By Danielle Galvin
LOCAL dad Justin Seddon said he would be taking the embattled Pakenham business Kids Outdoors to VCAT even though he thinks the money he paid for a cubby house is “well and truly gone.”
In the week before Christmas, the business went into receivership leaving dozens of families without presents for their young children.
“I’ve spoken to VCAT and they said the chances of getting the money out of them is slim to none, but that we are welcome to go through the process if we want,” he said.
Since the Gazette covered the story in late December, families across the country have come forward saying they have experienced similar problems with the same company.
For the Seddon family, luck would have it that a cubby house was donated through a friend of the family who works for a local distribution company.
“Everything fell into place that week of Christmas, we were really lucky,” Mr Seddon said.
The cubby house saga has the rumour mill buzzing in Pakenham, with some residents claiming that the owners of the business are “living it up” overseas, possibly in Thailand or America .
But for the Seddon family, the week of Christmas involved many sleepless nights.
“Everything we read about them online and heard about them was good. So we thought we’d pay the money in full and we wouldn’t have to worry about it anymore,” he said.
“We spoke to them (the owners) the week before – it just rips your heart out.”
His three children were none-the-wiser and were thrilled with their cubby house when they awoke on Christmas morning.
“The kids didn’t know any different, we were sort of able to shelter them from it. I think they probably suspected something wasn’t right,” Mr Seddon said.
“To get the family to come down on Christmas Eve was amazing, we all bonded and got together. It made everything worthwhile.”
A spokesperson for Consumer Affairs Victoria said that the owners of the failed business would make contact with affected customers by the end of January.
“Consumer Affairs Victoria has a record of all consumers who have been in contact about this business and continues to follow up these matters with the trader on their behalf,” the spokesperson said.
“The trader has requested that consumers who wish to contact them send an email to kidsoutdoors@hotmail.com, providing contact details and purchase information.”
But for Mr Seddon the fact that the owners were dishonest was what hurt the most.
“If they had been open and honest or rang up and said listen we are struggling. To not get anything and to have no contact from them, that’s why we’ll pursue it further.”
