Scammers have been taking advantage of school holiday travellers in Queensland by selling tickets to life size animatronic dinosaur shows that don’t exist.
The company Festival Ignite Pty Ltd, trading as Dinosaur Festival Australia (DFA), operates the website www.dinofestivalaustralia.com and the Facebook page Light Festival Australia.
The business also operates as:
- Dinosaur Lantern Festival
- Dinosaur Luminance
- Monster Creature World
- Festival Concepts Logistics Pty Ltd
Queensland Attorney-General and Minister for Justice Shannon Fentiman urged Queenslanders not to buy tickets from the trader, which claims to exhibit life size animatronic dinosaurs and other light shows.
“The events are advertised through the DFA website and Facebook pages, with consumers purchasing tickets for events that do not take place,” she said.
Between August and December 2022, the Queensland Office of Fair Trading (OFT) received complaints from 30 ticket holders who dealt with the business.
“These complaints relate to continued postponement or cancellation of events and the refusal by DFA to provide a refund.”
“DFA is now advertising events in Queensland for 2023, but the proposed venues have advised that DFA has not made bookings with them,” the Minister said.
Enquires made by the various Australian Consumer Law regulators have established DFA has no representative in Australia to manage or resolve consumer issues.
The Attorney-General said it was a timely reminder for Queenslanders to be aware of scams when purchasing event tickets.
“It’s so important that consumers do their research before rushing to buy tickets.”
“Everyone should check reviews and online searches if they think the event might not be genuine,” she said.
Consumers who have purchased tickets for postponed, cancelled, or future DFA events are encouraged to contact their bank or financial institution to request a chargeback on their credit or debit card transaction, where possible.
Queenslanders who have dealt with Festival Ignite Pty Ltd trading as DFA, who are not satisfied with their interaction, are urged to lodge a complaint with OFT online at http://www.qld.gov.au/fairtrading or by calling 13 QGOV (13 74 68). Those in New South Wales can make a complaint with NSW Fair Trading online at https://www.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au/ or call 13 32 20.
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