Levin beneficiary John Murphy with a bag of fake $5 notes used in a Safety Warehouse $100,000 'cash drop' promotion at Aotea Square. Photo / Supplied
An epileptic beneficiary who was injured during the ill-fated $100,000 "cash drop" believes organisers should apologise for duping attendees and compensate people who received fake cash.
John Murphy, 27, says he spent $200 travelling to Auckland from his Levin home to attend the promotional stunt in December organised byThe Safety Warehouse.
Though marketing material described the event as a "$100k live Cash Giveaway" in which real money would fall from the sky, a Commerce Commission investigation found just $3600 in actual cash was given out.
The event turned violent when the 1600 attendees realised most of the notes were fake money, which could only be used as discount vouchers for the company's online safety products.
Murphy, 27, said many of those who turned up in December were struggling beneficiaries hoping for a Christmas cash bonus.
"We were essentially left out of pocket saying, 'What the heck, we've been ripped off'."
Murphy, who suffers from epilepsy and took precautions before the event to reduce his risk of an epileptic fit, said he grabbed about $180 in $5 bills before realising they were fake.
The crowd then became violent in what he described as a "riot".
"I got pushed and shoved and nearly had my glasses broken. I ended up with bruises and grazes."
After the event, Murphy started a petition calling on The Safety Warehouse to compensate anyone who received what he describes as "useless" fake notes with real money.
He was disappointed that the police and Commerce Commission had decided not to prosecute the company, and called on event organisers to front up and provide compensation.
"Where's our justice? Where's our refund? You need to do the right thing."
The Commerce Commission opted to issue a formal warning to Greenback Ecommerce Ltd, trading as The Safety Warehouse, for engaging in conduct that was likely to have breached the Fair Trading Act.
Greenback Ecommerce owner Andrew Thorn told investigators the event's marketing was designed to "entice people".