The Popsical Karaoke "Zombie" Billing Scheme
Summary: While legally insolvent and ordered to close by the Singapore High Court in mid-2024, Charaku Pte Ltd (trading as Popsical or Popsical Karaoke) allegedly continued to charge thousands of consumers for over a year. Users report unauthorized price hikes, duplicate billing, and an inability to cancel subscriptions.
1. The "Zombie" Charges
Despite the company being placed under liquidation, the automated billing systems remained active. Consumers reported a pattern of escalating unauthorized charges.
- Unauthorized Price Hikes: Users who originally signed up for $10.99/month (or as low as $8.99) saw fees quietly increase to $18.99, and eventually to $29.00 without active consent.
- Duplicate Billing: Some users reported being charged up to three times in a single billing cycle. For example, one user was charged $18.99 on June 19th and then $29.00 on July 14th before the previous subscription had even ended.
- The "Trap": The "Unsubscribe" button was reportedly removed or non-functional on the web portal. Banks have advised customers that because the merchant is unreachable, the only way to stop the charges is often to cancel the credit card entirely.
A user submitted the following link via Reddit regarding these charges. Please note we cannot confirm the authenticity of this external content:
View External Submission Link— "Local Guide" Google Review, July 2025
2. Company Defense vs. Legal Reality
In July 2025, over a year after the winding-up order, Popsical issued a statement to media outlet Stomp denying bankruptcy. The table below contrasts their claims with the legal facts established by the High Court and COMPASS.
| Company Claim (July 2025) | The Legal Reality |
|---|---|
| "Popsical Karaoke is not bankrupt and we are still actively operating." | FALSE. The High Court ordered the winding up of Charaku Pte Ltd on June 21, 2024. The physical store was vacated by July 2024. |
| Charges are due to a "system syncing error" during "internal restructuring." | MISLEADING. The charges continued for over a year after liquidation. COMPASS warned in July 2024 that the company was unlikely to fulfill services. |
| "Customers can manage or cancel their subscriptions directly via our web portal." | DISPUTED. Numerous reviews state the delete button was missing and customer service channels (email/Facebook) were unresponsive. |
3. Timeline of Collapse
- 2017 – 2023: Charaku Pte Ltd operates the Popsical service. During this period, it accumulates $1 million in unpaid royalties to the Composers and Authors Society of Singapore (COMPASS), despite earning an estimated $3 million in revenue.
- April 25, 2022: Creditors file an application for the winding up of Charaku Pte Ltd.
- June 21, 2024: The Singapore High Court issues the final order for the company to be wound up.
- July 1, 2024: COMPASS issues a media statement warning the public about the unpaid royalties and advises against further payments.
- July 5, 2024: Lianhe Zaobao reports the physical store at Far East Shopping Centre is empty ("ren qu lou kong").
- July 2025: Stomp reports that users are still being charged. Director Faruq Marican tells media they are "looking for solutions".
- November 9, 2025: User reviews confirm charges of $29/month are still being deducted, with zero response from the company.
- January 21, 2026: Reports surface on Reddit and social media of users being charged $29 despite having not used the app for over 3 years.
- February 12, 2026: MustShareNews publishes a comprehensive report detailing how former subscribers are being "ghost-charged".
- February 20, 2026: Technical experts suggest the company may be using "Card Account Updater" features through payment gateways like Stripe to bypass expired or replaced credit cards.
- March 12, 2026: Stomp Singapore: Man charged $29 by karaoke service Popsical for subscription he cancelled 3 years earlier.
- April 13, 2026: 8days.sg: Content creator YF Chow reports being charged $29 monthly despite the company shutting down two years ago. He discovered the charges in February and March 2026, noting that his bank receives similar calls daily.
4. Why Charges Persist (The "Updater" Trap)
One of the most alarming aspects of the 2026 reports from 8days.sg, MustShareNews, and social media is that users who cancelled their cards still found themselves being billed. This is attributed to:
- Card Account Updater (CAU): Payment gateways (such as Stripe or Adyen) often automatically update a merchant with a customer's new credit card number when a bank replaces a lost or expired card to "prevent service interruption".
- Exploitation: Because Charaku Pte Ltd/Popsical has not disabled their billing integration, they continue to receive these updates, allowing the $29 charges to follow users to their new bank cards.
- Support Ghosting: Users report that official support emails now return "address does not exist" errors, though some recent automated replies continue to ask for account details without providing resolution.
5. Key Individuals
Faruq Marican or Marican Faruq Umar (Director & Co-Founder): When questioned about the unpaid $1M in royalties, Marican stated he "did not know how to explain" the situation and expressed dissatisfaction that the copyright fees were too high.
6. Media References & Sources
- 8days.sg (Apr 13, 2026): "S'porean Charged S$29 Monthly For Karaoke Subscription Despite Company Shutting Down 2 Years Ago" — Detailed report on "ghost subscriptions" and the difficulty of blocking charges via banks.
- Stomp Singapore (Mar 12, 2026): "Man charged $29 for Popsical subscription he cancelled 3 years earlier" — Reports on a user being billed despite having cancelled years prior.
- MustShareNews (Feb 2026): "Popsical users claim they were charged subscription fees despite service being unavailable" — Reports on the difficulty users faced when trying to cancel subscriptions.
- Stomp Singapore (July 2025): "Karaoke service Popsical allegedly overcharged users 3 times subscription fee" — Details the "system syncing errors" and the $29 unauthorized charges.
- Lianhe Zaobao (July 2024): "Popsical physical store found empty following winding-up order" — Investigative report confirming the company had vacated its premises.
- Berita Harian (July 2024): "COMPASS moves to wind up company operating Popsical karaoke streaming" — Details the $1 million in unpaid royalties and the High Court legal action.