Hair Salon Chain Admits to Unfair Practices Targeting Elderly; One Charged $1k

An elderly consumer visited a hair salon in Ang Mo Kio for an $8 haircut but ended up paying nearly $1,000 for a hair wash and a 10-session hair treatment package, both of which he had not agreed to purchase.

- Calista Wong

The incident took place at a hair salon operating under the HairFun brand, which has since promised to stop engaging in unfair trade practices and to refund affected consumers.

Halfway through his haircut, the elderly customer was shown images on a monitor screen, which an employee claimed showed haemorrhaging on his scalp. However, no device had been used to scan his head.

Without the customer's consent, the employee washed his hair with a powder. The customer was later instructed to enter his personal identification number into the point-of-sale device, while the employee concealed the total payment amount.

The elderly customer later consulted a doctor, who confirmed that his head and scalp were normal and showed no signs of haemorrhaging.

The Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS), which disclosed the details of the case on June 4, did not state when the incident took place.