Slimming firm suspected of rigging scales to fool dieters
Hope this scale rigging practice is not practised
in Singapore ... Haha, our local consumers are very smart one. Hard
to fool with stupid tactics like these.
BodyPerfect is the Sin branch
right?
Police suspect that a slimming company accused of failing to pay
up after promising customers money back if they reached target
weights used rigged scales.
It
follows police raids on Tuesday on Royal Bodyperfect's Wan Chai
headquarters and six outlets around the city in which eight people
were arrested. The man and seven women, including the company
director, therapist, shop managers and consultants, were held on
suspicion of conspiracy to defraud. They were released on bail
yesterday and told to report back next month.
A
ninth person, a 31-year-old woman, was arrested yesterday and was
still being detained last night. No one has yet been
charged.
The
company's outlets were apparently open for business again
yesterday.
Three or four scales were among the items and documents seized
during the raids, an officer revealed yesterday. "The seized scales
will be taken for examination to see whether they have been altered
to weigh people heavier."
Another officer said initial investigations indicated that
customers paid from HK$10,000 to HK$60,000 each as deposits for
their slimming packages.
"They were promised they could get a full refund or part of
their money back as long as they could achieve a designated
weight-loss goal in a certain period," the officer
said.
Police from Kowloon West regional crime unit began the
investigation after first receiving complaints against the company
in late 2009.
Police refused to say whether undercover agents were used to
collect evidence.
Without naming the company, a spokesman for the police public
relations branch said unscrupulous sales tactics were suspected to
have been used to promote three slimming packages. "The plans
involve about 500 clients. So far, officers have contacted 200 of
them," he said, adding that police were still investigating how
many people were cheated and how much was
involved.
Senior Superintendent Chan Wai-kong, head of Kowloon West
regional crime unit, said: "It involves a lot of people and a large
amount of documents. We need more time to
investigate."
He
did not rule out the possibility of further
arrests.
A
public relations manager for Royal Bodyperfect, who declined to
give her full name, said: "As it involves legal proceedings, it is
inappropriate to make any comment."
She
said the company's chain stores were open for business as usual
yesterday.
The
Consumer Council said the number of complaints over sales tactics
by slimming companies dropped from 150 in 2009 to 32 last year.
There was only one similar complaint, involving an amount of
HK$76,877, last month.
A
council spokeswoman said one of the 32 complaints reported last
year involved an amount of HK$577,790.
In
most of the complaints, people were offered slimming packages for
free, but they needed to pay a deposit to be refunded if they met
weight reduction targets, council chief executive Connie Lau
Yin-hing said.
In
some cases, customers were asked to pay deposits by monthly
instalments, that were then forfeited if they failed to reach
weight targets, she said.
Lau
warned people to read terms carefully before signing any contract
and said they should pay extra attention if they were persuaded to
spend more money.
The
founding chairman of the Federation of Beauty Industry, Nelson Ip
Sai-hung, said there used to be genuine offers in the past. These
were used as a loss leader marketing strategy - as the queues of
people outside the stores generated publicity.
Consumers should be careful, Ip warned. People should beware of
offers that required deposits which are only refunded if they
reached a weight reduction target.
"It
is not logical. The company will not want to repay customers after
receiving the sum and it makes no sense for them to help the
targets slim down," he said.
Copyright (c) 2011. South China
Morning