Mobile phone buyers BEWARE!!?!

[burnerj]

My friend jus got conned by this shop in Toa Payoh shall not mention the shop name but it's the shop near to Cheers, right besides Sportlink, opposite Cupid Jewel. Located along a dark stuffy alley, no wonder really 黑店。Their main company is located in 33* Jalan Bes*r and they claim to have many branches all over the island.

This gist of the incident is that my friend went over to get a K750i, the shop gave her a cheap price for the phone, only 688 then proceed to sell her all sorts of accessories to cover his cost, and that are his <B>EXACT WORDS</B>.

here's my side of the incident which is being forwarded to case

15/6/2005

I, went down with A to The R***** Shop over at Toa Payoh HBD Hub on the 15th of June, at around 6.30pm. We went down to collect the original Sony Ericsson desktop charger as well as original Sony Ericsson battery for mobile phone model K750i.

When we went down, S*encer Go* told us that the stock is not yet available even though he had promised A that the stocks will come in in a week’s time. At that point I started to question him on the Memory Stick Duo Adaptor that he sold to my friend. When A was buying the phone, S*encer informed her that the phone does not come with the adaptor and that an adaptor would cost around 70 dollars. When I confronted Spencer Goh and informed him that the adaptor comes as part of the phone’s package (please see appendix for the complete K750i packing list). He tried to explain by saying that his company just provide him with the phone, travel charger and earpiece. And out of goodwill, he “gave” A the adaptor for free.

Next we asked him for the original Sony Ericsson battery and desktop charger that Spencer promised to deliver. The next thing he did was to enquire with his colleague and he took out a compatible battery from a drawer. I demanded to know what happened to the original Song Ericsson battery that he had promised and after some argument, he admitted that he did promise that he was selling Stacey an original battery, but what he meant was original Japan battery. I asked him what he meant by original Japan battery and S*encer replied that it was battery made in Japan. The authenticity of the battery is very doubtful, it’s appearance is a normal black battery with a white sticker wrapping. The words “Made in Japan” cannot be seen as there was a sticker covering the country of manufacture. Also when I asked S*encer for the original Sony Ericsson desktop charger, he told me the original desktop charger that he promised was also original Japan desktop charger. And that Sony Ericsson does not produce desktop charger.

At this point of time, we requested for a breakdown of the price of all the accessories that he had sold to A on the 9th June 2005. S*encer told us that it was not possible. Then we asked for a refund of the battery and desktop charger as he was unable to deliver the goods and the goods that he offered was not the original Sony Ericsson battery and charger that he promised. S*encer cited that all goods sold was un-returnable. Also he tried to argue by saying that the “(N)” that he wrote on the receipt meant “normal”, and that an “O” would be written if the goods sold was “original”. Which meant that at the point of closing the deal, he verbally promised an original battery and charger whilst writing down an order for their supposed normal battery and charger.

Next we asked him about the receipt, which was an ordinary receipt with no company name, address nor contact number. After much argument, S*encer got his colleague to take out the company chop and stamp it on the receipt. The company chop had the words “J-For*e Pte Ltd”. Then I tried to ask for the company address and phone number, S*encer refused to give it to us. Next we also asked him for his full name and details as there was only a signature on the receipt. He too refused to give us his full name and said that he would not reveal his name without a police warrant pass.

After some argument, S*encer walked off, saying that he will go search for the charger that he earlier mentioned that he did not have stock. And right before he left, he said that he will not do any refund or even do anything and we should just go to CASE.

We waited at the shop for over 15 minutes before walking off to the Toa Payoh Neighborhood Police Post. Before we walked off, S*encer’s colleague promised to call us when Spencer returns. We went over to the police post and talked to the officer on duty regarding the incident and he advised us to go back to the shop and ask for the name again and if the person refuses to give, we should then call the police and let them handle the case.

So we went back to the shop and S*encer was back with the charger which he earlier claimed that he did not have stock. Earlier when S*encer was away, I spoke to S*encer’s colleague and I asked him if other branches would have stock, he replied that the company would release the stock to every branch at the same time. So clearly S*encer was lying that he did not have the stock.

Also at this point we noticed that the company name “J-For*e” was not the same as signboard at the shop. And we saw the stamp of “The R*tail Shop” on a photocopied receipt. So after some more argument, Spencer came up with another company stamp and this time round, it have the name “The R*tail Shop” on it. We enquired exactly what company are they and S*encer replied that they are The R*tail Shop as well as J-For*e.

S*encer took out the supposedly original desktop charger and asked A to sign on his copy of the receipt as proof of receipt. We refused to accept a compatible charger and did not sign on his copy of the receipt.

Tired of arguing, we asked for a total refund and again, S*encer refused and thus we went ahead to report the case to the Police.

Please refer to case number <insert number> for the details of S*encer Goh of The R*tail Shop.

Our main complaint is that:

1.S*encer Goh sold the Memory Stick Adaptor to A even though it was part of the phone package.

