In case you missed it, Shopee, Garena-run e-commerce platform, had a Blackpink meet & greet promo last month which gave fans the opportunity to win a meet pass for a meet and greet with the widely popular K-Pop group, Blackpink by spending a minimum of an accumulated PHP 4,000 and qualify as one of the top 568 spenders.
Top 40 out of the 568 Top spenders were also said to have a chance to go on stage and have an autograph with Jisoo, Rosé, Lisa, and Jennie.
Things were going well, until yesterday, the day of the meet and greet itself. Many of the people that qualified started sharing their own stories on the mishap on Twitter. With most taking a screenshot of the notice telling them that there was a system error and ‘received the wrong info’.
I was just silent but the truth is i was also scammed and this what i deserved. I followed everything in the mechanics i even bought orange shirt because it says "wear orange" #SHOPEESCAM th. pic.twitter.com/F65knGeQ0R
— Becky armstrong (blue tick) (@freendnibecky) June 6, 2019
It didn’t help the situation when the Blinks, the fans of Blackpink, found out about a separate list for influencers and celebrities. Along with this, fans also noticed a change in the mechanics with the end day for the completed and received purchases from June 1, 2019 to May 25,2019.
Shopee be taking back tix on the last minute when blinks already booked their flight and hotel stay THIS IS REALLY MAKING ME MAD #SHOPEESCAM pic.twitter.com/EP9azyXVrN
— fromisnt_9 (@me9an) June 6, 2019
They also changed the mechanics on the last minute. Orders should be purchased and received until June 1 for it to be counted on the buyer's total accumulated purchases but it was suddenly changed to May 25 like WHAT KIND OF A FUCKING SYSTEM DO U HAVE #SHOPEESCAM pic.twitter.com/rNy3KyyC9x
— fromisnt_9 (@me9an) June 6, 2019
Early today, Shopee Philippines released a statement on their Facebook apologizing to the fans. “We hear your feedback loud and clear, and we understand that the event fell short of the high standards that Shopee users and BLACKPINK fans expect.”
https://www.facebook.com/ShopeePH/posts/2128403727465184
The plot thickened earlier today as CNN Philippines reported that the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has begun an investigation on the online retailer following the incident. In the report, they mention that DTI is looking for possible sanctions against Shopee or if a refund should be given to the affected fans.
The result of the investigation may be released in as early as one week, mentioned Trade Secretary Mon Lopez in the report.
Featured photo: Shopee
Ram found his love and appreciation for writing in 2015 having started in the gaming and esports sphere for GG Network. He would then transition to focus more on the world of tech which has also began his journey into learning more about this world. That said though, he still has the mentality of "as long as it works" for his personal gadgets.
