source: http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/news/story/0,4136,170242,00.html?
The Electric New Paper :
CHARGED DOUBLE at camera shop
# Man returns to get refund, claims he was told to get out
# Shop denies this
HE thought he had a bargain on his hands.
09 July 2008
HE thought he had a bargain on his hands.
But Mr Narayan, 35, ended up paying double the price.
On 25 Jun, the marketing consultant went to Sim Lim Square to buy some MP3 players as gifts for his friends. While there, he went into a camera store to look at the lenses on sale.
After some bargaining, he bought a Sigma macro lens for $1,485. He also got two filters, which cost about $20 each, as freebies.
Mr Narayan paid for it using his American Express (Amex) card.
But he said he still wasn't convinced about the price.
He logged on to the Internet to check the actual price of the lens and found that it was priced around $750 at various retailers - almost half of what the shop had charged him.
'I realised that they had made a fool out of me,' Mr Narayan told The New Paper.
Mr Narayan, a foreign national, also realised he had not been given an invoice for his purchase, and the warranty card was unstamped.
The next day, he went back to the shop to seek redress.
There, Mr Narayan claims, he was first shown a few price lists and told that the price he paid was the correct one.
When he insisted that the shop had made a mistake, he was told that they had already settled payment with Amex, and that they could not refund him the difference.
Instead, he was offered a teleconverter.
Mr Narayan refused the offer and repeated his request for a refund.
Then, Mr Narayan alleged, the shop manager took his lens, kept it behind the counter, and told him: 'You get out. You did not return the lens to me, you do whatever you want.'
Mr Narayan said at that point he feared for his safety.
'They looked like they wanted to beat me up,' he said.
He left the store but returned a while later and wrangled with the manager until he got a cash refund of $705 and the macro lens with a fresh invoice.
As he left the shop, the staff allegedly told him: 'Don't try to act smart. Just get out of here immediately.'
When The New Paper visited the shop last week, the manager admitted that he had charged Mr Narayan double the retail price.
He also admitted that in the heat of the moment, he might have been 'a little hot-tempered'.
DENIAL
But he denied threatening Mr Narayan.
'There were other customers in the store. How to threaten? The other customers will be scared away,' he said.
A check with Sigma Singapore Marketing revealed that the shop in question is an authorised retailer of their products.
Mr Seah Seng Choon, executive director of the Consumers Association of Singapore (Case), confirmed that Case had received negative feedback against the shop before.
'We received two cases in total, one each in 2007 and 2008,' revealed Mr Seah.
Case does not investigate or take action unless a consumer lodges a formal complaint.
For now, Mr Narayan has decided to let the matter rest.
'I got my money back,' he said.
By Daryl Lim, newsroom intern
The Electric New Paper :
CHARGED DOUBLE at camera shop
# Man returns to get refund, claims he was told to get out
# Shop denies this
HE thought he had a bargain on his hands.
09 July 2008
HE thought he had a bargain on his hands.
But Mr Narayan, 35, ended up paying double the price.
On 25 Jun, the marketing consultant went to Sim Lim Square to buy some MP3 players as gifts for his friends. While there, he went into a camera store to look at the lenses on sale.
After some bargaining, he bought a Sigma macro lens for $1,485. He also got two filters, which cost about $20 each, as freebies.
Mr Narayan paid for it using his American Express (Amex) card.
But he said he still wasn't convinced about the price.
He logged on to the Internet to check the actual price of the lens and found that it was priced around $750 at various retailers - almost half of what the shop had charged him.
'I realised that they had made a fool out of me,' Mr Narayan told The New Paper.
Mr Narayan, a foreign national, also realised he had not been given an invoice for his purchase, and the warranty card was unstamped.
The next day, he went back to the shop to seek redress.
There, Mr Narayan claims, he was first shown a few price lists and told that the price he paid was the correct one.
When he insisted that the shop had made a mistake, he was told that they had already settled payment with Amex, and that they could not refund him the difference.
Instead, he was offered a teleconverter.
Mr Narayan refused the offer and repeated his request for a refund.
Then, Mr Narayan alleged, the shop manager took his lens, kept it behind the counter, and told him: 'You get out. You did not return the lens to me, you do whatever you want.'
Mr Narayan said at that point he feared for his safety.
'They looked like they wanted to beat me up,' he said.
He left the store but returned a while later and wrangled with the manager until he got a cash refund of $705 and the macro lens with a fresh invoice.
As he left the shop, the staff allegedly told him: 'Don't try to act smart. Just get out of here immediately.'
When The New Paper visited the shop last week, the manager admitted that he had charged Mr Narayan double the retail price.
He also admitted that in the heat of the moment, he might have been 'a little hot-tempered'.
DENIAL
But he denied threatening Mr Narayan.
'There were other customers in the store. How to threaten? The other customers will be scared away,' he said.
A check with Sigma Singapore Marketing revealed that the shop in question is an authorised retailer of their products.
Mr Seah Seng Choon, executive director of the Consumers Association of Singapore (Case), confirmed that Case had received negative feedback against the shop before.
'We received two cases in total, one each in 2007 and 2008,' revealed Mr Seah.
Case does not investigate or take action unless a consumer lodges a formal complaint.
For now, Mr Narayan has decided to let the matter rest.
'I got my money back,' he said.
By Daryl Lim, newsroom intern
