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Commission forced to step in over failed air show

The Commerce Commission says it had no choice but to step in to help ticket holders to a failed Waikato air and car show get a refund after the company was put into liquidation.

The intervention comes as the promoter behind the failed event faces further charges.

The Wings and Wheels over Waikato event was to have taken place on the weekend of March 7, but ended up being postponed indefinitely, leaving sponsors and ticket holders out of pocket.

The Commerce Commission obtained a court order in March, freezing the assets of event organiser Ken Ross and associated companies Hawker Holding Limited, Media Limited and airshow.co.nz Limited, so that ticket money would be available for refunds.

In an agreement reached between the airshow organisers and the commission in June, ticket holders' funds were paid into the trust account of the organisers' solicitors, with the organisers undertaking to administer the process of refunding ticket holders.

Commerce Commission Director of Fair Trading Adrian Sparrow said the commission had to intervene because the company had gone into liquidation in August, and the organisers had behaved in a manner inconsistent with the agreement.

Under the agreement, all refund applications were to be directed to the Minister of Commerce, Lianne Dalziel, instead of to the organisers.

The commission said ticket holders could now access a refund form via the home page of the Commerce Commission, and ticket holders were advised to disregard the refund form posted on airshow.co.nz.

Any ticket holders who had already sent refund forms to either the airshow or the minister's office were assured that their documentation would be collected and held by the commission.

"The commission has given the airshow organisers ample opportunity to facilitate the refund process for ticket holders.

"However, recent developments, including the liquidation of the company and the organisers' directing that the refund form be sent to the wrong office, mean that the commission has no choice but to step in, in order to continue to protect the ticket holders' interests.

"At the same time we are in discussion with the liquidator regarding the status of the ticket holders." Ticket holders should ensure they keep copies of any documentation of materials that they send to the commission, he said.

Although airshow.co.nz Limited is in liquidation, ticket holders' funds are being held in trust. The terms of the agreement between the commission and Mr Ross did not allow release of those funds to the liquidator.

The liquidation of the companies meant ticket holders could expect a continued delay in obtaining a refund, he said.

The commission is in discussion with the liquidator and will continue to take all necessary steps to protect the rights of ticket holders, he said.

It was possible the matter could be referred to the High Court, and if the court determined no trust relationship existed then ticket holders were likely to be treated as unsecured creditors. They would then share in the company's assets equally with all other unsecured creditors, he said.

Ross appeared in Hamilton District Court on September 28 on 232 charges laid under the Fair Trading Act.

The charges were filed against Ross' two companies, Hawker Holdings Ltd and Airshow.co.nz.

Ross also faced an extra two charges of fraud, bringing the total number of fraud charges to 12.

No pleas have been entered and he was remanded on bail until his next appearance in December.