Fair Go has fielded a staggering number of complaints over a cancelled motocross tour that still hasn’t refunded ticketholders, nearly a year on.
The Crusty Demons Rise of the Demons World Tour was canned in October 2022 following multiple postponements and a breakdown in the relationship between the event promoter and the Crusty Demons brand.
The event promoter, Matt Mahoney of Complete Events Group, told Fair Go in November 2022 that ticketholders could expect to wait no more than 45 business days to be fully refunded. But to date, they haven’t got their money back. Instead, 500 people contacted the Fair Go programme in search for answers.
Hayley Davies, who bought ten tickets for her son and his friends as a birthday present, says there’ll be “so many people” in their position.
“It’s just not fair really."
Finding those answers proved difficult as both parties are based overseas. The founders of the Crusty Demons, Jon Freeman and Dana Nicholson, live in California while Fair Go understands Matt Mahoney lives in Canberra. His company, Complete Events Group, was struck off the Companies Register earlier this year.
Fair Go contacted Matt and asked why ticketholders hadn’t been refunded. Matt told the programme he is waiting on the Crusty Demons to sign a ‘deed of release’ that he says will formally sever their relationship.
“We have been ready for months to do refunds, however we also have to protect ourselves legally and without a deed signed we cannot move forward.
“It is disappointing for our fans and ourselves not being able to move on from this due to lack of communication from Crustys (sic). We gave 45 days as we believed that was more than a fair enough timeline for the Crusty owners to sign a deed."
Specialist civil litigation lawyer, Angela Parlane, explains that a deed of release is “a document that basically releases parties from obligations under an agreement or a contract”.
“I would have already thought that this contract's come to an end? So I'm wondering why he wants that deed of release and it's probably so that he can be confident that there's not going to be any claims against him personally."
Matt also told Fair Go that the responsibility of the shows was taken off him the day the Crusty Demons cut him out of the shows and brand, claiming his company does not legally have to refund ticketholders "and are entitled to sue for millions in damages”.
However, the terms and conditions on the tickets themselves show the contract was between the event promoter and ticketholder.
Ticketholders did have the option to take Complete Events Group to the Disputes Tribunal while it was still a registered company, but in May of this year, it was struck off the companies register, leaving fans with few options.
Angela says they could try to make a personal claim against Matt Mahoney, but it would be difficult to do so from New Zealand.
“You'd have to know where he lives, you'd have to somehow prove that he was the person that sold the ticket and that he has some sort of personal liability, not his company, it's very difficult."
Fair Go sent its list of 500 complainants onto the Commerce Commission to see if it would investigate, but the agency made the decision not to pursue the matter further, saying it is not a dispute resolution service and generally cannot assist consumers to get a refund or personal remedy.
The Commerce Commission’s fair trading general manager Kirsten Mannix says that in circumstances when a company is “in receivership, in liquidation or no longer exists or is based offshore, any action that the Commission might take is less likely to lead to a successful outcome”.
The programme also approached the Crusty Demons and asked whether they would come to an agreement with Matt Mahoney in order for ticketholders to be refunded.
Co-founder Jon Freeman said he would need to consult his lawyers, but that he would sign such a deed “in a heartbeat, if I could get those people their money back”. Fair Go has sent on Matt Mahoney's request onto Jon and his legal team and are waiting to hear what they'll do next.
Matt also claimed he paid a $400,000 licensing fee to the Crusty Demons. Jon Freeman disputes this but wouldn't say whether they were in fact paid.
He says he would love to put on a number of shows in New Zealand, but “I can’t come up with a couple of hundred grand out of my pocket”.
“Of course we care about our New Zealand fans, we built them up for 30 years. And for some guy to come in and rip their money off, it’s horrible."
Ticketholder Jonelle Phillips says regardless of who is at fault, the Crusty Demons need to front up and sort things out for their New Zealand fan base.
“They're the ones doing the show so I don't think it's right for them to put the 100% blame on the promoter. They need to own their stuff and give everyone their money back because it's just not right, it's unfair."
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