NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / New Zealand

Brand Developers take money but fail to deliver gadget

By Kristin Edge
Reporter·Northern Advocate·
24 Aug, 2018 06:00 PM5 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Robert McQuinn has kept a record of transactions and phone calls he has had with company Brand Developers over the delivery of a vegetable peeler and slicer. Photo/ John Stone

Robert McQuinn has kept a record of transactions and phone calls he has had with company Brand Developers over the delivery of a vegetable peeler and slicer. Photo/ John Stone

Robert McQuinn finds peeling vegetables painful due to the arthritis in his fingers and hands. Sometimes it's difficult to peel and slice a potato and he has to take a break until the pain subsides.

So when the 85-year-old Whangārei man saw an nifty vege peeler and slicer for sale on television he thought that could be the answer. However, purchasing the gadget from the company called Brand Developers has caused him far more suffering than he anticipated.

And it seems the company has other consumers dissatisfied with the service being provided with Brand Developers falling in the top 20 companies with the most complaints against them from the start of 2017 to end of April 2018

For McQuinn the drama began in May when he saw an advert on television and decided he needed the $79 vegetable peeler and slicer.

"Having arthritis in the hands I thought it was an ideal thing for me."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

He rang the number on the screen and spoke with a person who told him he could not pay with an eftpos card, as he wanted to, but a cheque would be accepted.

McQuinn went to his local bank at the post office and organised a bank cheque written out to Brand Developers, posted it and waited in anticipation of the gadget's arrival.

The cheque was banked and the money taken from McQuinn's account on June 11.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

When the item failed to appear McQuinn rang the company querying the delivery of the vege peeler and slicer. He was told to provide evidence of the payment as there was no record of him paying.

With the help of a friend, McQuinn returned to the post office and got a bank statement proving the money had been taken from the account which was duly emailed to Brand Developers.

What ensued was more phone calls and a promise a new order had been made and the item would be delivered in 10 days.

"I've bought things through them before like an air frier and a tyre pump with no problem. Why can't people be honest. I've paid the money, I just want the item because it might make my life a bit easier," McQuinn said.

Discover more

Business

Revealed: NZ's most complained about companies

16 Aug 01:19 AM
New Zealand

'The law has been lacking': Govt locks in on clamping complaints

22 Aug 03:57 AM
Retail

Noel Leeming guilty of misleading consumers

24 Aug 03:45 AM
Robert McQuinn has kept a record of transactions and phone calls he has had with company Brand Developers over the delivery of a vegetable peeler and slicer. Photo/ John Stone
Robert McQuinn has kept a record of transactions and phone calls he has had with company Brand Developers over the delivery of a vegetable peeler and slicer. Photo/ John Stone

The last phone call, all of which he has meticulously documented, led to McQuinn believing the item would be sent to him. That was well over two weeks ago and still nothing.

So more than two months after the money was taken from his account he has nothing to show for it except building frustration.

"Either they send it or refund my money. That's all I want and a bloody apology for all the bloody lies, excuse my French. I'm determined and I'm not going to give up."

He wanted to tell his story to warn others of the issues of ordering off television based companies.

Consumer NZ adviser Maggie Edwards said payment by credit card was preferable when paying for items over the phone because if they were not delivered in a reasonable time there was an ability to go to the bank to arrange a charge back.

She said under the Consumer Guarantees Act a supplier had to make a delivery in a reasonable time and deliver the item undamaged.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

When contacted a spokesman for Brand Developers said he was not able to comment on this specific order or why it had taken so long for the delivery of the vegetable device. He said he would need to investigate, as every case was different.

Just last week Brand Developers were identified in the top 20 retailers in New Zealand with the most consumer complaints received for the first quarter of 2018.

They come in at 16th place with 56 complaints behind Viagogo who topped the list with 345 complaints, followed by Vodafone 298 and Spark 257.

The figures were obtained under the Official Information Act.

Your rights under the Consumer Guarantees Act:
Guarantee as to delivery
(1) Where a supplier is responsible for delivering, or for arranging for the delivery of, goods to a consumer there is a guarantee that the goods will be received by the consumer - (a) at a time, or within a period, agreed between the supplier and the consumer; or
(b) if no time or period has been agreed, within a reasonable time.
(2) Where the delivery of the goods fails to comply with the guarantee under this section, Part 2 gives the consumer a right of redress against the supplier and, in that case, the consumer may,—
(a) if the failure is of a substantial character, reject the goods under section 18(3); and
(b) in any case, obtain damages under section 18(4) (other than damages relating to the remedies set out in section 18(2), whether or not the consumer also rejects the goods.
(3) For the purposes of this section, the reference in section 20(1)(b) to an agent of the supplier must be treated as including any carrier or other person who undertakes to deliver the goods on behalf of the supplier.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from New Zealand

New Zealand

Serious crash closes SH1 between Taupō and Tūrangi, delays expected

04 Jul 09:01 AM
New Zealand|christchurch

Two pedestrians injured in serious Canterbury crash, road closed

04 Jul 08:40 AM
New Zealand|crime

'Please do not do it': Man inflicted intense pain on woman during violation

04 Jul 08:00 AM

There’s more to Hawai‘i than beaches and buffets – here’s how to see it differently

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from New Zealand

Serious crash closes SH1 between Taupō and Tūrangi, delays expected

Serious crash closes SH1 between Taupō and Tūrangi, delays expected

04 Jul 09:01 AM

The crash involved two vehicles on SH1 near Jellicoe Pt around 7.45pm.

Two pedestrians injured in serious Canterbury crash, road closed

Two pedestrians injured in serious Canterbury crash, road closed

04 Jul 08:40 AM
'Please do not do it': Man inflicted intense pain on woman during violation

'Please do not do it': Man inflicted intense pain on woman during violation

04 Jul 08:00 AM
'Couldn't even walk': Hospo staff foil legless drunk driver who blew six times legal limit

'Couldn't even walk': Hospo staff foil legless drunk driver who blew six times legal limit

04 Jul 07:20 AM
From early mornings to easy living
sponsored

From early mornings to easy living

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP