Consumer Watch

Singtel customers are understandably upset by the fact that they can't watch the UEFA Champion League matches anymore and are making their grievances heard. Postings on the Singtel Facebook page have not been friendly - mostly upset subscribers demanding that Singtel be transparent about the status of their broadcasting rights. The strong reaction is not surprising considering that this football …

The Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS)  has issued an Infringement Decision (“ID”) against 13 fresh chicken distributors and imposed financial penalties totalling $26.9 million for engaging in anti-competitive agreements to coordinate the amount and timing of price increases, and agreeing not to compete for each other’s customers in the market for the supply of fresh chicken products in Singapore. …

I am rather disappointed at both at a local bank for its handling of the"allegedly foreigner pretending to be Singaporean debacle" and for the Singaporean who caused such a mountain out of a molehill. For those who are unaware, there is this story about a customer asking a bank teller if she was a Filipino and when she said yes, …

A long time customer wrote on the Facebook page of Singapore Telecommunications Limited (Singtel) to express his disappointment as to how the largest mobile network operators in Singapore handled a dispute caused by a hidden charge not revealed by a sales person who had persuaded him to subscribe to a 'free' MIO TV. Sogon Leong, the customer, had been told …

According to information from NTUC Fairprice website, it was setup in 1973 (then called NTUC Welcome) to "help stabilize the cost of living and prevent profiteering". At the time, the global oil crisis triggered rising food prices, raising the cost of living in Singapore. Former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew once praised NTUC Fairprice: NTUC Welcome was born during the …

In Parliament today (9 Jul), Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said he expects Malaysia to fully honour the terms of the 1962 Water Agreement, including the price of water, signed between Singapore and Malaysia. "The 1962 Water Agreement was guaranteed by both Singapore and Malaysia in the 1965 Separation Agreement, which in turn was registered with the United Nations," he said. …

It would seem that the government has not learnt any lessons from the fallout caused by the sudden demise of gym chain California Fitness in Singapore. Nearly 2 years on, quite a number of its former members still have not seen a penny of their prepaid membership fees repaid. I wonder why the government has not in the last 2 …

Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) has announced in an advisory on Thursday (4 January) that consumer protection laws may not apply if consumers agree to a business's request to visit their homes to promote their goods or services. The Singapore's consumer watchdog stated that it handled 117 complaints involving door-to-door sales between 1 January 2015 and 31 December 2017, adding that 30 …

In a commentary article written by Channel NewAsia's Bharati Jagdish dated 26 December, she said that those of us who can afford it shouldn’t complain when they raise their prices due to rising costs especially when so many of us recognise the skill and the hard work that goes into making a good hawker dish. She noted that some hawkers have …

After the news of Amazon cutting its free shipping offer to Singapore, the company has announced that Singaporeans can sign up to be members of  Amazon Prime, which offers free global shipping and access to video streaming, among other things. Those who are interested to be members may sign up for the membership on Amazon website starting from Wednesday (6 December) and will …