Scam or bad luck? Woman spends $1,500 on confinement meal delivery but ends up eating her own food

Confinement meal delivery is meant to be a fuss-free option for new mothers, but not for one woman who did not get what she paid for. 

Pauline Tan told AsiaOne on Wednesday (Dec 14) that she ordered a confinement meal package from Angel Confinement Meals on Nov 18, after seeing the company's booth at a fair. 

The $1,490 package consisted of 28 days' worth of lunch and dinner as well as an additional week of lunch. 

Tan paid a deposit of $447 when she placed the order, and made the rest of the payment on Nov 29. She received the first delivery on Dec 1. 

All was well until Dec 8, when she received a text message from the company informing her that they wouldn't be able to deliver her meals for the next two days due to an electricity issue in their kitchen.

"At that point I already requested for a refund, but they only claimed that they submitted my request to their management for review. They also could not provide any form of compensation," she told AsiaOne. 

Tan received another message from the company two days later which said they were unable to deliver the food for two more days.

On Monday, the company told her there would no longer be any more meals delivered to her until they could relocate to another kitchen. 

They also told Tan they could not refund her the remaining amount as their system was "hacked". 

Over the next few days, she repeatedly tried to contact the company via WhatsApp, but only received replies saying that they would "resolve the issue as soon as possible". 

Tan ended up eating the food cooked by her mother-in-law and she has since placed an order with another catering company. 

She also filed a police report. 

According to the woman, the confinement meal company owes her $1,111.55, after deducting the cost of the meals she received in the first week. 

Tan appears to be one of several customers who has a bone to pick with the confinement meal company. 

A quick check on the company's Facebook page showed several negative reviews from other disgruntled customers. 

Some of them alleged that the company left fake five-star reviews on their own page, with one describing the company as "dishonest, unethical and irresponsible". 

AsiaOne has contacted Angel Confinement Meals several times, but has yet to receive a response at the time of writing. 

The company's website also appears to be down. 

Catered food woes 

In February, a man ordered a 10-day delivery meal service for his elderly parents who had contracted Covid-19, but was left sorely disappointed. 

"They claimed to use less salt, no MSG and offered healthy home-cooked meals, especially for the elderly," he said.

According to the man's parents, the meat was "hard and not fresh", and also oily — not worth the $492 spent. 

Feeling like it was a "total scam", the customer tried to contact the catering company for a refund, but his request was rejected. 

Left with no choice, the man asked his friends to send some food to his parents' place. 

ALSO READ: Best foods to eat for new mums during confinement

claudiatan@asiaone.com