A 41-year-old woman in Singapore claims she was
duped into paying SGD$1000 (US$722) for a PSP. The woman, who is
named as simply "Nicole", priced the Sony portable in various
shops, noting it ranged between the equivalent of US$217 and
US$434. She visited a shop owned by Yeow Tat Trading Enterprises,
telling the friendly and helpful clerk that she was looking for a
PSP for her daughter.
The clerk supposedly told her that while the games were free of
charge, the woman needed to pay for the PSP hardware and software
upgrading license. The bill? SGD$3,500 (US$2,530). Says Nicole: "I
was shocked. I thought he had written an extra zero by mistake... I
told him that if the upgraded PSP was going to cost as much as a
laptop, I might as well get my daughter a laptop." Then the clerk
reduced the price to SGD$3,100 and then down to SGD$2,610, saying
it wouldn't have the anti-virus software.
When the woman asked why other shops didn't charge as much, the
store clerk replied that those stores were selling PSPs that did
not have original licenses for the software. Convinced, she paid
SGD$2,600 (US$1,880), but went back the next day after her brother
told her she overpaid. She asked to see the licenses for the
software, but was told they were confidential. The store agreed to
wave the service charge. The woman ended up paying SGD$1,000
(US$722) after getting a SGD$1,600 discount. Says the woman:
It was still very expensive but I did not want to waste time... All
the while, the sales assistant had an innocent face, and was
helpful and appeared sincere... My friends all say I'm so
stupid.
Pretty sure more than your friends are saying that, Nicole.
Source: Kotaku,
http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/news/story/0,4136,172505,00.html
I would like to say how incredibly stupid she is and I'm getting
sick of people getting scammed. Why can't you bloody store owners
be honest.