2.S*encer Goh sold an original Sony Ericsson battery and original Sony Ericsson desktop charger which he failed to produce on the promised date and the latter does not exist at all.

3.S*encer Goh sold the phone at a price of $688 to A, which was below his recommended retail price and in order to recover cost, he pushed A to get all sorts of accessories that she did not intent to buy in the first place. S*encer said himself that he did that to recover his cost. My point is that if the cheap price comes with a price-tag of the various accessories, he should not had offered her the price in the first place then cheat A into buying all the accessories.

NB:: all names had been *ed to protect their identities

[borinz]

so wat happened in the end??? last mth i nearly went to tat shop to get my new phone...

[RAV-65]

Eh.... bro, the name of your friend Stacey can still be seen...

[mUAr_cHEe]

some S*encer *oh(s) are not censored....

[Clownfish]

thanx for the caution, hope CASE will handle this promptly so as to prevent other pple from being conned...

the way of taking out things from standard package n sellin them separately is too much IMO...

hope the case will goes well...

[wil_lee76]

bro, is these a second hand set or first hand? Seems like it second hand set leh?

[Clownfish]

bro, is these a second hand set or first hand? Seems like it second hand set leh?

k750i just launched dun tink it's second hand??

[flying carpet]

First you go to case then you report this to Sonyericsson. For sure this con man and his so call "company" will be in deep shit and will lose all rights for distribution ship.

If this sound not evil enough go to legal aid and file a law suit against him and the company cause since you have the police involve why not the court also. Then for very damn sure he will be in the deepest shit hole.

[RAV-65]

First you go to case then you report this to Sonyericsson. For sure this con man and his so call "company" will be in deep shit and will lose all rights for distribution ship.

If this sound not evil enough go to legal aid and file a law suit against him and the company cause since you have the police involve why not the court also. Then for very damn sure he will be in the deepest shit hole.

The shop may have taken stocks from others in the 1st place...

Normally such cases would be your words against my words... unless there are alot of complaints against them... I tink no use...

[chucky]

I think no use oso need to try.. cause if not even try,,,, how we know?? Got 1st time oso wil hape 2nd time victim kana chop by them..

[hotlemond]

A long story there. Hope i catch the proper ball

Seems like its a tough case to win.

The receipt did only indicate that its a battery, not original SE battery.

The guy had sold the item to you at below RRP$, so he can argue that you accepted non original battery and w/o desktop at that low price.

never forget, you guys willingly paid out the $ for it.

Unless every phones he sold comes with a CASE complain. Otherwise, consumers are always advise to inspect content in the deal for thier own interest.

Anyway, i understand the dishonesty, but the society calls for written proof.

The concern of original accessories aside, but unless your receipt clearly state that there is a future collection of the battery/charger, he can always tell CASE that the item had been issued to you the first time you paid and got the phone, and that you have probably misplaced it and try to pull a fast one on him. He can also tell CASE that alot of bad customers shows such tricks. Therefore, its a mandatory practice that thier sales person had verbally ask every customer to check content.

And then he is good guy again...

[akahoshi]

What bro hotlemond said is true.

Although you can get this guy into deep sh*t but that doesn't mean he's going to just take all the sh*t and blame. He is going to argue and try to get out of the mess.

He is going twist the words that you said and make it to his advantage..

[Ekia]

Seems like the latest marketing strategy. Went to a handphone shop at clementi recently. Saw the price of the phone real attractive and went in to talk to the salesman. Told him that I was interested in the particular handphone and he started writing on the receipt. He asked me whether I wanted package A or B which I had to choose since the the price doesn't include the charger/earpiece etc etc. I was so annoyed by the way they do business that i just simply walked away. The original set obviously came with the charger and earpiece but they simply took them out and sell them back to you again...

[Nic a Jon]

I just want to highlight that CASE is not an enforcement agency. They can only advise and probably blacklist the shop.

If u want refund , go to tribunal court ( advised by CASE).

This is my recent experience with CASE after I got cheated by a big LCD TV manufacturer in a warehouse sale. CASE advised me to 1st write to the GM of the company , and if that does not work go to Tribunal court if i want a refund.

[blueheaven]

IMO don't trust those handphone retail shops

Best is go to the original stores such as SingTel, Starhub, etc

This is because you would not know how or where those retail shops get the phones. They could be illegally smuggled in or could even be "custom made"

My cousin had a similar experience where he got a phone below RRP and after he opened the casing, he found that the interior parts are not original which mean that only the cover was original. Even the battery was those "use a few times only" type.

We went to the service provider to check out the creditability of the phone and sure enough, they denied any originality in the parts.

As for your case bro, ask around for people who had similar incidents but have not reported to CASE yet and file a lawsuit against the retailer together

[Nic a Jon]

Anyway I dont really trust those shops that sell handphone supposedly below market price , but on a package offer-ie u must buy an extra accessory from them.

For example:

About a year ago, I wanted to buy a Nokia 6230. Mkt price $550.

