Shannon Fentiman, Queensland Attorney General, Minister for Justice, Minister for Women and Minister for the Prevention of Domestic and Family Voice, has warned local residents not to purchase tickets from Dinosaur Festival Australia.
Festival Ignite Pty Ltd, which trades as Dinosaur Festival Australia, operates the Dino Festival Australia website and the Facebook page, Light Festival Australia.
The company also operates as Dinosaur Lantern Festival, Dinosaur Luminance, Monster Creature World and Festival Concepts Logistics Pty Ltd.
Minister Fentiman has urged residents of the Australian state to not purchase tickets from the trader, which claims to exhibit life-size animatronic dinosaurs.
“The events are advertised through the DFA website and Facebook pages, with consumers purchasing tickets for events that do not take place,” said Fentiman.
Between August and December last year, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) received complaints from 30 ticket holders that dealt with the business.
Fentiman added: “These complaints relate to continued postponement or cancellation of events and the refusal by DFA to provide a refund.
“DFA is now advertising events in Queensland for 2023, but the proposed venues have advised that DFA has not made bookings with them.”
Australian Consumer Law regulators have made numerous enquiries and have established that Dinosaur Festival Australia has no representatives in the country to manage, or resolve, consumer issues.
“The summer school holidays are a busy period for families and a popular time for events,” said Fentiman.
“It’s so important that consumers do their research before rushing to buy tickets. Everyone should check reviews and online searches if they think the event might not be genuine.”
Those that have purchased tickets for postponed, cancelled or future Dinosaur Festival Australia events should contact their bank to request a chargeback, where possible. Those that have dealt with Dinosaur Festival Australia and are not satisfied with the interaction should also lodge a complaint with the OFT.