Reports Received of Consumer Prepayments Lost Due to Business Closures and Amounts Involved and Recovered

Dr Tan Wu Meng asked the Minister for Trade and Industry since 2020 (a) how many reports have been received of consumer prepayments being lost due to business closures; (b) what is the total amount of reported lost prepayments; (c) what is the median amount of lost prepayments per affected consumer; and (d) what proportion of prepayments are subsequently recovered.

Mr Gan Kim Yong: Since 2020, the Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) received about 420 reports of consumer prepayments being lost due to business closures. The total amount of reported lost prepayments was around $720,000, while the median amount of lost prepayments per affected consumer was around $680. Of consumers who went on to seek CASE’s assistance, about one in three were able to recover some of their losses. Some may have recovered their losses through other avenues such as through the Small Claims Tribunal. However, we do not have data on the prepayments recovered through other avenues.