Brisbane Dinosaur Festival indefinitely postpones event after accusations amid online claims people lost money
Dinosaur Festival Brisbane, which claims to offer animatronic dinosaurs and fossil digging, has announced the event will be postponed after it was accused of being a “scam”. Organisers still insist it is the real deal.
QLD News
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Organisers of an animatronic dinosaur festival will refund tickets after announcing the event will be postponed.
After concerns were raised online yesterday regarding the Dinosaur Festival Brisbane’s authenticity, organisers on Tuesday announced the “postponement of the event until further notice”.
Customers said their accounts had been charged for more tickets than they ordered.
One lady who spoke to the Courier-Mail said she had ordered three tickets but had been charged for nine tickets.
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The ACCC’s Scamwatch on Monday confirmed it had received a report about the event.
In a statement the event organisers said they were postponing to “allow for some outstanding documentation, which is necessary for events of such magnitudes, to be finalised”.
The statement said vouchers would be issued to child ticket holders that could be redeemed at a future event.
The statement did not say when the future event may be held.
“Various quarters have voiced concern over the authenticity of the event with some fearing that it could be a scam. We however, allay such fears and affirm our utmost wish to provide our services to the Australian market having successfully done so in Africa for several years,” the statement said.
“To this end, we also announce that since Monday July 20, we started refunding ticket holders. We appeal for calm and patience while this process is being done. Our accounting department advises us that this process will take up to 10 working days as the refunds will be done manually. All ticket holders will receive the full value of their tickets without any reservations.
“Wherever money is involved, trust issues arise. The organisers of this event are by no means scammers and will handle all transactions with utmost honesty. Refunds will be done manually in daily batches for up to 10 days.
“All affected child ticket holders will be compensated with a $10 voucher for every ticket. The vouchers will be redeemed using the initial ticket that they would have bought initially. The voucher can be used for different rides and activities only at the event and will be valid upon new booking.”
The festival promised “life-size animatronic dinosaurs”, fossil digging and a dinosaur street theatre has assured customers it is going ahead as promised amid a complaint to a consumer hotline and claims on social media parents had been overcharged without their knowledge.
The Dinosaur Festival Brisbane event has been accused of overcharging credit cards with people being urged on social media not to buy to reconsider buying tickets.
But Dinosaur Festival Australia organisers have maintained the event is real and “not a scam.”
Social media comments claimed people had bought tickets online but had more money had been taken out of their account than the tickets cost. Various posts were shared hundreds of times.
One woman said she ordered tickets for two adults and one child, totalling $34, but was then charged for six adults and three children and charged $124.
She said she was then charged another ticket order for six more tickets valued at $91, but that money had not left her bank account.
She contacted the event organisers who offered to refund her for two adult and one child’s tickets rather than the four adult and two children’s tickets that she had not purchased.
Dinosaur Festival Brisbane did not respond to requests for comment.
An ACCC spokesman said on Monday the national Scamwatch hotline had received one report about the event, but no reports of financial losses.
Dinosaur Festival Brisbane did not respond to requests for comment on Monday.
But in a Facebook post responding to the criticisms, organisers insisted the event “was not a scam” and promised to make a full statement on Wednesday.
“We have noted several concerns raised by different clients regarding our event schedules for 20th to 23rd November 2020. Please note that Dinosaur Festival Australia is not a scam please be rest assured that the event is going on as communicated,” the post stated.
“We are currently discussing the issues with different stakeholders that include the owners of the venue and other service providers in Australia.”
The festival stated it was planned for November 20 to 23 but internet sleuths discovered that was the same date as a baking event had booked the Showgrounds.
The showgrounds has multiple spaces events can hire.
They also noted the festival’s logo was identical to the South African event “The Dino Expo”.
The festival promised a “Jurassic tour” including life-size animatronic dinosaurs, fossil digging, reptile and fossil displays and a dinosaur street theatre.
The Brisbane Showgrounds stated the Dinosaur Festival Brisbane organisers had been in contact but had not booked the facilities.
Originally published as Brisbane Dinosaur Festival indefinitely postpones event after accusations amid online claims people lost money
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