A raw prawn deal for this Doyles customer: Donna Morrison left with unused vouchers after restaurant closed

WHEN Peter Doyle at the Quay shut unexpectedly last month, Donna Morrison‘s unused vouchers suddenly became worthless.

WHEN Peter Doyle at the Quay shut unexpectedly last month, Donna Morrison was left holding $450 of unused vouchers.

Just weeks earlier Mrs Morrison had called the harbourside restaurant to find out when the vouchers had to be used by. There was no ­expiry date, she was told. And there was no mention of closing down.

In turning to Public Defender, Mrs Morrison said: “I have been ­unable to contact the restaurant, even on their last day of business, to try to come to an arrangement ­regarding the vouchers which have been paid for but cannot be used.”

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This is an all-too-common problem. Only recently, in the Brydens Lawyers column to the right, did a reader seek advice after being left out of pocket when Renovation Boys ceased trading. In that case, the only option was to register as an unsecured creditor with the ­liquidator, a process that involves paying a fee of 30 per cent of the amount claimed.

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Thankfully I can report a better outcome for Mrs Morrison but it took more effort than should have been required.

While the restaurant’s website makes it clear that the eatery is shut, it does not explain the process for obtaining a refund.

When the listed phone number was called, a recorded message ­advised ringing another number. I never received an ­answer on the ­alternative number.

A check of the website domain name revealed it had been registered by “308 Industries Pty Ltd”. Its phone was not answered, either.

The Doyles restaurant in ­Watsons Bay could not help.

Things looked bleak when an Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) company search brought me no closer.

But then the breakthrough finally came, on the CreditorWatch website, which linked 308 Industries to a bottle shop at the Fish Markets in Pyrmont.

It was here, at Fisherman’s Fine Wines, that I found Sharon Doyle, daughter of the original Peter Doyle. “We tried to ring people,” she said.

The information needed to ­obtain a refund was on the website, she added.

It isn’t.

She expressed surprise that the alternative phone number had not answered. Sharon said her sisters, Gayle and Robyn, had been there on the day I’d first tried calling.

She then explained the process for obtaining a refund and said 92 per cent of people who had vouchers or made “deposits” had been ­reimbursed. She also apologised to Mrs Morrison.

“Thank you very much,” Mrs Morrison said.

ANOTHER SUCCESS FOR PUBLIC DEFENDER

READER Apurva Mishra has prevailed in his car-clocking crusade. In April, Public Defender reported Mr Mishra was taking action in the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal, alleging the imported Lancer he paid Sydney’s Prestige Auto Centre $30,000 for had travelled about three times the 34,000km the odometer said.

The NCAT ruled Prestige Auto Centre had engaged in “misleading and deceptive conduct” and ordered it pay Mr Mishra $18,526.

NCAT senior member Sabine Thode said: “I am satisfied, on the balance of probabilities, that the odometer reading was changed by the respondent or that a third party changed the odometer reading with the knowledge of the respondent in order to mislead or deceive the applicant.”

The NCAT accepted the Japanese Registration Certificate Mr Mishra presented. This is important, as it was bought through a third party, not the registry in Japan, but Mr Mishra was able to demonstrate its authenticity. Until now there has been a question mark over whether such documentation is legitimate.

This result should serve as a warning to any dealer considering winding back odometers.