Chorus of complaints grows over faulty Agrison tractors

More examples of problems with Agrison tractors have emerged after The Weekly Times aired grievances by owners as part of its investigation into the beleaguered Chinese machinery importer. Now a class action is being mooted.

An investigation by The Weekly Times into cheap Chinese machinery importer Agrison has uncovered more details of poor quality or unsafe machinery, including the company facing a $10 million bill for a devastating fire that burnt 4000ha and a dozen homes.

Following an exposé last week, The Weekly Times has uncovered more complaints of poor quality machinery, secondhand tractors sold as new, no after-sales service or spare parts and many customers with inoperable machines awaiting to be collected by Agrison for repairs.

Last month, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission instituted Federal Court proceedings against ­Agrison alleging it made false or misleading representations about the warranties and after-sales services available to its customers.

Agrison — named as EL Mining Solutions Pty Ltd in the writ — was sued in the ­Supreme Court as part of a class action over the Scotsburn fire, near Ballarat, on December 19, 2015.

The name Agrison Pty Ltd was cancelled on March 1, 2016 and EL Mining Solutions Pty Ltd took over the company’s ABN, however, it still trades as Agrison.

The case was settled in May this year, with the company agreeing to pay the plaintiff $10 million, and the court approved the settlement on ­August 17.

The lead plaintiff, Michael Schmid, who represented all affected property owners, ­alleged the fire ignited after a stabilising chain affixed to the deck of an Agrison slasher failed at a poorly manufactured link, which caused the drive shaft to come into contact with the deck of the slasher while rotating at high speed.

It was alleged the failure of the Agrison slasher created a spark, which ignited the Scotsburn bushfire.

The bushfire had a devastating impact on the Scotsburn community, destroying or damaging about 80 properties.

As part of the terms of the $10 million settlement there has been no admission of liability or concession of any fault by Agrison.

Maddens Lawyers, which acted for the plaintiff, is now investigating a potential class action against Agrison and/or its related entities as a result of possible breaches of the Australian Consumer Law.

Maddens class action principal Kathryn Emeny said the firm has been contacted by many people that had bought Agrison-branded equipment and who were reporting a wide range of issues.

These include receiving products not as described, the use of inferior or substandard components, a lack of replacement parts and non-existent after sales service.

“The people we’ve spoken to are reporting quite brazen conduct by Agrison,” Ms Emeny said. “People have paid tens of thousands of dollars for Agrison equipment, which is now unable to be operated and sitting idle on their farming properties. Understandably, this is causing a considerable amount of angst.”

Agrison owner Ray Yayintis is also a drirector of Evolution Heavy Machinery.

Agrison also operates under Tractor Equipment Machinery Pty Ltd, and Agrison manager Ray Yayintis is linked to another Chinese tractor importer.

Mr Yayintis is listed as a director of Evolution Heavy Machinery, which provides “factory direct prices” on tractors that “are the best value coming out of China today”.

While there is no official link between Agrison and Evolution Heavy Machinery, phones calls to Evolution directed queries to Mr Yayintis and his partner at Agrison, Nick Yokus.

Comparisons of tractors on the Agrison and Evolution websites show strikingly similar machines, with slight variations.

Mr Yayintis refused to comment on the connection when asked.

The business, based in Thomastown until recently, has since shut down and phone calls are no longer answered, however Evolution machinery is still being marketed on its website and other machinery sales sites.

The Weekly Times has been aware of complaints made against Agrison as far back as 2011, including allegations of tractors cobbled together from secondhand parts from China that resulted in them breaking down soon after purchase.

After the ACCC announced its Federal Court action, an investigation by The Weekly Times uncovered more Agrison customers who say they have wasted money on machines that broke down within hours of operation, and that Agrison refused to honour its “five-year warranty” or provide the “nationwide after-sales services and spare parts” it claims to offer.

One customer from Queensland said his patience ran out when Agrison refused to fix his tractor, which broke down a couple of months after he bought it in 2011, so he put it on a truck and sent it back to Agrison.

The company said it was charging him a $50 a daystorage fee.

He said he believed his tractor was used for spare parts as there was no clear proof Agrison still had his tractor when a settlement was reached in 2018.

He said his settlement included not making any official comments about the QCAT action, but he said ill-health forced him to accept a refund less than the price he paid for the machine.

Other customers claim machines sold to them were not new, as advertised, were missing serial numbers and would be delivered with parts missing that ultimately caused the machines to break down, and many never even received an operator’s manual.

Agrison has accepted a $10 million settlement that it must pay Scotsburn fire victims after the fire was caused by an alleged faulty tractor. Picture: Chloe Smith.

While many spoke about the significant loss of money and income, it was the lingering mental health issues from the stress associated with fighting for a resolution that greatly affected them.

On the productreview.com.au website there are 54 reviews, almost all giving one-star ratings; one owner claimed he was sold a 2019 model tractor that was in fact a 2015 model, and spare parts were no longer available.

“I believed I was buying, and would receive a brand-new 2019 Agrison Tractor ... instead what was delivered was a rusting turd that had several hours on it, missing paint, broken frame parts and oil and coolant leaks. To top it all off the tractor has 2015 plates on it,” reviewer Kevin V wrote.

Although there are positive reviews, the website has red-flagged them with “we have detected a number of positive reviews for this listing which we suspect have been falsely generated and have the potential to mislead consumers”.

Irate customers The Weekly Times spoke to have detailed how Agrison would command a $500 “holding fee” to secure a machine and deduct it from the purchase price.

After customers had paid the deposit, an invoice for the full cost would arrive soon after, before the machine was even available. One customer said he changed his mind two days later and told Agrison he would not be purchasing the machine, however, he was never refunded the holding fee.

John Daszkowski, a mechanic from Wollongong, NSW, with 47 years’ experience, said he bought an Agrison tractor for $29,690 in 2015 that was damaged with contamination of the front axle and diff assembly because “the mechanic neglected to reinstall the vented filler plug”, which caused dust and debris to enter it.

“I drove it for three days. It had four hours on it when it was delivered, after three days it had 20 hours. That’s all the use it’s had (in five years),” Mr Daszkowski said.

After months of trying to get the machine repaired he said Agrison offered to replace the parts after he made legal threats. However, they never arrived and Agrison has refused to refund his money.

“They don’t make that 60hp tractor anymore, so you won’t get any spare parts for it. So even if they wanted to honour the agreement now, they can’t,” Mr Daszkowski said.

He said his owner’s manual exposed Agrison’s claim that thousands of spare parts were available.

“When I bought the tractor I had two spare-parts manuals. Behind the front page it basically says these manuals are not good and when I take delivery of the tractor there will be two more manuals, one for the engine and it would be a fully illustrated manual, and the other would be a fully illustrated manual for the front axle and diff assembly,” he said.

“I did not get them, and they do not exist because that plug that was missing on the diff was a vented plug and it sits on top of the axle just below the radiator of the tractor.

“But then to replace that one plug, which they said was $27, it took them 81 days to get me one. The reason they couldn’t order one was because they didn’t have those manuals either to find out what the part number was.”

Mr Daszkowski said he was eventually sent a secondhand plug that was painted black to look new, but had scratches on it where it was removed from another tractor.

There is no suggestion Mr Yokus or Yayintis were aware of, or responsible for, any alleged misconduct engaged in by the company.

Agrison would not comment when approached by The Weekly Times.

MORE

AGRISON TO PAY SCOTSBURN FIRE VICTIMS $10M

AGRISON TRACTORS LEAVE TRAIL OF OWNER ANGER, DESPAIR

REFUND FOR DODGY DIGGER