Scammed Vietnamese tourist could now get back three times the money he lost

Tourists beware, you’ll be in for a scare at Singapore’s notorious IT retail complex, Sim Lim Square. Shops in this mall have a reputation for misleading consumers – especially happy-go-lucky tourists – when it comes to the prices of their goods, and the past week has seen a slew of unfortunate incidents that caused their popularity to dip even further.

In particular, the story of Vietnamese tourist Pham Van Thoai who got ripped off big-time went viral on Facebook. Here’s how the story goes: the factory worker, who makes a paltry US$200 per month, paid S$950 (US$760) to purchase an iPhone 6 for his girlfriend at the infamous mobile phone shop, Mobile Air. He was then asked if he wanted to add an extended warranty as well for the smartphone, which he did, thinking it was complimentary.

As it turns out, it wasn’t free of charge, and the staff asked him to cough up another S$1,500 (US$1,200) for the package. He sensibly refused, and asked for a refund, but was denied by the staff. He then got down on his knees and begged for it, but all he got was laughter, mockery, and an offer from the staff to get back just S$600 (US$480):

He ended up walking away empty-handed. According to The Straits Times, the Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) managed to get S$400 (US$320) back for him, but that was it.

Not surprisingly, this story prompted an outpouring of anger and indignation on Facebook:

One local startup founder decided to take action. Harnessing the power of the crowd, he set up an Indiegogo campaign with the goal of raising US$1,000 to get an iPhone 6 for the man. He even threw in a goodie bag for good measure:

I feel that Mr. Pham was dealt a great injustice by the legal system and while we cannot undo those traumatic and humiliating scenes he has had to endure, we can try to make things right. Let’s give the man an iPhone 6!

And if we happen to raise a little more, I’d like to send him some small gifts of Singaporean hospitality such as Bak Kwa, kaya jam, and spice packs to try some of the dishes he missed out on. His entire holiday was destroyed by the actions of one errant retailer, and if he had to go through something this traumatic, he must have lost his appetite and missed out on all the best experiences in Singapore.

Incredibly, the campaign shot past its funding goal within the first hour, and is now at US$4,412.

The campaign has already raised over S$11,000 (US$8,500). Gabriel Kang says on the campaign page that he is in no way affiliated to the Vietnamese tourist, but simply wants to make things right for him. The campaign will end on November 12. Pham, however, has expressed that he is not willing to accept more money than what was owed to him, according to Lianhe Zaobao.

He reportedly said: “I lost $550. So I will accept only $550 donated by kind people. Nothing more. I’m grateful for all your kindness but I do not want to take more than what I’ve lost.”

According to Channel NewsAsia, Mobile Air has had 18 complaints lodged against them so far this year. CASE served them a letter yesterday requesting that they sign a Voluntary Compliance Agreement, which would compel them to halt their unfair practices, or be charged. For this store and the rest of Sim Lim Square, though, their reputations are thoroughly ruined. (Techinasia.com)