Shopee PH faces wrath of BLACKPINK fans with hastag #ShopeeScam going viral

Shopee Philippines has landed itself under scrutiny and investigation for possibly violating the Consumer Act in the Philippines, according to an article on The Manilla Times. This comes after it allegedly made changes to promotional guidelines and mechanics that denied fans of a popular South Korean pop group BLACKPINK from meeting their favourite band, despite spending on the platform during the contest period. The fan event, organised last week, initially promised one top spender a chance to meet the celebrities and promised autographs to top 40 spenders.However, on the event day, fans said they were denied the entry despite getting the tickets by spending tens of thousands of pesos on the site. Many believed they were scammed by the site, leading to the hastag #ShopeeScam trending online.https://twitter.com/vibejjrl/status/1136821293888618496?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1136821293888618496&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.marketing-interactive.com%2Fshopee-ph-faces-wrath-of-blackpink-fans-with-hastag-shopeescam-going-viral%2Fhttps://twitter.com/aesshimi/status/1136808464187940870?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1136808464187940870&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.marketing-interactive.com%2Fshopee-ph-faces-wrath-of-blackpink-fans-with-hastag-shopeescam-going-viral%2FSince then, Shopee Philippines has apologised and said the “event fell short of the high standards that Shopee users and Blackpink fans expect”. It added it hears its community’s feedback loud and clear and that the company took immediate steps as soon as it discovered its errors to ensure the rightful winners of the contest could claim their prizes.“We know that the entire process caused confusion, disappointment, and upset for many Shopee users and Blackpink fans. We are reaching out to all those affected by this issue, and we are also taking steps to ensure that such an incident does not occur again in the future,” it said.Since the incident last week, Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said that the body is looking at the issue closely and added that the brand should compensate fans.