Barry Lipscombe’s Contrabart trade exchange has troubled past on the Gold Coast and beyond

BARRY Lipscombe and his trade exchanges have had a troubled past on the Gold Coast and beyond — changing business names and fronting court multiple times.

Barry Lipscombe

BARRY Lipscombe and his trade exchanges have had a troubled past on the Gold Coast and beyond.

Contrabart MGT Pty Ltd was issued an insolvency ­notice by the Australian ­Securities and Investments Commission last December, although the company was listed as registered yesterday.

Four similarly named entities have been deregistered in the past decade, while the related companies have also made numerous appearances in court — at least six times responding to claims they owed people money.

Among those claims was one from a builder in 2003, when Lipscombe’s company was ordered to pay more than $70,000.

Ulex Constructions director Phillip Boon this week said his company had yet to receive a cent.

Mr Lipscombe did not want to talk to the Bulletin about that case — or much else — this week.

“Make sure you get your facts right before you go printing anything, OK,” he said. “He actually got paid long ago.

“If you print anything that’s not factual, I’ll sue the balls off you OK, goodbye, thank you.”

The phone at Contrabart’s Southport base has been disconnected and the Minnie St office was locked up and dark this week.

The Bulletin has obtained a copy of a letter from ANZ, issued to Contrabart MGT in March this year, notifying them of suspension of their merchant agreement which, among other things, allows them to operate an Eftpos machine.

Trading as Contrabart Pty Ltd from 2002, an administrator and then a liquidator was appointed and the company was wound up in 2005.

Court documents show the company owed the Australian Tax Office $1.47 million.

Contrabart Management Pty Ltd was registered in 2002, but it too went into liquidation ahead of its deregistration in 2011.

In several court cases, evidence was presented by Mr Lipscombe, whose online CV says he’s run the operation for 22 years.

In October 2003, Supreme Court Judge Richard Chesterman said he “scarcely believed a word” of the testimony from Mr Lipscombe or two of his then traders — father and son Adrian and Jason Hodson.

The Hodsons had to return a $150,000 boat to its owner after they paid him in trade dollars he was unable to spend on anything of real value.

Adrian Hodson was disqualified from managing companies for four years in 2007, and his son copped a three-year disqualification after four of their own companies were investigated by ASIC.

Mr Lipscombe was also a director of Auschina Imports — which was deregistered in February this year.

Have you dealt with Contrabart? Let us know — email [e-mail] or mail to Kathleen Skene, PO Box 1 Southport, 4215.