Are they being sneaky, or are we being dumb?
Olaprice — the e-commerce website that been the target of consumer complaints for charging a quarterly membership fee that has caught its users unawares — argues that the $88 charge isn’t a hidden cost since it is clearly stated beside a box that needs to be ticked before completing a purchase.
“It’s actually very clear on the website. We mention this charge and customers are asked to click on a box. The issue is education,” Olaprice’s chief executive, Gregory Costamagna, tells The Straits Times. Sorry for being so excited about that $5.60 Panda Bento Rice Ball mould set that we missed reading the fine print, sir.
So what’s going to happen now? While the Consumers Association of Singapore has said that the way the $88 subscription fee is being collected is “not acceptable”, the only solution it can think of, for now, is to require Olaprice to increase the font size of its fine print, and “include the charge as a separate element”.
In the meantime, consumers will just have to take matters into their own hands. If you’re not okay with paying $88 every quarter for the privilege of using Olaprice, eff it, block the website on your browser. If you want to give your cup of rice panda ears, use your damn hands.
