ValuDollar Explained Why They Used ‘Closing Down’ Signs But Didn’t Close Down


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We all know ValuDollar for one thing: all the cheap stuff the never-ending closing down sales.

Earlier in August this year, Charcoal Thai was investigated for breaching the Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) Act with their “limited time discount” that never seemed to end.

The Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS) started investigating the restaurant in 2018 and discovered that the promotional materials of Charcoal Thai did not have an end date stated on it.

The Thai eatery had been advertising promotions with phrases like “Limited time only!” and “Ending soon! 50% Discount” for two years since February 2016.

image: Charcoal Thai (Screengrab)

With such news, netizens are all reminded of that one shop that seems to take forever to close down.

image: Twitter (Kiasumeme)

Truthful Presentation Of Ads

For your information, here’s a good-to-know kind of information:

Under the Singapore Code of Advertising Practice and Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) Act, retailers are not allowed to make any false or misleading ads, and these ads must be of truthful presentation.

For example, if you are selling an apple that you picked up on the ground at $5, and stated that it is an apple from Japan, then that’s a false ad, and you will be investigated like how Charcoal Thai was.

And that brings us to the never-ending closing down sales.

Complaint Against ABC Bargain Center 

When it comes to complaining, Singaporeans do it best. But at least this time around, it’s for a valid reason.

The Consumer Association of Singapore has also received complaints regarding misleading claims made by ABC Bargain Center.


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Image: Facebook (Pinoy Traveler’s Unlimited Data SIM Card)

For instance, an ABC Bargain Centre store in Bedok Reservoir Road put up a “closing down sale” sign for close to a year in 2018 before it closed.

ValuDollar, owned by the same company, has also pulled similar stunts.

Peninsula Plaza’s ValuDollar outlet has had signs stating “Fire sale! Everything must go!” since at least November 2017.

In response to the complaint made, owner of ABC Bargain Center and ValuDollar stated that they have since removed the “Closing down” signs and that they did not have the intention to mislead.

He explained that they were actually planning to close down, but ran into some issues which led to them “reversing the decision”.

Hmmmm…..

With regards to the “Fire Sale! Everything Must Go!” sign, he said these signs indicate that the items are being sold at huge discounts. But, he added that he is ready to make changes if he’s asked to do so by CCCS.

To be honest, “Fire Sale! Everything Must Go!” does not sound misleading to me at all, but I’m sure there are numerous ways to interpret it.

As for the explanation for the closing down sales… I guess we should just give them the benefit of the doubt?