{"id":52533,"date":"2026-05-15T13:13:43","date_gmt":"2026-05-15T05:13:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=52533"},"modified":"2026-05-15T13:13:43","modified_gmt":"2026-05-15T05:13:43","slug":"brandtok-faces-backlash-over-alleged-undelivered-videos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=52533","title":{"rendered":"BrandTok faces backlash over alleged undelivered videos"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">SINGAPORE \u2013<!-- --> Several clients of marketing agency BrandTok have taken to social media with allegations that they paid for video packages which were not delivered as promised.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">The online controversy began brewing on May 11, when the owner of online business Kaise, which sells Muslimah shawls, posted a video about her experience engaging the agency.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Speaking to The Straits Times, Ms Noor Shazniah Rahmat, 39, said she paid $8,800 on Dec 22, 2025, for a production package comprising 20 content videos and three additional free videos to be completed in January 2026.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Only seven videos had been delivered by<!-- --> March<!-- -->, which she used on her TikTok and Instagram accounts (@kaise.store).<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">She began chasing BrandTok and its owner, Mr Sam Heedy, for the outstanding videos from March 31, before asking for a <!-- -->prorated<!-- --> refund of $5,720 on April 28 for the 13 undelivered paid videos.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Ms Noor said she has not received a refund and posted her video to warn other business owners to exercise caution when engaging any company for services.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">\u201cMine is a cautionary tale,\u201d she said, adding that businesses should avoid making full lump-sum payments upfront.<\/p>\n<p><iframe class=\"responsive-iframe-base instagram instagram-embed\" title=\"instagram embed\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DYLyySETqhD\/embed\/captioned\/?omitscript=true\" allowfullscreen=\"\" allow=\"accelerometer;falseclipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share;\" loading=\"eager\" data-testid=\"responsiveIframe\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Other videos soon followed<!-- -->, including one by Mr Daniel Yeow, 43<!-- -->. <!-- -->The<!-- --> co-founder and co-owner of multi-concept social enterprise The Social Space <!-- -->shared<!-- --> his experience with BrandTok in a <!-- -->clip<!-- --> posted on the evening of May 11 on his Instagram account @theyeowser.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">He told <!-- -->ST<!-- --> he engaged the agency in March 2025 for a $10,500 package to produce 60 videos over three months and paid a 50 per cent deposit.<\/p>\n<p><iframe class=\"responsive-iframe-base instagram instagram-embed\" title=\"instagram embed\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DYM0WubzfS9\/embed\/captioned\/?omitscript=true\" allowfullscreen=\"\" allow=\"accelerometer;falseclipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share;\" loading=\"eager\" data-testid=\"responsiveIframe\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Mr Yeow said the videos were never posted, as he did not accept any final drafts and lost confidence in the agency after what he described as poor-quality work, factual errors in captions and a lack of understanding of his business.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">He said Mr Heedy agreed on June 17, 2025, to a refund, but failed to transfer the money.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Mr Yeow filed a claim with the Small Claims Tribunal on Aug 29, 2025, and said Mr Heedy transferred the amount to him minutes before the hearing in October. Mr Yeow then dropped the case, but decided to reach out to other affected clients of BrandTok.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Although he recovered his money, Mr Yeow said he decided to speak up after learning that other clients had similar grievances.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Mr Vincent Pang, 39, owner of creative casual Thai restaurant Im Jai By Pun Im, <!-- -->contacted him in February, saying he had identified several others who had issues with BrandTok.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">\u201cI think it is important to make him accountable. When I knew that he had done this to other clients, it did not sit right with me and I wanted to warn other business owners,\u201d said Mr Yeow.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Mr Pang<!-- --> posted his own video on Instagram about his experience with BrandTok at 2am on May 14.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">He said he engaged the agency in June 2025 after seeing its advertisements featuring the success of Italian restaurant Kucina, and paid the full sum of $25,000 upfront for a package of 60 videos over three months. <!-- -->Mr Pang had hoped the campaign<!-- --> would help drive traffic to his 42-seat restaurant, which opened on April 1, 2025.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">He claimed he received only six videos from three shoots between June and August 2025, and had to edit grammatical errors, spelling mistakes and subtitles himself. He filed a claim with the Small Claims Tribunal on Sept 14, 2025, and received a default judgment on Oct 23, 2025, for BrandTok to pay him $20,612.42 by Nov 24, 2025.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">He noted that Mr Heedy eventually paid the sum in four tranches between Nov 27, 2025, and Jan 10, 2026. Mr Pang said he had posted his video to warn others, adding that he did not want other small business owners to go through the same \u201cnightmare\u201d.<\/p>\n<p><iframe class=\"responsive-iframe-base instagram instagram-embed\" title=\"instagram embed\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DYSaJkvTW09\/embed\/captioned\/?omitscript=true\" allowfullscreen=\"\" allow=\"accelerometer;falseclipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share;\" loading=\"eager\" data-testid=\"responsiveIframe\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Speaking<!-- --> to <!-- -->ST<!-- -->, the co-owner of Kucina Italian Restaurant, chef Gero DiMaria Mohammed Omar, 51, clarified that he is not an ambassador for BrandTok. Nor is he the face of the agency.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">He had allowed BrandTok to cite the success of his online media campaign with it on marketing materials out of \u201cgoodwill and friendship\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Popularly known as Chef Gero<!