A 30-year-old maid successfully sought help from Singapore’s consumer watchdog after being misled by a mobile retailer that sold her a region-locked handset but insisted the phone didn’t work because her SIM card was at fault.
In March last year, the woman, referred to as Valdes, who had been a domestic worker in Singapore for two years, went to Lucky Plaza with her 45-year-old friend, who was also a maid, to buy a new mobile phone, Lianhe Wanbao (Singapore) reported.
At the mall, the pair found a phone retailer full of customers, most of whom were maids, who told Valdes and her friend that it was quite a good store.
Valdes thus bought a brand-new phone for S$258 (US$196), and had her own SIM card inserted in the new device. However, to her surprise, the unit was locked. The shop assistant assured the pair that it was not a problem with the device, but that they had to contact the telecommunication operator for issues regarding the SIM card.
One week later, the women checked with the mobile operator, which informed them that the problem was that the handset they had purchased was from a different region, and was programmed to lock out a SIM card issued in Singapore.
The maid visited the retailer again to get the phone unlocked, but the manager denied it was a problem with the shop’s merchandise, and said the shop assistant responsible had quit.
The woman who had bought the useless phone thus sought assistance from the Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE), a non-governmental agency.
After CASE negotiated with the retailer and warned that its actions constituted an unfair practice under the Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) Act (CPFTA), which prohibits making misleading or false claims in relation to a consumer transaction, the retailer eventually agreed to unlock Valdes’ phone for free.
My next door pilipino maid also talk very laud like use speaker ..even i close maindoor ala stil can listend her noise.
A f****** day light robbery they want to cheat people… its only a matter of time in every action theres a price to pay…
Yes i had a problem in one of the shop there in luky plaza.
My stody was like this…
I forgot my phone lock code..so i go to this shop to unlock…yes they unlock my phone and i paid 48sg dollar..upon reached home..i inserted my sim card but surprisingly..that phone now cnt read sim card..so i go back to that shop and asked.. They said ..they cn unlock again but they asked my reciept..unlucky i threw away my reciept..so till.. Now my phone no used..
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Then it took 1 year to be resolved.
Another case of because they are working as Domestic helpers..they can abuse and fool them.
Trust will go down the drain. Please post the name of the shop and the boss name. It is a warning to all. Not all people are honest.
That place is onown for this kind of things
Maraming ganyan sa LP..daming paraan para manloko porket karamihan sa mga customers eh katulong..makarma sana kayong mga manloloko.
Discrimination always happened to the foreigner workers in Singapore
domestic helper/worker,housekeeper,maid have the same meaning if ur job is in the house. what other words to calls us doing this kind of job..? its clean and have dignity right?
VLP
What’s your problem with the word maid….
I’m sure the shop owner learned lessons from it si that they would repeat again
Correct!
The retailer should be given a stiff warning for doing this.. What the guy did was a plain bully and cheat, abuse to the innocent fellow.. I thought only at Sim Lim Square has Alibaba shop, I didn’t know also In Lucky Plaza also have.. The name of the shop should be mentioned here so let others know which shop to avoid, let them lose customers so that they will learn their lesson… FAIR ENOUGH..
They need to do more. Pay her for the trouble to come again and the aggravation. Lessons to those whoare try to cheat. A few hundred dollars fine, will teach them not to try.again.
Haa!why that shop or that retailer need to cheat since that they pah the amount they wsnt it,what a kindo cheater ppl,lucky singapore government is bieng fair they help the poor lady,hoping it doesnt mean the person buy is only a helper they need to bully or cheat?hope they were giving them a punishment to learn that cheating is bad,