Dodgy Brothers fined for selling potty skimmer spas
Two brothers have been handed down substantial fines and ordered to pay costs and compensation after selling spas with potentially deadly potty skimmers and failing to supply goods that had been paid for.
Nicholas Lord and Gerasimos Lord operated an online retail store selling indoor and outdoor spas as well as saunas and outdoor furniture.
They took large deposits from consumers without delivering products and have been ordered to pay $18,000 in fines, $1,566 in costs and $45,937.30 in compensation to victims.
They pleaded guilty in Parramatta Local Court to offences under the Australian Consumer Law and the Fair Trading Act.
The offences included accepting payment and not supplying goods in time and acting in contravention of an embargo notice.
The brothers supplied potentially lethal spas after Fair Trading issued them with the embargo notice last year.
Victims who supported the Fair Trading prosecution came from Wagga Wagga, Gilgandra, Geraldton in Western Australia (WA), Scullin in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), Rivett in the ACT, South Penrith and Forbes. All had placed orders for spas.
The brothers registered Urban Boutique Pty Ltd with ASIC in August 2009 as company directors.
Shortly after, they commenced operating an online retail store and advertised their products through two websites: www.euromaxspas.com.au and www.euromaxdirect.com.au.
They purchased spas made in Jiangsu Province, China. The spas were shipped to Australia from the manufacturer and stored in the factory unit at Wetherill Park.
They were selling or offering to sell banned spas that contained potty skimmers without a protective cover, including spas with the model numbers BG 8520 and BG 8832
A potty skimmer is a pool or spa outlet at water level used as a suction point for the water reticulation system and that resembles a child’s chamber pot or other toilet device and has no protective device fixed to the skimmer box outlet.
Spas that contain potty skimmers must have a protective cover on them that can only be removed by use of a tool.
A protective device is necessary to prevent a person becoming lodged or caught in the skimmer box outlet through the operation and effect of suction within or through the water reticulation system.
There have been numerous incidents in Australia and overseas involving uncovered potty skimmers that have resulted in disembowelment, serious injury and death. (If you follow this link to the Medical Journal of Australia, be warned the descriptions of the incidents may be upsetting.)
On 2 April 2014, Fair Trading Commissioner Rod Stowe warned the public not to deal with the brothers and their businesses.
“Anyone who has dealt with these individuals or their businesses can call 13 32 20 for advice,” he says.
