A two-month battle by a group of Hawkes Bay fishermen to claim their prize of an Isuzu D-Max Ute came to an end yesterday, after the New Zealand distributor stepped in to supply a vehicle, delivering it to the winners through local dealer Bayswater Vehicles.
Isuzu Ute New Zealand general manager Murray Greenhalgh says the New Zealand-owned distribution company had been monitoring the situation after the Waitangi Day Hawkes Bay Sports Fishing Club competition ended on a less than a satisfactory note.
One member of the four-man prize-winning team of anglers who caught a 136.6kg Marlin failed a polygraph test, and the competition promoter contracted by the fishing club declined to supply the $48,000 Isuzu D-Max Ute, which was put up as the first prize.
Greenhalgh says that yesterday Isuzu Ute New Zealand made the call to front foot the situation, and it supplied a new D-Max Ute to the winner regardless of whether the promoter paid out or not.
“We didn’t think it was right, and we wanted to put it right,” says Greenhalgh.
“Shortly after advising the winners of this decision, as well as the general media, the promoter announced they would be paying out,” says Greenhalgh.
Yesterday, the contracted promoter for the Mega Fish competition, David Baty from OddsOn Promotions, told Hawkes Bay Today he had the lie detector test peer-reviewed and could no longer rely on the results.
Baty last night told Hawkes Bay Today he would pay out the original $48,000 prize.
“It’s a great outcome because, at Isuzu Ute New Zealand, all we ever wanted to do was give the rightful winner a new Ute,” says Greenhalgh.
The four fishermen told Hawkes Bay Today they were glad to receive the prize they had won for their disputed monster marlin catch nearly two months ago, but it was secondary to finally having their names cleared.
Bayswater Vehicles principal dealer Rob Townshend last night handed over the keys to the ute, and told Automedia Group that he was glad the promoter had seen sense and “come to the party.”
Townshend says it was a good day for the dealership and the locals appreciated Isuzu New Zealand taking the lead to solve the situation.
