2 Nail Palace outlets misled customers into buying packages

Two Nail Palace outlets have been ordered by the court to stop misleading customers into signing up for packages to treat purported nail fungus infections.

The nail salon chain, which opened in 2002, lists 28 outlets on its website. Many are located in heartland malls.

The restraining orders were sought by the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS) against the group's outlets at Bukit Panjang Plaza and Eastpoint Mall in Simei.

In written grounds published yesterday, District Judge Elaine Lim agreed with the regulator and declared that the two outlets had engaged in unfair practices under the Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) Act. The judge ordered the outlets to publish details of the declaration and restraining order in newspapers including The Straits Times.

Judge Lim also ordered that for the next two years, the outlets have to notify customers about the declaration and restraining order before entering into consumer transactions.

The CCCS submitted affidavits from two customers - one from the Bukit Panjang Plaza outlet who paid $1,677.76 and one from the Eastpoint Mall outlet who bought a package for $11,401.92.

Nail Palace denied that it had misled the customers. It submitted affidavits from two employees, as well as its managing director Kaiden Cheng and training manager Catherine Lai.

But the judge found that employees had misled the customers into signing up for fungal treatment packages by telling them that they had fungus on their toenails.

In addition, the employee at the Eastpoint Mall outlet had misled the customer into paying for certain products, said the judge.

The court heard that in August 2020, the Bukit Panjang Plaza customer was told there was fungus on her big toe.

Offered a package comprising 12 sessions for about $3,000, she was told that if she did not undergo the treatment, the infection could spread to other toenails. Out of fear, she eventually agreed to sign up for a six-session package. She later went to the Small Claims Tribunals to seek a refund after a doctor determined she had no fungus on her toenails.

The other customer visited the Eastpoint Mall outlet in December 2019, and was told she had fungus on her toenails.

The employee said the infection could spread to her husband and offered her a 15-session package, which was revised to a 12-session one. The customer was also told to take several "free" lipsticks and lip balms. Two days later, she realised she had been charged $678 for the lipsticks and lip balms.

Nail Palace said its Bukit Panjang Plaza employee merely told the customer that a gap between her toenails and toe bed may be a sign of fungal infection. The salon said the customer requested the treatment of her own accord.

As for the Eastpoint Mall case, the salon admitted its employee told the customer that she needed treatment. But Nail Palace said it was the customer's own decision to purchase the package without asking for confirmatory tests. It added that the customer had no evidence that she did not have toenail fungal infection at the time.

CCCS said many customers had complained to the Consumers Association of Singapore, but the chain repeatedly refused to enter into a voluntary compliance agreement to stop unfair practices or compensate affected customers.