MANILA -- Netizens, especially "Filo Blinks" (Filipino Blackpink fans) expressed dismay over the South Korean girl group's meet-and-greet event organized by e-commerce platform Shopee on Thursday night.
The online shopping platform has announced a certain period of time when the public could purchase products, and top spenders would apparently win meet-and-greet tickets.
Many netizens said they felt being scammed and cited several reasons why. Among these include the alleged revision of the mechanics to win tickets, just a day before the meet-and-greet.
#ShopeeScam also trended on Twitter, as netizens expressed anger, saying a lot of them have spent thousands of pesos but did not win tickets. They emphasized that some people who spent PHP50,000 up to PHP100,00 were not considered as top spenders.
They noted that the supposed ticket allocation for the real top spenders was given to celebrities and influencers.
A netizen also shared that Shopee has taken away her ticket and claimed that she received a notification because there was a system error.
Another fan shared that 10 of them were asked not to join the top 40 spenders who could approach Blackpink for an autograph. She claimed that another 10 people were suddenly included on the top 40 list.
Shopee has apologized to customers and Blackpink fans over the incident.
"We hear your feedback loud and clear, and we understand that the event fell short of the high standards that Shopee users and Blackpink fans expect," said the online shopping firm in a statement posted on its Facebook page.
"Although we took immediate steps as soon as we discovered the problems to ensure the rightful winners of our contest could claim their prizes, we know that the entire process caused confusion, disappointment, and upset for many," it added.
Shopee assured that it is currently reaching out to all those affected by the issue and that such an incident will not happen again.
On Friday, the Department of Trade and Industry said it has initiated an investigation into the matter.
Meanwhile, Blackpink celebrities Lisa, Jennie, Rose and Jisoo left Manila on Friday afternoon. They are headed to Macau for a concert slated on Saturday.
The girls are known for hit songs, such as Ddu-Du Ddu-du, Kill This Love, Forever Young, among others. (PNA)
