Day: 19 January 2020

  • Amanda Stichbury, Accommodation Find, Internet Find and Special Days false billing scam continues

    Amanda Stichbury final notice - Office of Fair Trading Queensland

    Many business owners, particularly those in the travel and tourism industry, will be familiar with the long running false billing scam perpetrated by Amanda Stichbury – director of the companies Special Days Pty Ltd, Accommodation Find Pty Ltd and Internet Find Pty Ltd.

    How the scam originally functioned was that business owners would receive what looked like a renewal invoice in the post or via email for advertising on websites which they never ordered. Some of those websites had similar names to official government or tourism websites, which was a source of great confusion to many receiving the bills.

    While the actual advertisements did exist on the websites stated, they were not authorised nor ordered by most of the business owners.

    In 2014, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) in Queensland achieved successful court action against Amanda Stichbury after many years of business owners being inundated with bills for advertising they never ordered. Amanda Stichbury and her companies were fined almost $20,000 with convictions recorded. At the time, the OFT described the business activities of Amanda Stichbury as being “based almost entirely on deception” and “preying upon time-poor businesses“.

    In 2017, Amanda Stichbury was fined a further $50,000 and convicted on a total of 166 charges in relation to sending invoices for unsolicited services and for making false and misleading representations. This related to businesses receiving notices stating their existing listing on certain websites had expired and they would need to renew them. These notices implied a previous business relationship which was false.

    In 2019, the Office of Fair Trading in Queensland yet again successfully prosecuted Amanda Stichbury in the Federal Circuit Court for “breaches of the unsolicited consumer agreement provisions“. An injunction has been issued against Amanda Stichbury which permanently prevents her from directly or indirectly engaging in this conduct in the future, anywhere in Australia. Should she breach this injunction, she may be jailed.

    The acting executive director of the Office of Fair Trading in Queensland, Craig Turner, slammed the long running business practices of Amanda Stichbury, declaring that “behaviour like Ms Stichbury’s has no place in Australia.”

    Despite the recent court action, tourism businesses around Australia are still receiving emails originating from Amanda Stichbury and her companies. The latest is from Accommodation Find (accommodationfind.com) claiming that a business listing has been deactivated, thus resulting in lost bookings, and requiring it to be reactivated. This process leads to a page with typically outdated information about a business and a request to update it. It appears there is then a $99 annual fee to pay, however businesses that don’t claim their listing don’t appear to get removed. See below for an example of such an email.

    If you receive an unsolicited request to claim a listing you never ordered and then to pay for it, you can lodge an official complaint with the Office of Fair Trading in Queensland at http://www.fairtrading.qld.gov.au/lodge-your-complaint

    False billion scams are of course not new – they have been going on for many years in Australia, costing businesses many millions of dollars. A number of perpetrators of false billing scams are so successful that court fines are simply treated by them as one of the basic costs of doing business, with revenue far exceeding any fines they may receive over time.

    A collection of some Special Days Pty Ltd, Accommodation Find Pty Ltd and Internet Find Pty Ltd websites are listed below. Businesses may receive unsolicited listing renewal requests from any of these.

