The president of the Consumers Association of Singapore (Case) has slammed Huawei’s controversial S$54 mobile phone promotion.

Lim Biow Chuan wrote on Facebook on Monday, July 29 that the advertisement “is a breach of the Consumer Protection Fair Trading Act (CPFTA)”.

This was after frustrated consumers went home empty-handed when the Huawei Y6 Pro 2019 mobile phones sold out within hours on the first day.

The promotion was advertised to last three days.

Regulators urged to take action

Lim urged regulators to take the tech giant to task.

Today reported that Lim wrote the post in his personal capacity.

The CPFTA protects consumers against unfair practices under the Act.

Unfair practices include making a false claim or omitting information that may mislead consumers.

Huawei issued an apology on its Facebook page on Friday, July 26.

In the statement, Huawei said that it was not able to provide the “vast majority” of customers with the promotion due to “overwhelming demand”.

The Huawei Y6 Pro 2019 was sold to those aged 50 and above for S$54 to coincide with Singapore’s 54th National Day.

The usual retail price is S$198.

Lim wrote on Facebook:

Like many other consumers, I received the advertisement inviting me to buy the Huawei Y6 Pro for just $54!! I thought it was a good deal until I read about the huge unhappiness and frustration caused at the stores when consumers were unable to buy the Huawei Y6 Pro phone at the discounted prize. To me, the Huawei advertisement is a breach of the Consumer Protection Fair Trading Act (CPFTA). Huawei should not have advertised to so many consumers about their sale of the phones at a huge discounted price when they only have limited stock in their stores. I think that such advertisement is misleading and has caused much inconvenience to many consumers. Public resources have also been wasted due to the police being called to manage the crowds. I hope that the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore will issue a public reprimand of the company for breach of the CPFTA. I also hope that Huawei will take appropriate action to make amends to win back public support and goodwill for their company. Otherwise, consumers in Singapore will always remember this incident with distaste and disappointment in the phone and technology giant.

Huawei explains: