An American supplier for Sportech Australia has confirmed it ceased trading with the company in November 2014, despite Sportech allegedly taking orders for its equipment as recently as March.
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Sportech, a Five Dock cheerleading and gymnastic equipment dealer, has been accused by Wollongong dance school NRG Studios of failing to deliver a sprung floor worth more than $11,000.
Investigations by the Mercury have revealed up to 30 schools from coast to coast claim to have paid large sums of money to Sportech for goods that were never delivered.
Genevieve Anderson, co-owner of NRG, said she estimated Sportech had amassed about $500,000 in unfulfilled orders.
She said she ordered a sprung floor from Ross Athletic Supply through Sportech in March, paying $11,375 - money that her students had raised through chocolate drives and raffles.
However, a spokeswoman for the Arkansas-based Ross Athletic Supply said its relationship with Sportech ceased about eight months ago, several months before Ms Anderson's order was made.
"Sportech is no longer a dealer for Ross Athletic Supply; our contract with Sportech ended in November," said Meredith Rea, Ross Athletic director of sales and marketing.
On its website, Sportech advertises that it is an agent for Ross Athletic and Dollamur Sport Surfaces. Dollamur has not responded to requests for comment, but victims say it too has also ceased doing business with Sportech.
Nadine Potts, of Upstage Dance and Cheer in Victoria, contacted the Mercury to say the school had ordered $10,000 of mats and trampolines from Sportech in November 2014, but had not received any goods. The school has been pursuing Sportech ever since.
"Nothing has arrived. They were in contact in January, then nothing. They emailed to say they had a lot of back orders, but whenever we tried to call, it just went to voice message," Ms Potts said.
Jenny Muntz, of the Dance Devotion studio in Esperance, Western Australia, said she paid Sportech almost $2000 for a mat that never arrived. After placing an order in February, she said Sportech avoided her calls and emails.
"I am a small country dance school, this was not fundraised like a lot of clubs have done for equipment but out of my hip pocket," Ms Muntz said.
Mark Stefan Livingston, listed on official documents as director of Sportech, also runs Sydney Altitude Cheerleading and Dance School. Mr Livingston, Sportech and Sydney Altitude were contacted many times for comment, unsuccessfully.
A Facebook page for Sydney Altitude has been deleted since the Mercury began making inquiries, while calls to Altitude and Sportech both divert directly to the exact same voicemail message.
A spokesman for NSW Fair Trading confirmed the department was making inquiries, having received complaints from Sportech customers.
"Fair Trading ... has been unable to obtain a response from Sportech Australia," he said.
"Any customers awaiting the supply of goods or with other concerns regarding their dealings are encouraged to lodge a complaint with Fair Trading at www.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au."