Rundle Mall shopper 'held captive'.   

    David Jean
    June 28, 2012 10:00PM
    Adelaide Now

A WOMAN who says she was unlawfully detained at Myer in Rundle Mall until she bought two beauty products is demanding an apology.   

Yan Yu Zhu said she was kept in a small room on the first floor of Myer on Saturday until she agreed to purchase two Clarins products. The ordeal occurred after she had accepted a "free" make-up lesson following the purchase of about $100 worth of Clarins products a week earlier.

Ms Zhu said she was left feeling intimidated and scared by the tactics of the sales staff, who demanded she buy at least two products after the lesson.   

She said she was never told she would have to make a purchase after the lesson.

She eventually purchased the same products she had bought a week earlier in order to leave the store.

The next day she and her husband made an official complaint and had the products refunded.



However, they remain furious at an incident they have likened to kidnapping.   

Mr Zhu said he had refused Myer's offer of a gift certificate in exchange for dropping the matter and was demanding a copy of its investigation into the incident.

He said other customers should know that Clarins sales staff were using "misleading and false information" to make sales. "We believe it is a trap that the staff uses misleading and false information to get customers in, then force them  to buy, which is against the business regulation and ethics," he said.

"The staff unlawfully detained a customer against her will with an intimidating attitude, which is by definition almost like a kidnap, no matter what reasons they have."   

A Clarins spokeswoman said the company was investigating the incident, after being informed about it by The Advertiser.

She said Clarins' standard practice was to charge a $30 booking fee which was refundable on a two-product purchase on the day.

"The complaint is something that Clarins takes very seriously," she said.

A Myer spokeswoman said the retailer was "very disappointed that one of our customers had an unsatisfactory experience in our store".

She should shop online and she won't have that problem.

Next time she should go to Myers to try their products then go home and order them and wait for the postie to deliver.