A joint accreditation scheme for the hair and cosmetology industry is on the horizon for Singapore, following the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) yesterday.
The Consumers Association of Singapore (Case) and the Hair & Cosmetology Association Singapore (HACOS) have agreed to jointly develop a voluntary CaseTrust-HACOS joint accreditation scheme.
CaseTrust is the accreditation arm of Case, and is Singapore’s de facto standard for companies wishing to demonstrate their commitment to fair trading and transparency to consumers.
Fifteen HACOS members have pledged their support to join the scheme, and both associations envisage it being officially launched within nine months.
The move follows the sudden closure in August of The Scissorhands hair salon chain and its affiliate Shizahanzu, which sparked about 200 complaints to CASE as well as feedback from customers who had signed up for hair packages. These consumers had been advised to seek claims through the Small Claims Tribunals, but were not successful because the salon director failed to show for the hearing. Several police reports were also lodged over the abrupt closure of the business.
HACOS approached Case on its own initiative to develop a joint accreditation scheme to help its members uplift their professionalism and to improve the image of the industry. Members had also expressed a need to adopt fair trading practices for the benefit of consumers.
Common problems in the hair industry include pressure selling and unprotected prepayment collection, which will be addressed by the planned accreditation scheme.
HACOS members seeking accreditation will be subjected to criteria including a five-day cooling-off period to allow consumers to seek a full refund if they do not wish to proceed with the service; prepayment protection to safeguard monies paid upfront for packages; trained staff committed to not selling packages during service; hygiene guidelines and skin-allergy testing before treatments; a redress system with clearly defined dispute resolution mechanisms for the business and consumers, including compulsory mediation through the Case Mediation Centre.
Launched in September 2014, HACOS involves active trade personnel who decided to raise the standards of professionalism and commitment of the hair, beauty, makeup and nail industry. It has about 220 members.
