Looks like we really need to buck up on our image! Besides the cutthroat taxis, scams are running rampant in our country.
A Taiwanese tourist recently took to a Malaysian Facebook page to share that he was scammed at a phone shop in KL Sentral. The incident happened on 23 August when the father named Chang, and his family were having a vacation here.
Source: Facebook
According to the post, they were walking around KL Sentral while waiting for their train when they stumbled upon this particular phone shop. His daughter wanted to buy a phone and had a particular model in mind but it was out of stock.
“So the staff brought out a Xiaomi Redmi 6 and after going through the specifications, (he said) it’s a bargain and the price was only RM899. Since my daughter wanted a phone now and the train was arriving soon, I bought it using a card and paid extra for a case (RM149) and a screen protector (RM91).”
While on the train, Chang began looking up the price of a Redmi 6 online and discovered that he had paid more than double for the device (the original price was actually RM399!). What’s more ridiculous was that four separate receipts were given out for that purchase. Sounds fishy to us!
Here’s the breakdown of each receipt;
- Redmi 6 – RM505
- Service charge – RM394
- Phone case – RM149
- Screen protector – RM91
Source: Facebook
Source: Facebook
Source: Facebook
Source: Facebook
On the evening of 25 August, Chang went back again to the shop to seek clarification, along with the receipts. The staff then blatantly said the price seen online was ‘for reference only’, and that the weird issuance of receipts was due to the on-going promotion activity.
The staff then whipped out a 64GB memory card and claimed that it was included in the ‘promotion package’ which he forgot to give Chang earlier. Apparently, he claimed the card was worth RM499 and Chang got the special promo price of RM394, which was the same price written on the ‘service charge’ receipt.
Source: Facebook
This post went viral online and even garnered the attention of Xiaomi Malaysia. The company’s manager reached out to Chang and offered to exchange the Redmi with another Xiaomi phone that was actually worth RM899. That’s how it should be done!
Also, the manager specifically pointed out that the phone shop was not an authorised dealer of Xiaomi in Malaysia, and that a legal letter had been issued to demand the shop to remove the Xiaomi logo from the wall.
Malaysians who read this story expressed their embarrassment and apologised to the tourist for his bad experience here. A lot of us are good people ok!
Also guys, do your research before making a purchase where ever you are to avoid getting scammed!
More info about the shop is available in the original post.
Also read: This Scam is Misusing Tun M, Bank Negara & Finance Ministry’s Name to Cheat M’sians