-- --> or Chef G<!-- -->, the restaurateur said he first got to know Mr Heedy through e-marketplace Carousell in 2018, when Mr Heedy helped with the graphic design for his takeaway boxes.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">He later engaged BrandTok for video campaigns from 2023 until early 2025, and said the working relationship was smooth. He had hired the agency to produce 20 videos monthly, with an average of two to three shoots weekly.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">\u201cI have worked with him with no issue and I believe he is truthful. He may be facing some internal issues now, but I am sure he is working on sorting it out,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">He stopped working with BrandTok to cut costs as the restaurant business had slowed in a challenging economic climate.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">While he has had several videos go viral, he stressed that they were driven largely by his own content ideas, such as cooking demonstrations and product explainers, and that there was no fixed formula for social media success.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">BrandTok<!-- --> is listed as permanently closed on its Google page. However, checks on the website of the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA), the statutory board which regulates business registration, <!-- -->show<!-- --> it is a live company, incorporated in October 2022.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">On the ACRA website, Mr Heedy, whose real name is <!-- -->Noor Hidayat Samion<!-- -->, is listed as director and shareholder. <!-- -->He is also a director of <!-- -->BrandTokHoldings<!-- -->, incorporated in January 2026.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">In a May 13 video posted to his Instagram account @middleeastsam, Mr Heedy claimed that he had received harassment, public attacks and death threats following Ms Noor\u2019s video.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">In his video, he explained that every client enters an agreement with BrandTok that operates under a no-refund policy.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">He apologised to affected clients, saying BrandTok had gone through a \u201cdifficult operational period\u201d marked by delays, communication breakdowns and shortcomings in delivery. He said he took responsibility, but denied allegations that he had intentionally deceived clients or disappeared with their money.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">He said between December 2025 and February 2026, the company had faced \u201csevere staffing shortages\u201d and \u201ccash-flow issues\u201d which disrupted operations.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">While some refunds had been given in past cases \u201con a goodwill, case-by-case basis\u201d, he said BrandTok was currently not in a financial position to provide immediate refunds while rebuilding its operations.\u00a0He added that the only realistic solution was to continue working towards completing the remaining deliverables owed.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">In an edit, referring to Ms Noor, he said she was still a client and that he intended to \u201cmake things right in due time\u201d. He added that he did not wish to cause harm to her business, reputation or brand, but felt it was necessary to clarify his position after a public video was made about him.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">The Straits Times has contacted Mr Heedy for his comments.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><iframe class=\"responsive-iframe-base instagram instagram-embed\" title=\"instagram embed\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DYSGklatLKX\/embed\/captioned\/?omitscript=true\" allowfullscreen=\"\" allow=\"accelerometer;falseclipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share;\" loading=\"eager\" data-testid=\"responsiveIframe\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Lawyer Adrian Wee, 47, managing partner of <!-- -->Lighthouse Law<!-- -->, said business owners whose vendors fail to deliver promised services may generally claim a partial or full refund, or engage another vendor and claim the cost difference.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">In limited cases, they may also seek a court order to compel the vendor to perform part of the service, such as handing over account credentials or work product.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">He said whether a no-refund clause is enforceable depends on the circumstances. A clause allowing a vendor to retain a deposit after a client cancels may be valid if the sum is a genuine pre-estimate of the vendor\u2019s losses. But a clause allowing a vendor to keep payment even when services have not been delivered would be \u201cunusual and likely unenforceable\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">On clients speaking publicly about their experiences, he said there is generally no prohibition against doing so. But they should ensure that the facts alleged are true, as there is a risk of defamation if the claims identify the subject and cast that party in a negative light.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">They should also avoid posting identifying information in a way that could amount to doxxing, which is a criminal offence.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.straitstimes.com\/life\/food\/marketing-agency-brandtok-faces-social-media-storm-over-alleged-undelivered-videos\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article At Source <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>SINGAPORE \u2013 Several clients of marketing agency BrandTok have taken to social media with allegations that they paid for video packages which were not delivered&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":52534,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2611],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-52533","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-buzz-headlines","wpcat-2611-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52533","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=52533"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52533\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/52534"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=52533"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=52533"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=52533"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}