PUBLISHED ONNovember 24, 2023 10:08 AMByClaudia TanSome members of the public recently said that they were cheated by a vending machine in Jalan Besar.
They complained that machine, located at a taxi stand along Ban San Street, did not dispense selected snacks despite taking their money.
One of these angry customers even took to TikTok on Nov 3 to air her grievances about the "scammer's vending machine".
"Guys, this machine will scam you of your money. This is the phone number. But if your money gets stuck in the machine, you can never get a refund," said the woman.
[embed]https://www.tiktok.com/@2taxi/video/7297020763004062978[/embed]
"They have been scamming a lot of people, whenever customers asked for a refund, they never gave a refund," she said in a mixture of Malay and English.
"During peak periods, [the company] can even make around $50, free money."
Speaking to Shin Min Daily News, the 45-year-old taxi driver said she tried to purchase a snack from the vending machine recently.
However, the snack could not be dispensed as it got stuck in between the machine's glass panel and display rack.
She tried getting a refund, but was unable to do so.
"This is the only vending machine at the taxi stand. Some drivers may want to get a snack and this is the only option available," she told the Chinese evening daily.
When a Shin Min reporter tried to buy a snack from the machine, they encountered the same problem.
A spokesperson from KG Vending gave Shin Min two possible reasons for the malfunctioning machine.
It could be due to staff not replenishing the snacks properly, or there could be a problem with the machine's mechanism.
In view of the complaints, the company intends to replace the machine within the week, the spokesperson said.
"We've been in this industry for more than 20 years, and we had no intention of cheating anyone."
When contacted by AsiaOne on Friday, KG Vending confirmed that they have since replaced the spoilt parts of the machine, and said that the machine is "functioning well".
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claudiatan@asiaone.com