S’pore Alkaline Water Filtration Company Taken to Court After 469 Complaints to CASE

We all know what the consequences are for spreading false claims: POFMA.

Some companies think they can get away with spreading the most far-fetched information.

Alkaline water can cure diabetes and cancer? Please.

If you’re misleading people the way the long messages of fake news that WhatsApp aunties spread do, you’re in serious trouble.

Triple Lifestyle Marketing, a company which supplies water dispensers, water filtration systems and maintenance service packages, has recently been ordered by a court to stop making false claims.

Their Exact Offences

Between January 2018 and October 2022, the Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) received 469 complaints against Triple Lifestyle Marketing.

The packages sold by the company cost about $3,000 each in most cases and included the filtration system, dispenser, periodic water filter change and repair services within a warranty period.

The Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS) investigated the company following the complaints and interviewed its customers.

A judgement filed on 3 March mentioned that the company claimed its products were accredited and that it was “voted #1 on social media” and “trusted by over 50,000 customers.”

Some customers stated that they found the company by searching online for alkaline water, filtered water, or water dispensers, while others found out about it through unsolicited house visits by the company’s sales representatives.

Customers who requested to repair or replace faulty water dispensers or change water filters under the maintenance package were met with excuses by the company for its delay or inability to do so.

The company also lied that Thomson Medical Centre purchased its products.

Another false claim the company spread was about alkaline water’s health benefits, such that it “slows the ageing process and degenerative diseases.”

They also claimed that alkaline water could prevent or improve the condition of various diseases, including cancer, diabetes, osteoporosis, arthritis, “kidney disorder,” and chronic lower back pain.

Reminiscent of a typical health product ripoff, the company claimed that alkaline water could assist in weight loss, fat reduction and detoxification of the body.

While we’re at this, take note that Alkaline water may be beneficial to the human body but there are limited studies on this.

According to the CCCS chief executive Sia Aik Hor, Triple Lifestyle Marketing “had persistently and egregiously engaged in unfair practices under the Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) Act, causing harm to consumers.”

The Consequences

Last year on 30 November, CCCS filed court proceedings against Triple Lifestyle Marketing and its director Tan Jia Huang.

Both orders by CCCS, which included asking State Courts to make findings that the company was committing various unfair practices and an application for an injunction to stop Tan from knowingly abetting, aiding, permitting or procuring the company to engage in unfair practices, were granted by the court.

However, the company and Tan did not appear for the court proceedings, according to CCCS, on Tuesday (28 March).

Tan and his company have been ordered to publish a full-page public notice with details of the court orders in the Straits Times, Lianhe Zaobao, Berita Harian and Tamil Murasu by Wednesday (29 March).

The CCCS may publish a notice in any one of the newspapers and claim the cost from the company or Tan if they fail to do so.

They have also been made to publish details of the court orders on the landing page of any marketing platform, such as social media pages, for three years. Tan must do the same for any platforms specifically used to market the company’s goods and services.

Triple Life Marketing must inform any customer in writing about the court order and obtain their written acknowledgement before any contract is signed for the next three years.

The proceedings cost $12,000, which the company and Tan have been ordered to pay.

CCCS chief executive Ms Sia said that suppliers should ensure that claims about their products and services are true and accurate and back up any health benefit claims with credible evidence.

Not the First Warning Received by the Company

The investigation by CCCS comes after a second warning was issued against Triple Life Marketing. Their first warning was issued on 23 February 2021.

There were 86 complaints filed against the company between 1 January 2020 and 31 January 2021, alleging that the company had made false claims and was unresponsive.

The majority of the complaints claimed that the company either did not respond to multiple attempts to contact them to request their services or did not show up for their appointments.