Trading Standards has won an Enforcement Order against Mr Brian Davies of New Dawn Events, following a string of national complaints about his failure to provide refunds to consumers after music events were cancelled at the last moment.
While this doesn't guarantee refunds for consumers new advice from the Trading Standards Service is to consider seeking redress through the Courts where they are still in dispute with Mr Davies.
The investigation arose after Moray Trading Standards received over 60 complaints from consumers throughout the country who alleged that Mr Davies had failed to provide refunds for tickets to "Memories of Woodstock" and "Crathes Castle" music events in the August of 2009.
Both of these events were cancelled at short notice prior to the events going ahead. Despite the Trading Standards Service contacting Mr Brian Davies and securing promises that the refunds would be made, in the end very few were actually made. This sparked a seven-month investigation which culminated in the hearing before Elgin Sheriff Court on Tuesday the 20th April 2010, where the decision of the Court was to impose the Enforcement Order under the Enterprise Act 2002.
The Enforcement Order is designed to prevent a repeat of the behaviour displayed by Brian Davies, and failure to observe the Order could be found by a court to be a contempt of court which could lead to a fine or imprisonment.
Before taking court action, officers invited Brian Davies to respond to the allegations made against him and gave him the opportunity to address the situation.
However, despite this offer, he chose to ignore our advice and we were forced to seek legal sanction against both the business and Mr Davies himself. The investigation required the support of the consumers involved and we would thank those who assisted and a number of Trading Standards Departments around the country for their hard work in contributing to the final outcome."
Unfortunately, the Order does not guarantee refunds to those consumers who lost their money and the advice of the Trading Standards Service is to consider seeking redress through the Courts where they are still in dispute with Mr Davies. The Service will be monitoring Mr Davies' activities closely to ensure he observes the terms of the Order.
Advice is available from Consumer Direct on 08454 040506, by visiting www.consumerdirect.gov.uk or from The Moray Council's Trading Standards Service on 01343 554617.
Watch our original report on failing festivals:
Failing festivals - Oct 2009
Festivals update:
Memories of Woodstock update - Dec 2009
Trading Standards brings curtain down on concert promoter