Warning over cash jobs

A man accused of collecting deposits but failing to deliver on his work has disappeared with Rotorua customers' money.

It's not known how many people "smooth-talking" Four Seasons Gutter Protection franchise holder Merv Lanigan has collected money from but his most recent dealings have left his parent company to clean up a "big mess".

Although it says it had already "sacked" Mr Lanigan, Four Seasons is promising to honour the deals he made by doing the work he promised or giving people back their deposits.

So far the company is aware of about 20 people in the central and upper North Island who gave him deposits.

A Rotorua couple, who did not want to be named, said the "smooth talking" Mr Lanigan sold them a gutter protection system in June but 12 weeks later they had not heard from Mr Lanigan or had their gutter system installed.



The couple paid Mr Lanigan a deposit of $354, on the understanding the job would be done "within seven or eight weeks".

"We didn't have a problem paying the deposit because they were a reputable company with ads on TV and we had checked their website," the woman said.

When Mr Lanigan didn't show she called the company's head office in Auckland. She was told Mr Lanigan had left the company in "a big mess".

The couple then searched the internet for Mr Lanigan and found out he had appeared on consumer affairs television show Fair Go in 2005 for doing the same thing - selling gutter protection, taking deposits and not getting the work done.

When contacted by the Daily Post, a representative from Four Seasons Gutter Protection in Auckland was keen to point out that Mr Lanigan had been "sacked" and the New Zealand franchise was under new management.

Originally from Opotiki, Mr Lanigan, understood to be aged 64, has appeared on Fair Go three times - the first time in 1999 for a failed business he ran in Tauranga called the Business and Property Listing Bureau Ltd.

In July 2005 he featured while operating a Four Seasons Gutter Protection franchise in the North Island and again in August 2005 for failing to refund his clients for incomplete work. He has been bankrupt at least once.

Four Seasons Gutter Protection chief executive Derek Murphy said Mr Lanigan's actions were "disgusting" and the company would deliver on all contracts he had made.

"Our first priority is to look after the customers Mr Lanigan has taken deposits from. Secondly, we will be going through our books to find out if there are any more people affected and thirdly we will be seeking the advice of the New Zealand police to see what can be done about Merv."

Mr Murphy, whose company was founded in New Zealand, now runs Four Seasons from Sydney, Australia.

He said he did not know what Mr Lanigan had done with customers' deposits.

"We want to pursue him, he owes us a lot of money. He does not return his calls and has gone to ground. We can't find him."

The Daily Post was unable to contact Mr Lanigan - his home and mobile phone numbers have been disconnected.

He was last known to be living at an address in Glen Eden, Auckland.