Orchard beauty spa closes suddenly, customers report over S$153,000 losses in unused packages

Royal Secrets Wellness, a beauty spa along Killiney Road, ceased operations abruptly on Feb. 28, leaving many customers with prepaid packages not completely used up.

In response to Mothership's queries, the Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) said that as at Mar. 5, they had received 15 complaints involving losses of over S$153,000 in unutilised pre-paid packages due to the spa's sudden closure.

The spa, established in 1997, announced the closure on Facebook at around 7:30pm on Feb. 28.

They described it as an "incredibly difficult decision", and apologised for "the sudden interruption to [their customers'] wellness journey".

They also shared that they were working with several other spa service providers to assist their customers moving forward.

"Kindly take note that these spa provider(s) are coming forward purely out of goodwill to assist," they added.

Demanding explanations

Several customers claimed that the balance of their unused packages would be forfeited, prompting them to demand an explanation from the spa in person, according to Shin Min. 

Shin Min reported seeing a small crowd of around 10 people in the spa at Winsland House recently.

A few of them said that they had between S$3,000 and S$50,000 left unused in their packages, which they had bought over many years.

A woman called the spa irresponsible, and claimed she was not informed by the company, but learnt about the news from one of the beauticians.

She shared that Royal Secrets Wellness has arranged for customers to be able to transfer and use their balance at other spa providers, as they mentioned in their Facebook post.

But that only applied to packages signed from Mar. 1, 2024, according to the woman.

Another customer added that the amount of credits transferable was also capped at S$1,000.

CASE providing assistance

CASE shared that they have been assisting affected customers with their complaints.

They also encouraged customers to patronise CaseTrust-accredited beauty and wellness businesses as they offer a five-day cooling-off period for pre-paid packages as protection.

There have been instances where customers incur pre-payment losses after an establishment's closure, as recently seen in the case of the massage parlour Wan Yang.

CASE said they have called on the government to implement a mandatory cooling-off period for all businesses that collect significant prepayments.

A cooling-off period would give consumers time to consider their purchases carefully and to reconsider large prepaid commitments.

Top images from Royal Secrets Wellness' Facebook