Wishing Well Beauty Centre and Ruby Beauty Pte Ltd to cease unfair trade practices following CCCS’s investigation

Following an investigation by the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (“CCCS”), two beauty parlours --- Wishing Well Beauty Centre (“Wishing Well”) and Ruby Beauty Pte Ltd (“Ruby Beauty”) --- were found to have breached the Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) Act (“CPFTA”) by engaging in various unfair trade practices that misled consumers into purchasing beauty services.

In 2019, CCCS initiated investigations into Wishing Well and Ruby Beauty. The investigations revealed that the staff of both beauty parlours would loiter in the vicinity of Bencoolen Street and approach consumers to entice them with a one-time offer of a discounted facial treatment at $38 and/or mole/skin growth removal service at $5 per removal. When a persuaded consumer arrives in the beauty parlour for the service, the staff would not provide the service as agreed earlier. Instead, without the consumer’s consent, the staff would perform unsolicited services such as removing other moles or skin growths so as to charge a higher price for the services, or a more expensive facial treatment without revealing the price difference until after commencement of the treatment. By the end of the treatment, the consumers would have chalked up a substantial amount due to the unsolicited treatment/service provided.

Wishing Well and Ruby Beauty have since signed an undertaking to cease the unfair practices and not to engage in any other unfair practices under the CPFTA. Both beauty parlours have undertaken not to use any other deceptive or misleading methods in order to entice customers to sign up for packages that the customers would not otherwise have agreed to, in lieu of payment for unsolicited treatments.

For the undertaking and more information, please visit https://www.cccs.gov.sg/media-and-consultation/newsroom/media-releases/wishing-well-and-ruby-beauty-to-cease-unfair-trade-practices-31-mar-20 .