Customers sold short as shop closes
A Long-standing Townsville clothes manufacturer has closed down without notice, leaving customers asking where their money is.
Townsville personal trainer Debbie Papageorge placed an order at Cueldee Clothing three weeks ago with no clue the business would be closed before she could collect it.
“We expected them in two weeks and then just heard nothing, so I started to chase it up and just got nothing in return,” Ms Papageorge said.
“We turned up and the gates had a big lock out the front of it and thought ‘oh no’.”
Ms Papageorge said although she was only out of pocket for six shirts she was disappointed there was no contact from business owners.
“It was only a small order but it still cost us over $300 because of embroidery and paid for it all,” she said.
“I think they would have known when we placed our order that they were in crisis but it would have been nice if they at least said something to us, we emailed them, and we phoned them and nothing.”
Australian Taxation Office records show the business has been deregistered for GST and ASIC records reveal Cueldee Pty Ltd has not been active since 2013. It is unclear if the business was operating under another company.
Ms Papageorge posted her concern to a community Facebook group and was met with 65 replies, including many customers in the same position.
“I feel sorry for other people with larger orders and there’s a lot of them I’m guessing,” she said.
“We’ve been in business for a long time and you know if you’re going to shut down, it’s just so wrong that they’ve taken people’s money.”
One woman commented that she was waiting on an order of 257 shirts.
The Townsville Bulletin attempted to contact Cueldee Clothing multiple times. The clothing company’s website and phone listing have since been removed online.
Concerned customers are advised to contact the Office of Fair Trading Queensland.
Federal circuit court documents reveal the owner filed for bankruptcy in February this year.
WE TURNED UP AND THE GATES HAD A BIG LOCK OUT THE FRONT OF IT AND THOUGHT ‘OH NO’ DEBBIE PAPAGEORGE