A shop in Toa Payoh quoted me $488 , but must buy a original nokia battery

from them a $88. Total = $576 before 5 pct GST. After GST $ 604.80.

I did not purchase the phone from them. Instead I bot it from Nokia shop below $550 during a promotion.

Guess what.......last week I went to Malacca and bot an "original looking" nokia battery for my nokia 6230 at M$18 ( S$8.10) .

Come to think of it , maybe the shop here is selling fake original looking battery at S$88

Business is very competitive and tough out there....beware of dodgy dealers

[sunland]

u can sue them for remedy......its a case of fradulent misrepresentation....contract will not hold

[flying carpet]

Actually it is not a difficult case to win if you say that the guys sold to you an original acessory which is suppose to be included during purchase then I don't see any reason why you can't win. Cause it can also be considered as fraud.

But this all come down to your friend it she would want to pursue on this much positive and negative thing can be said but it is better if a lawyer could advisae you furhter.

[XPeriment 626]

Guess what.......last week I went to Malacca and bot an "original looking" nokia battery for my nokia 6230 at M$18 ( S$8.10) .

Come to think of it , maybe the shop here is selling fake original looking battery at S$88

be careful about buying "original looking" nokia batteries. they have been the cause of many explosions and fires in Europe. Nokia strongly advises against using fake nokia batteries. Besides losing your phone, you could lose the right (or left) side of your face!!

[hotlemond]

u can sue them for remedy......its a case of fradulent misrepresentation....contract will not hold

will that leads to thousand of dollars of lawyer fees???

I could buy 3 nokia 9300 for that.

dun tell me it works the same as for the Women Charter where she only needs $2 dollars to sue ex husband for default in maintenence.

[Nic a Jon]

its not easy to sue over here. Even in the end u win, u might not get anything out of that company..they can simply declared bankrupt if they cannot afford to pay.

My deceased brother-in-law was sued for 25K by a company that he owed money to, after he passed on. The court case went on for 1.5/2 yr. On our side, the legal fee was like close to 20 K sgd. The guy who sued fork out like close to 30plus K.

He won the case eventually , but the court awarded him about 45 K ...inclusive of lawyer fee.

My Bro-in-law owed him 25 K and his legal fee was about 30 K. eventually he only get back 45 K....a waste of his time and resouces

Think twice before suing unless its worth ur while

[Kenji80]

BTW is it legal to sell "Cheong Batteries"?

[RockyBoy]

No wonder there are lots of small handphone shops around, some looks like ah beng shops. Probably they know how to trick people in buying their goods.

As for me, I prefer to buy original products from original shops. Slightly more but confirm the quality product that I want.

[hotlemond]

No wonder there are lots of small handphone shops around, some looks like ah beng shops. Probably they know how to trick people in buying their goods.

As for me, I prefer to buy original products from original shops. Slightly more but confirm the quality product that I want.

same goes for me. I recalled donkey years ago i bought a new nokia 8855 at a jurong east "ah beng" shop only to found out later that the cover was used (scratches). Mind you the aluminiuim cover alone cost $45. My mistake for not checking b4 leaving so did not go there to scream at them.

Since then all my phones are bought at Singtel retail shop.

[burnerj]

That con man PROMISE the ORGINAL SONY Ericsson batt which he twisted his words and said, "I promise ORGINAL JAPAN BATT". I was so furious seeing that the BATT wat just a piece of SUPER cheong batt with a white sticker wrapping around it and the MADE IN ***** (the country was blocked by the warrenty sticker, apprantly all the batt MADE in *** are all blocked) they claim cannot tear it out as it will VOID the warrenty. !!!!

he wrote a ("N") besides the battery and he claim that the N stands for NORMAL

battery, if it's ("O") then it's orginal battery.

**Just side track abit**

ToaPayoh area just too many CON shop le ... EVEN the CHAP CAI TUA (assorted dishes), i bought a plate of rice with sweet sour meat, curry vege and those steamed water egg, guess wat i got .... the sweet sour meat were nothing but FATS.... then the curry vege the stall ppl gave me was full of LEMON GRASS with few pc of cabbages (who on earth or rite mind would eat lemon grass), the STEAM eggs was the most furious thing... it's so diluted with water that by the time i start to eat, it turns to a puddle of semi water egg....

Then my ger went to a hair saloon in TOA PAYOH... the hair stylist really too much also... claims that the dyed color was difficult to mixed and require longer time and the hair might not be able to asorb the color (actual fact wan to charge more lar) and in the end he put the dye for less than 30mins then wash off le... ( i mean if he say the hair can asorb the color, should put longer mah... maybe 1 1/2hr or 1 hr mah). Claims that my ger's hair was DRY and Frizzy... but in the end he BLOW the hair for more than 20min (doesn't this makes the hair even frizzy) and let my ger see the hair condition after blowing to see how dry and frizzy it was... then put the conditioner to make it better and wan to physco my ger to buy HIS conditioner for S$45...

!!

I'm not saying that all shops in toa payoh is CON shop but really ... TOO MUCH le...