Fake Money Craze: Petition Calls For Real Cash To Be Paid As Outrage Over Safety Warehouse Hack Moves

A fall in fake cash has triggered a backlash, with calls to boycott The Safety Warehouse and demands for real cash.

A disgruntled attendee started a petition on Change.org demanding that people with coupons receive real money and planned a police report, saying that the coupons that looked like $ 5 bills were strewn among the crowd in Auckland’s Aotea Square.

More than 1,000 people gathered in the plaza at noon yesterday after the company promoted plans to drop $ 100,000 from the sky.

But chaos erupted as a crowd stepped forward to catch counterfeit money fired from what looked like a gun.

Outraged members of the public, including Levin’s John Murphy, called the event a waste of time and claimed that many of the attendees came from impoverished backgrounds who felt cheated.

Business owner Andrew Thorn previously said that he actually gave away $ 100,000.

But Murphy said attendees only received coupons designed to look like $ 5 bills.

“I attended the event expecting it to be the highlight of my short trip to Auckland, only for it to be a disaster,” said Murphy.

Since then, it has started a petition, which has more than 280 signatories, demanding that The Safety Warehouse convert the coupons given out at the event into actual cash.

“I know people outside Auckland who were stranded. Many of us, including myself, suffered injuries,” added Murphy.

“People were pushing and shoving and throwing each other in an attempt to get what looked like real money.”

He said a person who appeared to be an organizer shared a laughable suggestion that the $ 5 coupons could be exchanged for real money at the bank.

Murphy also said he would ask the police to investigate whether the coupons can be declared counterfeit bills.

Thorn did not answer his phone or return a message Sunday.

But he previously said that the company already gave away real money, with discounts for fake money on top and 40,000 printed coupons.

And he said an employee was hospitalized after the crowd got angry and an object thrown through the rear window of a company car smashed the glass in his eyes.

‘Oversold’ trick

A Massey University marketing professor said the company should apologize and hire a good public relations firm to help save its reputation.

Professor Malcolm Wright told Radio New Zealand that the stunt had broken customers’ trust.

“I don’t think they would have set out to cheat, of course they would not have set out to cheat. Someone just sold too much and went a little further.”

But some attendees were furious.

“I wasted my gas, time and money … I could have spent the day doing something more productive,” wrote a Papakura woman at Murphy’s request.

“Wasted time, babies hurt, they ripped us all off, made us look dumb,” said another signatory.

Cam Hore wrote: “What a bloody disgrace. Everyone who attended this event should be compensated and the company should be fined for misleading people.”

Jon Duffy, CEO of Consumer NZ, said that any company running a promotion had to make sure they could meet the terms of the promotion.

“If the company did not give away $ 100,000 in cash at this event, it could be in violation of the bait advertising provisions of the Fair Trade Act.”

Fair trade law prohibited anyone from advertising goods or services at a specific price if they did not intend to supply those goods.

“Bait advertising is where you advertise something that is a really good deal to get people to walk in the door, but then it doesn’t get delivered,” Duffy said.

“Once you have them there, try to sell them to something else.”

“And we understand that people were receiving vouchers with the counterfeit money that was being distributed here, which gave them a kind of special treatment,” Duffy added.

“If that’s all that is offered, then this offer could be misleading. I guess we’ll have to see what happens.”

“I have not seen the real money [but] It seems that the event was not as the company expected. “

“And clearly, people didn’t get what they thought they were getting.”

The event was apparently held to thank New Zealanders for their support during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Thorn said he started the Safety Warehouse business through his Christchurch-based company Greenback Capital to supply work clothes, then moved to masks, hand sanitizer and other equipment when the Covid-19 pandemic began.