Hong Kong Customs yesterday (November 8) arrested a female proprietor cum salesperson of a wedding dress rental shop suspected of engaging in aggressive commercial practices in the course of selling wedding dress rental services, in contravention of the Trade Descriptions Ordinance (TDO).
Customs earlier received information alleging that a saleslady of a wedding dress rental shop in Prince Edward was suspected of imposing undue influence on a customer, and had forced the customer to procure a wedding dress rental service after she had tried on a wedding dress. The customer had indicated that she would not purchase the rental service and would only pay for the necessary fitting fee. However, the saleslady had made an unauthorised deduction of the rental fee from the customer's credit card account.
After investigation, Customs officers yesterday arrested a 47-year-old female proprietor cum salesperson of the wedding dress rental shop suspected to be connected with the case.
An investigation is ongoing and the arrested woman has been released on bail pending further investigation.
Customs reminds traders to comply with the requirements of the TDO and consumers to procure services at reputable shops.
Under the TDO, any trader commits an offence of engaging in aggressive commercial practices if harassment, coercion or undue influence is used to impair a consumer's freedom of choice or conduct, causing the consumer to make a transactional decision. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $500,000 and imprisonment for five years.
Members of the public may report any suspected violations of the TDO to Customs' 24-hour hotline 2545 6182 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk).
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