CASE gets 66 complaints involving over $270,000 in losses after Korea Artiz Studio stops operations

SINGAPORE – Customers of Korea Artiz Studio have made more than 60 complaints to the Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) after the bridal store abruptly ceased operations on Aug 14 over unpaid salaries.

More than $271,000 in pre-payment losses were reported by customers after they failed to get a response from the business on whether contracted services would be fulfilled or if they could get a refund, said CASE.

In response to queries from The Straits Times, CASE president Melvin Yong said on Aug 19 that the consumer watchdog received 66 complaints between Aug 14 and 18.

He added that CASE has reached out to Korea Artiz Studio to understand whether scheduled photography sessions and services will proceed as planned.

“CASE also sought clarifications on the remedies that will be offered to affected consumers if the services cannot be fulfilled,” he added.

When contacted, the police said reports have been lodged and investigations are ongoing.

‘Owed a month’s salary’

An employee of Korea Artiz Studio, located in Carlton Hotel near Raffles City Shopping Centre, told ST on Aug 19 that the staff closed the premises after their salaries were not paid and they could not contact the company’s management.

They put up a notice on the studio’s door on Aug 14 to explain the situation and advise customers not to make a wasted trip down.

The employee, who did not want to be identified, said the studio has eight employees.

They had been getting their salaries – which were paid on the seventh of each month – late since around May.

“When we did not get our salary on Aug 7, we thought it was just delayed,” she said. “But after a few days, we felt something was amiss when our salaries did not come in at all.”

They are owed about a month’s salary, with each staff member owed at least $2,500, said the employee.

The eight of them – a mix of Singaporean, Malaysian and South Korean nationals – attempted to reach their manager, who is in China, to no avail, the employee said.

On Aug 14, they decided to close the studio’s premises. The employee and six others went to the store to put up the notice to customers, and the keys to the store were returned to Carlton Hotel.

Some of them made a police report that day, the employee added.

Notice to customers

The notice said that due to “recent internal operational issues” within the company, all employees have not received salaries owed to them.

It added: “At the same time, we have been unable to obtain any clear or formal response, update, or further information from the company’s management.

“As a result, we are currently unable to confirm or guarantee that the scheduled photography sessions can proceed as planned.”

Customers were urged not to make a trip to the studio only to find that the relevant services could not be provided.

The notice also said that until staff receive a clear and formal response, employees will be “unable to provide customers with any unverified information, answers or commitments”.

It added that clients could contact the studio’s representative on a China-registered number.

When ST visited the studio on the afternoon of Aug 18, there was no one on the premises and the lights were switched off.

Another notice, written in English and Chinese, was found pasted on the door.

In the note, the photo and photo album production partner for Korea Artiz Studio, Xu Lei, said that she is in possession of more than 50 sets of photographs.

Customers who want to collect or arrange for the return of their photographs should contact her, the notice read.

Speaking to ST in Mandarin, Xu said that when she visited the shop on Aug 14, it was closed.

Xu, who owns her own business called Dream Album, said that Korea Artiz Studio has orders that have been placed with her, as well as orders that have been delivered.

She reckons their total value is a five-figure sum, though she did not elaborate.

On why she put up her notice, she said: “All I can do right now is help customers who have paid and want to collect their photo albums.”

The Korea Artiz Studio employee said she has been overwhelmed, as many customers have been contacting her and other workers since events unfolded.

“I am at a loss and don’t know what to do,” she said of her situation.

ST has contacted the Ministry of Manpower for comment on the salary issue.

‘Just want our money back’

Among the customers who have made a report to CASE is JT.

He told ST that he and his fiancee had been looking forward to their wedding photoshoot scheduled for Aug 15, but they now have to look for alternatives

Just one day before the appointment, they were told by Korea Artiz Studio that it was shutting its premises with immediate effect.

JT, who did not want to be identified by his full name, has already paid for the wedding photography package in full – $3,269.

But with no sign of when the studio will be reopening its doors, “we just want our money back”, said JT.

Another affected customer is a groom-to-be who wanted to be known only as Paul. He was outside the studio’s premises when ST visited on Aug 18.

Unlike JT, he found out about the studio closing its premises through social media. According to him, the last time he was contacted by an employee was on July 17.

Paul said he paid $3,269 for the package, which he signed in January at a wedding fair, adding that so far, nothing in the package has been fulfilled.

Korea Artiz Studio remains listed as a “live” company as at Aug 18, according to a report from the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority’s Bizfile portal.

According to its website, the studio was founded in 2008 by Kim Yong Seon in South Korea. It then expanded overseas, including to Singapore in 2017. The studio also has branches in Taiwan and Indonesia, said the website.

Multiple attempts by ST to contact Korea Artiz Studio by e-mail and phone have been unsuccessful.

Advice to consumers

In his media reply, CASE’s Yong advises consumers to carefully review bridal and wedding photography packages before committing to a purchase.

They should also obtain written confirmation of key terms and deliverables, and retain all relevant documentation, including contracts and proof of payment, he said.

“Where appropriate, consumers should negotiate to split the contractual amount into smaller progressive payments to be paid at various stages of service delivery,” Yong added.

Customers who have been affected can approach CASE for assistance through its hotline on 6277-5100, or its website at www.case.org.sg