Salon in China quotes US$60 for hair perm, but afterwards says they divided man’s scalp into 12 sections, US$720 in total
- A man went to a salon in eastern China last week and agreed to a price for a hair perm which he felt was reasonable
- The salon later claimed the full price was 12 times higher and is now under investigation by authorities after the case appeared on social media
A hair salon in China is under investigation for telling a customer a hair perm and styling cost 398 yuan (US$60) but afterwards charged him 4,776 yuan (US$720) under a bizarre system whereby they divided his scalp into 12 “sections” with each costing the quoted price for the service.
The man, surnamed Liu, went to the Zhenxuan Hair Salon in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, eastern China, last week to have a hair perm and styling.
A hairstylist there recommended a hair service supposedly costing US$60, which Liu agreed to, the City Express newspaper reported.
But when he was presented with the bill, Liu was astonished to see a demand for the staggering sum that was 12 times higher.
The staff told him that the initially quoted price was for just one area of his scalp which the salon had secretly divided into 12 areas — for each of which he was charged the quoted amount.
Liu said he felt he had no choice other than to try and pay the amount despite the alleged deception and paid 3,000 yuan (US$447) for a “gift card” after salon staff told him he could get 50 per cent off.
After he shared his experience on social media it quickly came to the notice of the market supervision authority of Hangzhou which launched an investigation on Friday.