A polytechnic student in Singapore has been left high and dry and unpaid -- despite signing a contract with a marketing agency with clear payment terms spelt out.

The Singapore Polytechnic student alleged that she was not paid in full after working a couple of events for marketing agency Conceptual Werks Pte Ltd.

So mad that the agency has not paid her, the student has taken to Facebook with details of what transpired:

Deadline for payment

Speaking to Mothership, the student said she has worked for the company twice as a promoter of various IT products, such as wireless headphones, portable chargers and driving bluetooth headsets:

• March 15 to 18, 2018, the COMEX IT show
• April 21 to 22, 2018, Challenger Fair at Punggol Waterway

She shared a snapshot of a copy of the contract she signed with the company.

It states that basic fee remuneration will be transferred “no later than two months from the last day of the salary period in respect of which salary is payable.”

Variable remunerations, or commissions, will be paid no later than three months.

Trouble getting paid: Part 1

The student said that when she signed the contract with the company, a lady known as Joceline told her that she would be paid within a month-and-a-half.

She earned S$352 in basic pay for the COMEX show, plus another S$30.75 in commission.

But the basic payment took longer than the one-and-a-half months to be credited, due to "paperwork and billing errors".

Concerns dismissed

Another person involved with the company named Sally, dismissed concerns in a group chat that asked about payments due.

Sally wrote in the group chat:

"If all of you understand basic english you guys wouldn't have make so much noise down here. We don't reply cause we felt everything down here was purely nonsensical. However that's besides the point. All payment has been approved and you guys will receive it by tonight."

Eventually, the student did get her basic pay on May 18, 2018 -- exactly two months after the COMEX show ended on March 18, 2018, but she has yet to receive her commission as of July 23.

Trouble getting paid: Part 2

To make matters worse, the student has yet to be paid for the April 2018 event, neither the basic pay nor commissions.

The total amount adds up to S$144.

Like her experience with the COMEX event, the student also shared screen shots of a frustrating conversation with Joceline regarding the money she was owed.

Despite repeated queries, Joceline kept deflecting questions about the payment.

Influencers-linked agency

According to the student, while discussing the situation in the chat group set up among the people who worked the events, someone discovered that both Joceline and Sally are influencers, with a following.

She shared their Instagram profiles, which you can see below.

The student said Joceline sent her last message on July 10, despite repeated messages about the missing payments subsequently.

Sally last messaged the student on May 8.

Disappeared

Frustrated with the delays, the student and some of her friends who also worked for the company went down to the office on July 17 to get some answers.

To their surprise, they found the office empty, with no one around.

There was a "For rent" sign stuck on the door.

Calls to the office phone also went unanswered.

The student clarified that she visited the office where she first signed her contract, located at the first unit, seventh floor of The Commerze @ Irving, 1 Irving Place, and found it empty.

However, according to ACRA, the registered address of Conceptual Werks Pte Ltd is not at 1 Irving Place, but a different address instead.

The address that the student visited appears to be linked to another company instead, Greencred Pte Ltd.

Report

[Update on July 26 at 1540hrs]: The previous version of the article stated that the student was referred to MOM following her police report, and then the Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management. The article has been updated to reflect the student's interaction with MOM, and TADM's involvement, more accurately.

The student made a police report about the situation on July 17, after discovering the empty office. The police referred them to the Ministry of Manpower (MOM).

The student herself is busy with studies and hasn't had the time to visit MOM, however a friend of a friend who also worked for Conceptual Werks spoke to MOM and was in turn referred to the Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management (TADM).

Said the student on what she learned from her experience:

"Do a background check on the company before working for them, and ask for a copy of the contract for you to keep."

When contacted, an MOM spokesperson said that:

"MOM is looking into the case."

Mothership has also reached out to @Sallyvevo_ for comment.

Top image adapted from the student's Facebook post and video