Harris pays Paul Simon surcharge

Former City of Sydney Councillor Chris Harris has been in dispute with the NSW Department of Fair Trading after he was short-changed by a credit card surcharge.

Mr Harris paid $856 to Hope Estate for two tickets to attend Paul Simon and Robert Plant in concert at the Hunter Valley over this year’s Easter Weekend.

The concerts were subsequently cancelled and the refund did not include the $25.68 credit card surcharge, highlighting the lack of accountability for surcharge expenses.

“[Hope Estate] had our money for three months, they totally dumped it and it actually cost me money to put up with their ridiculous incompetence,” said Mr Harris. “They were just totally useless.

“They know it’s a small amount of money. They know you’re not going to go too hard for it, so they just get away with it.”

Hope Estate informed Mr Harris on March 10 that tour promoter, Chugg Entertainment, had moved both concert’s from the Hunter Valley to the Newcastle Entertainment Centre.

“We thought it would have been lovely to see them at the winery,” said Mr Harris. “We thought we’ll still go because we want to see Paul Simon.”

Mr Harris was sent an email was sent four days later that the tickets were, in fact, not transferrable to a new venue and would be fully refunded.

“I wrote back saying ‘you haven’t given me anything, but it has actually cost me money’,” said Mr Harris. “You’ve stuffed it up, not us.”

“I then sent an email to the Department of Fair Trading asking ‘are they obliged to give the money back?’ Then I got a phone call from some guy who worked for Fair Trading who said we wrote to them and passed on your concerns and … they are not going to refund it.

“How does that help me? I already did that – I don’t need you to do that.”

Mr Harris then received an email from a representative from the Department of Fair Trading on April 10 articulating negotiation was the appropriate course of action for a written complaint:

“When NSW Fair Trading receives a written complaint, it is our practice to attempt to resolve the dispute through negotiations between the parties. Fair Trading intervention results in the resolution of more than 85 per cent of matters,” read the email.

“Should you wish to pursue the matter further, you may lodge an application with the Consumer, Trader and Tenancy Tribunal.”

Mr Harris said the Department for Fair Trading refused to advise him whether it was within his rights to request a refund.

“They said ‘we can’t give you legal advice mate’. What have I got to do? He said ‘take it to the ACCC’. I said ‘ok I’ll do that’. He said ‘you pay $32 and you fill out your case and there will be a hearing’,” said Mr Harris.

Mr Harris was a City of Sydney Councillor from 2004 until last year’s election, before retiring from the role.