    Accommodation Adelaide – www.accommodationadelaide.net.au
    Accommodation Airlie Beach – www.accommodationairliebeach.com
    Accommodation Australia – www.accommodationaustralia.com.au
    Accommodation Broome – www.accommodationbroome.com
    Accommodation Cairns – www.accommodationcairns.net.au
    Accommodation Find – www.accommodationfind.com
    Accommodation Gold Coast – www.accommodationgoldcoast.com.au
    Accommodation in Bendigo – www.accommodationinbendigo.com
    Accommodation Melbourne – www.accommodationmelbourne.com.au
    Accommodation New Zealand – www.accommodationnewzealand.com
    Accommodation NT – www.accommodationnt.com
    Accommodation Perth – www.accommodationperth.com.au
    Accommodation Search – www.accommodationsearch.com.au
    Accommodation Sunshine Coast – www.accommodationsunshinecoast.net.au
    Accommodation Sydney – www.accommodationsydney.net.au
    Accommodation VIC – www.accommodationvic.com.au
    Aged Care Find – www.agedcarefind.com.au
    Attractions – www.attractions.net.au
    Attractions Brisbane – www.attractionsbrisbane.com.au
    Attractions Melbourne – www.attractionsmelbourne.com
    Attractions Perth – www.attractionsperth.com.au
    Australia Private Schools – www.australiaprivateschools.com
    Brisbane Private Schools – www.brisbaneprivateschools.com
    Broome Tourism – www.broometourism.com
    Builder Melbourne – www.buildermelbourne.com
    Byron Bay Accommodations – www.byronbayaccommodations.com
    Caravan Park Accommodation – www.caravanparkaccommodation.com
    Car Rental – www.carrental.net.au
    Childcare – www.childcare.net.au
    Childcare Sydney – www.childcaresydney.com
    Click Find – www.clickfind.com
    Church Find – www.churchfind.com.au
    Coolangatta Guide – www.coolangattaguide.com
    Dentist Find – www.dentistfind.com.au
    Dentist in Melbourne – www.dentistinmelbourne.com
    Education Directory – www.educationdirectory.com.au
    Education NSW – www.educationnsw.com.au
    Education QLD – www.educationqld.com.au
    Education VIC – www.educationvic.com.au
    Education WA – www.educationwa.com.au
    Find Chemist – www.findchemist.com.au
    Golf Find – www.golffind.com.au
    Great Ocean Road Tourism – www.greatoceanroadtourism.com
    Hairdresser Find – www.hairdresserfind.com.au
    Holiday Gold Coast – www.holidaygoldcoast.com
    Hotel Find – www.hotelfind.com.au
    How Local – www.howlocal.com
    Hotel VIC – www.hotelvic.com.au
    Lightening Ridge Tourism – www.lightningridgetourism.com.au
    Mackay Tourism – www.mackaytourism.com.au
    Melbourne Accountant – www.melbourneaccountant.com
    Melbourne Hairdresser – www.melbournehairdresser.com
    Melbourne Schools – www.melbourneschool.com
    Melbourne Tourism – www.melbournetourism.net.au
    New South Wales Tourism – www.newsouthwalestourism.com
    Perth Private Schools – www.perthprivateschools.com
    Pubs and Clubs – www.pubsandclubs.com.au
    Pubs Melbourne – www.pubsmelbourne.com
    QLD Tourism – www.qldtourism.com
    Redcliffe Tourism – www.redcliffetourism.com
    Restaurant Brisbane – www.restaurantsbrisbane.com
    Restaurant Find – www.restaurantfind.com.au
    Restaurant Gold Coast – www.restaurantsgoldcoast.com
    Restaurant Guide – www.restaurantguide.net.au
    Search Accommodation – www.searchaccommodation.com
    South Australia Guide – www.southaustraliatravel.com.au
    Sunshine Coast Tourism – www.sunshinecoasttourism.com.au
    Sydney Private Schools – www.sydneyprivateschools.com
    Sydney Tourism – www.sydneytourism.com.au
    Tourism Adelaide – www.tourismadelaide.com.au
    Tourism Brisbane – www.tourismbrisbane.com.au
    Tourism Caloundra – www.tourismcaloundra.com.au
    Tourism Canberra – www.tourismcanberra.com
    Tourism Cairns – www.tourismcairns.com.au
    Tourism Gold Coast – www.tourismgoldcoast.com.au
    Tourism Guide – www.tourismguide.com.au
    Tourism Listing – www.tourismlisting.com
    Tourism Tas – www.tourismtas.com.au
    Tourism WA – www.etourismwa.com.au
    Townsville Tourism – www.townsvilletourism.com.au
    Travel Agents Melbourne – www.travelagentsmelbourne.com
    Travel Guide – www.travelguide.net.au
    Vet Australia – www.vetaustralia.com
    Vet Melbourne – www.vetmelbourne.com.au
    Victoria Tourism – www.victoriatourism.com.au
    VIC Tourism – www.victourism.com.au
    Whitsundays Accommodation – www.whitsundaysaccommodation.com
    Whitsundays Tourism – www.whitsundaystourism.com.au

    References

    Fake biller Amanda Stichbury issued final notice
    Queensland Office of Fair Trading
    https://www.qld.gov.au/law/laws-regulated-industries-and-accountability/queensland-laws-and-regulations/fair-trading-services-programs-and-resources/fair-trading-latest-news/media-statements/fake-biller-issued-final-notice

    Fake biller Amanda Stichbury allegedly fleecing businesses again
    My Business
    https://www.mybusiness.com.au/finance/6063-fake-biller-allegedly-fleecing-businesses-again

    Companies referred to in the Queensland Office of Fair Trading court action

    Special Days Pty Ltd
    ABN – 37 086 159 211
    ACN – 086 159 211

    Accommodation Find Pty Ltd
    ABN – 18 086 159 195
    ACN – 086 159 195

    Internet Find Pty Ltd
    ABN – 68 162 430 159
    ACN – 162 430 159

    Contact phone number of these companies – 1300 656 789 and/or 1800 199 863.