A Singapore woman has raised concerns over prepaid beauty packages after an East Coast salon allegedly deducted the cost of a previously “free” facial treatment from her refund, following an announcement that the outlet would be closing.
The 40-year-old finance director, who wished to remain anonymous, told MS News that she purchased an S$800 facial package from Orchidée at 142 East Coast Road on 12 April 2026.
Source: Google Maps
She said the package came with S$1,000 worth of treatment credits, while an introductory facial treatment worth S$158 was marketed as complimentary.
Less than a month later, on 9 May, customers were informed that the outlet would cease operations on 26 July.
The customer said she was not told during the purchase that the outlet could potentially be shutting down.
“Had I known this, I would not have purchased a prepaid package,” she told MS News.
She added that she only learnt about the closure during her first visit after signing up for the package.
“At that point, my entire S$1,000 credit balance was unused,” she said.
The owner broke the news to her in person before her treatment began, she said. Customers later received a WhatsApp announcement about the closure.
Image courtesy of Orchidée customer
The customer said refunds were not proactively offered after the closure announcement.
Instead, customers were reportedly encouraged to use their remaining credits before the outlet ceased operations in July.
Screenshots shared with MS News show her contacting the salon to ask for written confirmation that her remaining balance would be refunded due to the circumstances.
Image courtesy of Orchidée customer
In response, the salon said it would remain operational until the end of July and suggested that she continue booking treatments instead.
The outlet told her she still had S$812 in credits and suggested using them on four multivitamin power treatments priced at S$188 each.
The customer said she eventually requested a refund as she did not believe she would be able to fully use the package before the outlet closed.
The salon later offered her S$454, after deducting the S$188 treatment she had used and the previously “free” S$158 trial facial.
Image courtesy of Orchidée customer
The customer disputed this, saying the trial facial had been clearly presented as free when she signed up.
“It should not be deducted from my S$1,000 credit package,” she wrote.
She added that, in her view, only S$188 had been used from her credits, leaving S$812 remaining.
The salon replied stating that the complimentary facial “was provided as part of the package purchase”.
Since you’ve decided to cancel the package and request a refund, the trial treatment can no longer be considered free.
Source: Google Maps, for illustration purposes only
The customer told MS News that she disagreed with this reasoning as she did not view the refund request as a voluntary cancellation.
“The outlet is ceasing operations on 26 July 2026, which made it impossible for me to fully utilise my remaining credits as originally intended,” she explained.
She also claimed that the deduction terms were not disclosed during the sale or stated in the package agreement.
When challenged, the outlet allegedly referred her to its store policy, but she said the policy covered voluntary cancellations and did not address situations where the merchant was ceasing operations.
The customer said she has since filed a complaint with the Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE).
In response to MS News’ queries, CASE President Melvin Yong confirmed that they had received a consumer complaint against Orchidée.
“We are currently assisting the consumer,” he said.
The customer said she hopes stronger consumer protection measures will be introduced for prepaid beauty packages in Singapore.
“Outlets should be legally required to provide a full pro-rated cash refund of unused credits if they cease operations,” she said.
She added that businesses should also be required to disclose impending closures before selling prepaid packages to customers.
MS News has reached out to Orchidée for comment.
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Featured image adapted from Google Maps (for illustration purposes only) and courtesy of Orchidée customer.