Controversial businessman Gerasimos “Jerry” Lord has been ordered to pay $37,683 in compensation after failing to supply furniture to customers, nearly a decade after he was penalised for selling unsafe spas.
Lord was convicted of 10 breaches of Australian Consumer Law in Parramatta Local Court and sentenced to a 15-month community corrections order.
His company, Gallery Furniture Pty Ltd, accepted payments for items including a $4499 timber cabinet, $3596 in dining chairs, and a $450 marble side table, but failed to deliver them.
Seven consumers were awarded compensation, while others received refunds through credit card chargebacks.
Lord’s latest penalty follows a 2014 conviction when he and his brother were fined $18,000 and ordered to pay nearly $46,000 in compensation for failing to deliver spas and outdoor furniture after taking large deposits. At the time, then-Fair Trading commissioner Rod Stowe warned the public not to do business with Lord.
NSW Fair Trading has also recently taken action against others, including Nicholas Paxinos and his company Open Close It Pty Ltd, trading as Shutters Quickly, who were fined and ordered to repay over $27,000 in total.
Fair Trading Minister Anoulack Chanthivong said: “NSW Fair Trading will prosecute businesses who take the money and don’t deliver. There is nothing more frustrating than spending hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars on furniture and going months without seeing your purchase arrive.”
Source: The Daily Telegraph.
