Du Magic v Green Acres
The Greenacres franchise case is not the first to hit New Zealanders and disillusion New Zealanders some of who have
immigrated to New Zealand.
In 2005 - 2006 over 60 New Zealanders were hit by a similar scam. The were targeted nation wide and people from Auckland
to Invercargill were effected. Investors purchased a car scratch and paint repair franchise. At the time, the Commerce
Commission, Serious Fraud Office and Government, failed to investigate and support the victims who have had to live with
their losses with no guarantee of recovery.
The devastation of victims losing their homes, family break up and severe depression did not encourage any support from
the governing agencies in the same manner as we are witnessing currently with Green Acres.
Du Magic, an Australian company came to New Zealand in 2005 and duped good hard working individuals into a scam that
almost mirrors the current Green Acers fiasco. The Australian company did not belong to the franchise association.
The Du Magic group approached the Negotiator Limited for assistance and the only affordable recourse was to broaden the
case and represent Australian victims and lay a complaint with the Australian ACCC who are currently in negotiations
which we believe will involve refunds. The ACCC were not interested in New Zealand victims alone and there are still no
guarantees that the ACCC will ensure recovery for New Zealand Victims.
The investigation by the Negotiator Limited has been done with minimal resources with many people donating their time to
progress mattes as legal representation was unaffordable as is obviously the case for the Green Acres Group.
The Green Acres case has been a bitter pill to the Du Magic group as they witness governmental support that they were
declined.
“Peter Buckley “ the group coordinator said from his home in Whangaparoa today “This is very disappointing as we
struggled desperately to get help and most of our franchises were priced at over $30K” Mr Buckley went on to say “ We
have had to fund trips to Australia to meet the ACCC before we could get any action, which is appalling, but then it
wasn’t an election year”
The Negotiator ltd has written to the Minister this requesting assistance in dealing with the ACCC. As it is holiday
time there has been no response as yet but we trust the Minister is committed to work against scams that are destructive
and embarrassing to New Zealand
ENDS