The first laundry business here that used the “smart laundry lockers” system surprised its customers when it suddenly ceased operation, causing some to worry about the refund of their pre-payments and others to fear they might not retrieve their clothes already sent for washing.
A customer, Mr Shao, told Lianhe Wanbao that for two years he had encountered no problems with My Laundry Box.
“I just deposited my clothes into one of its lockers and its app would soon tell me that they were taken away for washing,” the Chinese evening daily quoted him as saying.
“Usually, within five days, I would get back my stuff from the locker,” he recalled.
However, last month, his clothes came back only after 10 days, and only after he chased the company for them.
Last week, he again made another deposit and discovered days later that the clothes had not been collected.
“It looks like the $50 I had paid up has gone down the drain,” said Mr Shao.
Wanbao’s check on the Facebook page of the company found many other victims, with one claiming to have pre-paid more than a thousand dollars, which might not be recoverable.
According to Wanbao, some customers had gone straight to its subcontractor – a washing and dry-cleaning outlet in Kaki Bukit – to recover their items.
Meanwhile, Kelvin Khoo, founder of My Laundry Box, has gone missing, without paying his staff and delivery men.
The company’s main office at Ang Mo Kio Avenue 10 was vacant and locked-up, and a source said the CEO had disappeared since Aug 28.
It was only in May that the 34-year-old, who launched his company in 2013, was invited to a forum held by Spring Singapore to share his entrepreneurial experience.
myp@sph.com.sg
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