The Key to Consumer Confidence For 25 Years

By adita tian

17 Apr 2024

Established in 1999, CaseTrust serves as the accreditation arm of the Consumer Association of Singapore (CASE), promoting fair and ethical trading practices among businesses to ensure consumer confidence during shopping experience. Over the years, CaseTrust has developed accreditation schemes tailored to different industries, addressing specific consumer concerns within each industry. CaseTrust accredited businesses are committed to fair trading and good business practices, thereby earning the trust of consumers as reputable companies.

Instead of solely addressing complaints, CASE recognised the opportunity to advocate for business excellence. With the CaseTrust accreditation mark, consumers can identify businesses assessed by CASE as having sound business practices and consumer-friendly policies, making informed choices and avoid errant ones.

Promoting fair trading and give consumers peace of mind.

To establish CaseTrust as a trusted symbol, CASE collaborated with trade associations to raise standards in various industries and promote good business practices. Members of trade associations members taking the first step for their companies to be accredited sent a strong signal to the rest of the industry on the importance of raising the bar in terms of fair business practices.

Each CaseTrust scheme is tailored to address specific consumer protection concerns, with unique features in its accreditation criteria. For example, in response to pressure sales tactics within the beauty industry, our Spa & Wellness scheme includes features such as a five-day cooling-off period to provide recourse for unutilised packages for consumers. It also includes a no-selling policy in treatment rooms to ensure that consumers have a stress-free experience at CaseTrust accredited spas.

Similarly, recognising the importance of safeguarding consumer prepayments due to sudden closure of renovation contractors, CaseTrust incorporates prepayment protection features within its Renovation schemes. Contractors accredited under the CaseTrust Accreditation Scheme for Renovation Businesses and the CaseTrust-Singapore Renovation Contractors and Material Suppliers Association (RCMA) Joint Accreditation Scheme for Renovation Businesses are required to protect consumers’ deposits through a deposit performance bond which safeguards consumers’ deposits in the event of business closure or liquidation.

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, CASE noted a major shift in consumers’ buying habits towards online shopping. Driven by strong demand and low entry barriers, the number of e-businesses and e-marketplaces ballooned significantly. While the convenience of online shopping benefited consumers, the problems they faced with e-businesses increased. To address common pain points faced by consumers when they shop online, CASE partnered Nanyang Polytechnic’s Singapore Institute of Retail Studies (NYPSIRS) in launching the CaseTrust Accreditation Scheme for E-businesses in October 2023.

Accredited e-businesses are easily contactable and maintain secure and user-friendly online ordering systems. They are dedicated to transparency by abstaining from pre-ticked boxes typically used by e-businesses to include optional add-ons unless the consumer expressively opts out. Additionally, their communication strategies with vulnerable consumer groups such as children and the elderly are tailored to the appropriate age group. Currently, there are more than 1,200 CaseTrust accredited outlets.

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