Couple allegedly takes $9k from buyer but does not deliver milk powder ordered, asks for another $300 to 'resolve matter'

A woman who ordered a bulk purchase of 150 tins of milk powder from a couple claimed that the pair took the money but did not deliver the goods, prompting her to lodge a police report.

The 44-year-old woman who made the order for 14 other mothers said that the couple had taken nearly S$9,000 from her, and even asked for S$300 to ‘resolve the matter’, reports Shin Min Daily News via Lianhe Zaobao. 

She told reporters that she had bought five tins of milk powder from the couple in October 2016, which costed around S$400, over 20% cheaper than the standard market rates.

The woman shared the discovery with other mothers, and together, they made a bulk order of 150 tins. 

According to her, the sellers were a husband-and-wife couple and she contacted the wife mostly. 

She said: "The last two times, they (the couple) had driven to deliver the goods. It was always cash on delivery of goods and there had been no problems.

“That was what gave me confidence to make the bulk order in the first place. I made an order of 150 tins, with 10 for every mother, amounting up to S$8,693."

However, she told reporters that the sellers had told her that she had to make a deposit of half the cost this time around, but later demanded the full payment two or three days later:

"There were so many problems after that.

"On the day when they were supposed to deliver the goods, they suddenly told me that their delivery vehicle broke down, or they had no petrol to run on.

"A week later, they suddenly said that the management had changed, even to the point that someone resigned."

Since then, the woman tried calling up the couple but could not get through.

Thinking that she had been scammed, she lodged a police report. 

Said the frustrated woman: "However, in Jan and March 2017, the sellers contacted me again.

"They told me to pay S$300 and they would return the milk powder to me. They even said, ‘what’s S$300 compared to S$8,000?

"I was very tempted to pay the money and make the problem go away but ultimately I decided not to fall for the scam."

The woman said that after that the seller revealed that they had joined a new company and would be willing to sell her milk powder at half the price as an apology for their previous actions, even citing that they could draw 25% of the amount from the money that she had already paid. 

The woman refused the sellers’ offer and told them that she was going to report the case to the police.

To her shock, the unrepentant sellers even taunted her to call the police, saying that there was ‘no evidence anyway’.

The victim exclaimed: "When I asked the wife for the receipt, she told me she did not have it and it would be pointless to call the police."

The police have confirmed that investigations are ongoing for the incident.