A woman has claimed she was locked inside a treatment room at a beauty salon and pressured into purchasing a RM3,000 facial package, despite initially visiting the outlet to redeem a RM45 facial voucher obtained at a wedding expo.
The woman, identified as Amira, said she has since lodged a police report and filed a complaint with the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living (KPDN). She also shared her experience on social media to warn other consumers.
According to the police report she posted, the incident took place at about 10.30am on July 26.
Amira said she visited the beauty centre to redeem a facial treatment voucher that she had received at a wedding exhibition, where she was allegedly told the treatment would cost only RM45.
However, after changing into treatment attire, she claimed a staff member informed her that the facial actually cost RM500, rather than the amount advertised at the expo.
She alleged that she felt pressured into agreeing to pay the revised fee. After completing the treatment, salon staff allegedly continued to pressure her into purchasing a RM4,000 treatment package, despite her repeated refusals.
According to Amira, one employee later entered the room with a card payment terminal while another staff member locked the treatment room door and offered her a RM1,000 discount, reducing the package price to RM3,000.
Fearing for her safety, she claimed she attempted to pay RM3,000 using her credit card, but the transaction was declined due to insufficient credit. She alleged the staff then instructed her to complete the payment using SPayLater.
Amira said she was kept inside the room for about 20 minutes before she was allowed to leave.
She has since reported the incident to the police and submitted a complaint to KPDN, urging authorities to investigate the matter.
Amira also said several other individuals had contacted her privately, claiming they had experienced similar incidents at the same beauty salon. She added that she had submitted screenshots of those messages as supporting evidence to KPDN.
She admitted that not contacting the police immediately after the incident was a mistake and encouraged other consumers facing similar situations to keep their receipts and evidence, lodge police reports and seek redress through the Tribunal for Consumer Claims Malaysia.
Amira stressed that her intention was not to defame any party but to raise awareness and prevent others from experiencing similar situations.
She also revealed that the organiser of the wedding expo had acknowledged the allegations and stated that it was taking the matter seriously. According to the organiser’s response, strict action, including banning the exhibitor from participating in future wedding expos, would be taken if the allegations are proven to be true.
Following her post, several netizens shared similar experiences. One claimed they were pressured into purchasing a RM1,000 facial package after initially agreeing to a treatment costing about RM199, while another said they had successfully obtained a refund after filing a claim with the Tribunal for Consumer Claims Malaysia.
