Have you ever prepaid for something, only to have the company suddenly go AWOL and stop replying to your messages?
This might sound a bit specific, but the Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) saw prepayment losses of a whopping S$1,930,000 in 2024—more than four times the amount (S$476,000) reported in 2023.
These came from a total of 14,236 complaints received by CASE in 2024, a 2% increase from the 13,991 complaints received in 2023.
According to CASE, the losses were largely due to sudden business closures and companies becoming unresponsive after consumers had made payment.
With that sharp increase, it’s more likely now than ever that you could’ve also been affected by this situation.
Closures of big companies have led to spike in numbers
The industries that accounted for the top five highest complaints in 2024 were motorcars, electrical & electronics, beauty, renovation contractors, and entertainment.
About a third of the prepayment losses were attributed to the renovation sector, where renovation contractors suddenly became uncontactable during the renovation process.
While the number of complaints from the renovation contractor industry technically decreased, the sector accounted for approximately S$728,000 in prepayment losses–the highest amount of prepayment losses in 2024.
This left some consumers with incomplete homes, who then had to rush to find another contractor to complete their renovation works.
Meanwhile, the entertainment sector saw a 281% spike in complaints, largely due to the botched Singapore Sky Lantern Festival in February 2024. There were also numerous complaints about ticket scalping.
F&B complaints went up 24%, largely due to the cancellation of the licence of Sakura Buffet Pte Ltd over food safety concerns.
As for the telecommunications sector, complaints increased 34%, with consumers complaining about poor connectivity, delayed installation of broadband services, and high charges in consumers’ bills.
Thankfully, approximately 80% of cases in which CASE was authorised by consumers to negotiate with businesses were resolved. This is a 4% improvement from 2023 and is CASE’s highest resolution rate in the past five years.
The bridal industry saw about S$284,000 in prepayment losses, largely due to the sudden closure of Love Nest and its related entities in April 2024.
Complaints in the motorcar industry held steady at 1,306 complaints but remained as the industry that saw the most complaints in 2024. 35% were related to car sharing and car leasing.
Movers saw prepayment losses of about S$134,000, due in part to large deliveries being undelivered or loss of goods during moving.
Vulcan Post has reported on one moving company, Moovaz, that had left some customers waiting for their goods for four months.
More ecommerce complaints
In 2024, CASE received 4,641 ecommerce complaints, a 25% increase from 3,711 complaints in 2023.
This is the highest number of ecommerce complaints since CASE first started tracking ecommerce complaints in 2020.
13% of these were from the entertainment industry, and 9% from the F&B industry.
On the bright side, CASE has worked with the two biggest ecommerce platforms in Singapore, Shopee and Lazada, to put in place an effective dispute resolution framework.
Doing better for the consumers of Singapore
Of the 962 complaints received against renovation contractors, approximately 97% were against non-CaseTrust accredited contractors.
All complaints related to accredited contractors were successfully resolved, highlighting the importance of the safeguards brought about by the CaseTrust accreditation.
As such, consumers are advised to engage CaseTrust accredited companies whenever the purchase involves large prepayments, as these companies buy insurance to protect their interest.
According to the press release, CASE will be announcing enhancements to CaseTrust to offer consumers more choices and greater assurance.
Melvin Yong, President of CASE, said: “It has been many years since our consumer protection laws were last reviewed. The 2024 statistics show that more needs to be done to better protect consumers shopping online, and also more safeguards are needed for consumers in sectors that collect large prepayments.”
“CASE will engage the government on the need to update our laws, work with our stakeholders to improve consumer education, and take steps to tackle industry-specific concerns.”
Hopefully, with these renewed efforts, Singaporean consumers will be better informed and protected with prepayments.
- Learn more about the Consumers Association of Singapore here.
- Read other articles we’ve written about Singapore here.
Featured Image Credit: Vu Long Tran via Google
