Playground Weekender director Andy Rigby has confirmed everyones worst nightmare. There will be no refunds for the cancelled festival.

In an indication of business practise without insurance it has been revealed Mr Rigby did not take insurance out on the festival that has run the festival at a loss for the past six years. He said this year’s event, which was smaller than in previous years, was on track to be the first to make a profit. (was this because all the main acts pulled out?)

In 2009, the Sydney Morning Herald reported that Mr Rigby had advertised and sold tickets for the 2010 festival before paying bands, contractors and ancillary staff from the previous year’s festival.

One band manager, whose musicians were owed $6000, spent six months “screaming down the phone” at Mr Rigby, and was paid after threatening to email “every contact I had in the industry and telling how he operated”.
The money had to be picked up, in cash, from a Chinese restaurant in Cabramatta, the manager said.

Mr Rigby operates several companies, many of which have gone into receivership or been deregistered.

Playground Music went into liquidation in December 2007, owing $172,000. Another company, Playground Entertainment, was briefly deregistered a week before the 2009 festival and again deregistered in 2011.

How about it! This could herald some consumer action. What are your thoughts? Are you one of the people who didn’t receive a refund?

Source SMH

written by wow