feedback or complaints from consumers.

According to CASE, 22 businesses have been served VCAs in the past decade. Of these, 17 have complied and signed the agreement, but the remaining five saw injunctions taken out successfully against them for declining.

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