In short:
Administrators for a collapsed Queensland caravan manufacturer have revealed the company owes $9 million.
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company → collapse → million
Australian Off Road shut its doors earlier this month, holding customer deposits worth more than $2 million.
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Road → shut → deposits
The administrator has written to ASIC over decisions the company made before its collapse.
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company → write → collapse
Administrators for a collapsed Queensland caravan manufacturer that owes $9 million have written to ASIC about the company's conduct before it shut down last week.
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it → collapse → conduct
Australian Off Road (AOR) went into administration on September 15 after the 26-year-old company suddenly shut its doors the week before.
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company → go → doors
Today, administrators DVT McLeods revealed the extent of the Sunshine Coast company's financial woes during the first creditors meeting.
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McLeods → reveal → meeting
Nearly 50 customers face losing $2.25 million in progress payments for unfinished and unbuilt caravans.
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customers → face → caravans
The Australian Tax Office is owed at least $2.72 million, and suppliers are $1.6 million in the red.
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suppliers → owe → red
But the company has assets worth approximately $755,000, the administrator told creditors.
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administrator → have → creditors
There are 47 customers who have paid deposits up to $120,000, but only 13 caravan chassis have been physically located.
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chassis → be → deposits
Customers outraged
Sandra Muller flew to Brisbane from regional NSW for the creditors meeting.
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Muller → fly → meeting
She has paid $101,000 towards her dream van and said she feels deceived.
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she → pay → van
You just feel like you've been had, basically," she said.
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she → feel → ?
"Next year it was our plan to go to Western Australia for three months or so."
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it → go → months
Ms Muller said she "panicked" after realising the company was in trouble when the company's website shut down.
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website → say → trouble
"There was no sleep that night … it was not good," she said.
"
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she → be → ?
Ms Muller said her caravan was originally due for completion in July, before delivery was delayed multiple times.
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delivery → say → July
"There seems to be a lot of inconsistencies about the production process or the time frame," she said.
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she → seem → process
"It seems like there's a ploy there to get as much money in quickly."
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It → seem → money
Another customer, who asked not to be named, said they were asked to bring forward their payment of $61,000 by one week.
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they → ask → week
The money was due in mid-August, but the company re-issued the invoice and requested payment in early August.
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company → re → August
The ABC has seen one instance of a customer emailing the company in April asking whether their deposit was safe.
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deposit → see → April
The sales manager replied, saying AOR's order book was full for the next six months.
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book → reply → months
"Whilst there is uncertainty in all markets with the war in Iran, this isn't stopping our operations," he replied.
"
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he → be → operations
I have no reason to think there would be any chance of AOR closing."
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AOR → have → reason
The ABC previously revealed that AOR was spruiking a bonus deal to entice new customers in the weeks before it stopped trading.
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it → reveal → weeks
A sale campaign is under way to find a possible buyer for the business, in the hope of returning money to creditors.
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campaign → find → creditors
"If the business and assets cannot be sold as a whole, our current intention is to proceed with a separate auction of plant, equipment and stock," administrator Nick Keramos told creditors during the three-hour meeting on Thursday.
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Keramos → sell → Thursday
Mr Keramos criticised the way Mr Evans has engaged with administrators.
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Evans → criticise → administrators
"It has been average," Mr Keramos said.
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Keramos → say → ?
"The questions we've raised … a lot of the time those responses aren't satisfactory.
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responses → raise → time
"We've had to continue to follow up responses to those particular issues.
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We → have → issues
[Mr Evans] has responded, but it's not to the extent we require … so we can continue with our investigations.
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we → respond → investigations
We're trying to reconcile the customers' orders … because there's just not sufficient information in the books and records to identify who the 13 [caravan] chassis belong to."
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chassis → try → who
Mr Evans was contacted for comment.
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Evans → contact → comment
Decisions referred to ASIC
Records show AOR's trading names were transferred to a related company, AOR Holding Co Pty Ltd, several days before the business collapsed.
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business → refer → company
The administrator said this move was under investigation.
"
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move → say → investigation
We've already written to ASIC with regard to freezing any transfer of those business names over to the new entity," Mr Keramos told creditors.
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Keramos → write → creditors
ASIC, the corporate watchdog, declined to comment.
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ASIC → decline → ?
Mr Keramos said he would investigate whether completed caravans were delivered to people related to the company in the weeks leading up to the collapse.
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caravans → say → collapse
…and 8 more, not listed.
The Aporia