A salesperson from a shop selling beauty aesthetic products in JEM shopping centre has been accused of forcing an 18-year-old male teenager who has dyslexia to purchase S$426.80 worth of beauty products he did not need.

Approached by salesperson

This incident was brought to light via a lengthy Facebook post by Norhayati Eb-Rahem.

She wrote that her friend, who she claims is a "harmless, dyslexic" 18-year-old boy, was walking around JEM, the shopping mall located in Jurong East.

The teen was heading towards a shoe store when he was allegedly stopped by a sales consultant from Premier Dead Sea, a beauty company selling cosmetic and skincare products.

The consultant then attempted to get the teen to try beauty products by the company.

Allegedly pressured to buy beauty products despite refusing

The post described that even after he declined the offer, the consultant continued to persuade the teen, even leading him to a counter to try the products.

At this point, the teen had already made several attempts to leave in vain.

The consultant continued to insist on having him purchase a facial cleanser gel.

Thinking that he would be allowed to leave after agreeing to the sales consultant's demands, the teen reluctantly agreed.

Allegedly made to disclosed bank account details

The post also alleged that the teen was made to disclose how much he had in his bank account, and claimed that the consultant pressured the teen into making an additional purchase of a serum and a face mask before he was allowed to leave.

Mother found out

The mother of the teen apparently only found out after he called her after running into issues attempting to purchase his shoes.

The post said that due to his dyslexia, the teen was unable to understand why he did not have enough to buy the shoes after spending all the money in his account on the beauty products.

Tactics employed slammed

The post noted that a refund has been given, but the woman writing it still wanted to express anger at the beauty company.

The post called out the practice of "targeting harmless, unsuspecting people with special needs".

The woman wrote: "It seems like your organisation practice unethical methods in achieving your revenue targets."

The Facebook user has since claimed to have highlighted the incident to CASE (Consumers Association of Singapore) and the Dyslexia Association of Singapore.

The post, which was uploaded on to Facebook on July 26 has since been shared more than 2,500 times.

Responses

Many commenters chimed in with their own experiences.

In response to Mothership.sg's queries, a company spokesperson for Premier Dead Sea has acknowledged the incident and confirmed that the teen made the purchase.

They also clarified that 100 per cent of the payment was refunded.

We respect your publication and hope that your article on the matter goes through the appropriate review and fact checking stages to ensure accuracy and reliability.

The company promotes professional and courteous service to its customers.

In the case in question, it is important to emphasize that the customer made a purchase and, after regretting, 100% of the payment was refunded immediately in accordance with the company's customer service policy.

You can see the full post here:

Top image via Norhayati Eb-Rahem's Facebook post