[quipbox float="right" boxcolor="000000" boxhead="Modus operandi of rogue retailers"]

Errant retailers entice potential buyers by displaying low prices for mobile phones.

For example, Samsung Galaxy Note 2 has a display price of $736.

Customer hands over $780 for phone plus taxes.

Before phone can be handed over, customer told to pay $39.90 to unlock the phone for two years.

Customer signs invoice without looking at fine print that says $39.90 unlocking fee was for each month for two years. This totals to about $1,000 extra.

Customer pays a total of more than $1,800 when the same phone is retailing for $798 at authorised telecoms shops, that includes warranty.

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Errant retailers are setting up shop in People's Park Complex to rip customers off.

There were 41 complaints made against the retailers in the mall last year, up from just 11 in 2006.

The Consumers Association of Singapore have received 40 complaints from January to August this year.

In contrast, complaints against shops at Lucky Plaza and Sim Lim Square are falling this year.

And this fall could be linked to the rising cases of fleecing at People's Park Complex.

Case executive director Seah Seng Choon said this could be due to rogue retailers practising "merry-go-round" moving between the three malls.

One reason retailers are pushed out of Lucky Plaza and Sim Lim Square is because the management are taking a tougher stance against them.

The People's Park Complex's management committee is considering putting up blacklists of errant retailers on the mall's premises after meeting with Case.

Errant retailers are affecting the above-board businesses in People's Park Complex and sales have fallen by up to 30 percent over the past year.

Top photo from here

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