'She thought she'd paid $80': Man calls police after mother-in-law pays $880 for salon package

An elderly woman went to a hair salon to dye her hair but ended up purchasing a treatment package for $880.

Her son-in-law, surnamed Wong, told Shin Min Daily News that the 75-year-old, who is hearing-impaired, visited the salon located at Block 414, Yishun Ring Road on Nov 14.

She had planned to dye her hair, which would have only cost her $38.

Before the dyeing process was completed, however, the salon employee sold her a scalp care service, telling her that the treatment would only take a few minutes.

"At that time, my mother-in-law was told that it would cost around $80, so she took out her bank card to pay," said Wong.

'We have to shout every time we talk to her'

Wong suspects that the salon employee took advantage of his mother-in-law's hearing impairment to sell her the treatment package.

"We have to shout every time we talk to her so that she can hear us," said Wong, highlighting the severity of her condition.

He claimed that his mother-in-law was under the impression that "she had paid $80 plus" that day, unaware that she had purchased a 12-treatment package for ten times the price.

Wong only discovered the charge when he saw the funds transfer SMS notification on his mother-in-law's phone last week.

He subsequently made a police report after being denied a refund by the owner of the salon.

In response to AsiaOne's queries, the police confirm that a report was lodged.

Salon employee checked 5 times before making sale

On Monday (Dec 16), a reporter from Shin Min visited the salon to interview the employee who served the elderly woman.

"I wrote the price on a piece of paper and showed it to her, and she said OK," said the employee surnamed Zhao.

He added that he got confirmation from the elderly woman five times before making the sale, knowing that she was hard of hearing.

The payment was made via a NETS terminal, and "the font is so big that it's easy to see when paying."

The hair salon opened for business about half a year ago and faces strong competition with nine other salons in the vicinity, the employee added. 

Following the incident, Wong said that his mother does not intend to patronize the salon despite having purchased the treatment package.

"(My mother-in-law) is a frugal person and finds it hard to accept the situation," he said.

"We don't expect to get a refund. We just want to let everyone know about this and remind the elderly to pay attention."

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dana.leong@asiaone.com