Weekenda CEO releases emails from influencer Jade Tuncdoruk demanding refund for honeymoon stay

An email exchange between influencer Jade Tuncdoruk and a holiday rental company has shed light on her fight for a full refund for a cancelled honeymoon.

Aussie influencer Jade Tuncdoruk accused a small business owner of “theft” and threatened to take him to Fair Trading after he refused to offer her a full refund on her honeymoon stay, an explosive email exchange has revealed.

Tuncdoruk, who boasts almost 500,000 followers on Instagram, took to the social media platform this week explaining that she put down a $2000 deposit with premium holiday rental company Weekenda last year.

However, in August she cancelled her Hunter Valley honeymoon with fiance Lachie Brycki, after postponing her wedding due to Covid concerns. In a now-deleted post, Jade told followers the couple requested a refund, “but they said the best they could do was put it back up online to be booked by someone else”.

Her followers then bombarded the small company with complaints until they relented and offered her a full refund.

Weekenda’s CEO and founder Pete Smith defended his actions and accused the influencer of being “very demanding and threatening” to his staff.

Mr Smith said dealing with Tuncdoruk was “definitely a handful”. Source: Daily Mail.

Emails obtained by the Daily Mail reveal how Tuncodurk threatened to take Weekenda to Fair Trading if she didn’t receive her money back in full - despite the company’s terms and conditions stating customers aren’t entitled to a refund if they decide to cancel their stay.

“There’s really no reason that this cancellation shouldn’t be processed. At this point you’re just keeping our money for the sake of it,” one email from the influencer to Weekenda read.

“We ask that you please see the completely valid reason for this cancellation - amid a global pandemic - and cancel the reservation or we will need to take it up with Fair Trading.”

Mr Smith offered Tuncdoruk a “cancellation request”, meaning they would return the deposit if another customer booked the property. He was then hit with a threat to be taken to Fair Trading.

“It's just not acceptable business practice amid the current global climate. It's really poor form, it's practically theft. I'll be opening a case with Fair Trading,” she replied.

Mr Smith said dealing with Tuncdoruk was “definitely a handful”.

“My staff advise that Jade was very demanding and threatening. Her emails support this,” he told the Daily Mail.

Weekenda eventually agreed to refund her deposit on Friday after Tuncdoruk shared an Instagram post accusing the company of “taking advantage of people in the middle of the pandemic”.

Instagram Pictures from Jadé Tuncdoruk acoount. Jadé Tuncdoruk has told her fans not complain about her sponsored posts because Christmas is a "busy time of year" for the influencer industry. https://www.instagram.com/jadetunchy/?hl=en

Weekenda has since addressed the social media storm with a post of its own.

The company’s owners said they “have really struggled through 2021, and not paid ourselves at all between July 1 and December 1”.

They explained the business had “weathered the Covid lockdowns” and “are determined to come out of this stronger than ever”.

They will be gifting the “Weekenda” Jade would have booked at Meerea Park Estate to one of their followers.

“If it’s good enough for Jade, think how awesome this prize will be for you and 7 besties,” the business posted to Instagram.

“In all seriousness, we take our guests enjoyment – whether they’re an influencer or not – really seriously.”

The Aussie influencer found herself in more hot water this week over a spat with Uber Eats.

The 26-year-old complained to the online food ordering and delivery platform about their “annoying non-English speaking delivery drivers”, which has reportedly prompted publicists to pull her from their upcoming invite lists.

In her rant, she explained how she got a notification saying her food was arriving, taking the person “a further 20 minutes to get to my door because he hadn’t read my delivery instructions”.

“When I called him to explain he didn’t understand a word I was saying … when foreigners are delivering it takes twice as long for me to receive my then cold food. Sort it out,” the post to Uber Eats read.

Aussie influencer Jade Tuncdoruk has copped flak after she “demanded” a small business give her a refund on a deposit for her honeymoon stay.

After it was made public, Jade took to social media to apologise to “anyone I have hurt”. “I’m sorry to anyone I’ve hurt with my comments. I hold myself accountable for my actions,” she wrote. “It doesn’t excuse anything, but know that I have grown immensely in the past several years. I always do my best to be someone others can look up to and I know I’ve let people down and for that I’m truly sorry.”

However, according to Daily Telegraph, the scathing post has prompted some to distance themselves from the influencer who boasts almost half a million Instagram followers. The publication reported a high-profile publicist on Friday said she had been pulled from invite lists and brands were refraining from being associated with her.

“This could very well get her cancelled,” one publicist told The Daily Telegraph. “There has been one too many faux pas now.”