So do I.
We need the competition to keep it affordable, when ever the possibility returns. It can be a safer less expensive option to fly and hire a car or use public transport.
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Dear all
I canât be the only person experiencing this issue, but canât see it elsewhere on the forum.
I was fortunate enough to cash out some Velocity points before the deep freeze.
However, I have cashed them out for items requiring exchange for sizing issues. - R.M. Williams shoes, and an Apple Product.
Obviously, velocity is not responding.
R.M. Williams (stores currently closed) originally said we could visit their depot and swap them over - however, I waited for the second pair to arrive, and now their tune has changed.
Essentially, this summarises the lengthy email thread:
âUnfortunately, we are unable to facilitate an exchange. You are welcome to return your item and in the event that you do, please contact the team at Velocity for assistance in having your funds/points reversed:â
Typically, Velocity offers 30 day exchanges and R.M. 60 days - however, in previous experiences in store, R.M. has been superb.
The only motivation I can see for R.M. acting in this way is in the hope that I sell the shoes on gumtree then proceed to purchase a new pair.
Apple has pointed me to Harvey Norman (supplier), and Harvey Norman has pointed me back to Apple.
I suspect that, once stores open, I may be able to exchange easily, but Iâm concerned they will be difficult.
Iâm also surprised at this behaviour from both Apple and R.M. Williams - after all, both have already been paid by Velocity for the goods.
Does anyone have any advice?
Thank you
Hi and welcome to the Forum.
I have moved your post to this stream as the Velocity issue has already been touched on here.
In relation to your returns, according to the Australian Consumer Law it is the retailer who has the responsibility for dealing with any issues. In this case the retailer is Velocity. Both Apple and RM Williams are the manufacturers and thus can point you back to the retailer. The fact that both have retail stores as well makes it a bit more murky, but doesnât change things.
I think Velocity as a seperate company has said that it will keep trading, so you may need to wait until they come out of hibernation. Obviously keep all your emails to prove that you tried to exchange the goods within the 30day period.
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Hi @Wats, according the the velocity website, whilst owned by Virgin, they are a seperate Company and still trading. They have, however put a freeze on redemptions for 4 weeks commencing April 21. Have you tried reaching out to them via their on line support to see if they can assist you after the after the freeze is over?
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Virgin Australia administrators released the following to the ASX today in relation to the sale as a going concernâŠ
https://www.asx.com.au/asx/statistics/displayAnnouncement.do?display=pdf&idsId=02248455
It will be interesting to see how the new owners operate VA in Australia.
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Most of these US based âcapital companiesâ are fire sale specialists that buy distressed companies, build the profits up at whatever cost, break them up into âvaluable components to maximise valueâ and sell off the parts.
Bain is not the worst, but even the best is what it is. They are about âthe moneyâ not about any business excepting âmoneyâ.
One can agree or disagree, but all of these companies can be described by the last paragraph in its wikipedia entry.
Josh Kosman described Bain Capital as ânotorious for its failure to plow profits back into its businesses,â being the first large private-equity firm to derive a large fraction of its revenues from corporate dividends and other distributions. The revenue potential of this strategy, which may âstarveâ a company of capital,[179] was increased by a 1970s court ruling that allowed companies to consider the entire fair-market value of the company, instead of only their âhard assetsâ, in determining how much money was available to pay dividends.[180] In at least some instances, companies acquired by Bain borrowed money in order to increase their dividend payments, ultimately leading to the collapse of what had been financially stable businesses.[59]
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Did somebody say Dick Smith?
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Good one 
Anchorage are minnows in âthe gameâ but they follow the formula to the letter to the companyâs peril. The only winners are usually the âmoney menâ. See an opportunity and grab on to it. Capitalism at its finest?
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Not yet the new owners. Only the prospective new owners if I read the following correctly.
There are few more steps to complete. Bainâs bid remains to be accepted by the creditors.
However, major bondholders, who stand to lose a large part of their $2 billion investment in Virgin as a result of its collapse, are preparing a last-minute buyout proposal to try and gazump the private equity bidders.
Bondholders are still mulling an offer that could be put directly to Virgin Australiaâs creditors at their meeting to vote on the Bain deal
Uncommon as it may be, the creditors may have other options.
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Their only option is to $outbid Bain with a fully funded offer. Administrators do what they do.
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I agree. When a company has more debt than assets, the creditors donât have much option or potential for any recovery of monies owed.
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Typically, legally and in the best interests of.
All options would appear to remain open until the second creditors meeting. Alternately the advice reported by the ABC is in error. It would be unlikely the Administrator would advise otherwise having sought a sale of the airline. The assumption is that the sale to Bain is the best outcome on the day. Likley but not certain until all is known?
If observations on how Bain and others appear to have taken value in previous instances, will Australian consumers over time be any better off seeing a new owner verses no owner? Itâs a rhetorical question. If anyone thinks that there is an answer it may be best left until we can read the future.
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Yes but Richard Branson should be able to find some $$$ to support his airline. Perhaps he should donate his âfirst paying customer of Virgin Galacticâ to Virgin Airlines. This just shows that personal interest overrides decency.
Branson is (was) a minor shareholder (10%) so it is not so straight forward. Should a minor shareholder (individual or corporate) prop up very large multinationals who have the big stakes? Not asking for a reply, just making a point it is not exactly his airline anymore, and should he or his companies bail out the likes of Singapore and Etihad?
That is inarguable more often than not, in a general case. He did give all the newly jobless Virgin staff a nice autographed photo 
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Branson had no right asking Australian taxpayers on behalf of the federal government to bail out Virgin. He sat on the Board which made particular decisions in the past to increase debt levels which Virgin could not service. Interestingly Virgin Atlantic has filed for bankruptcy protection because a similar request for handouts was rejected by various governments.
If I were to be a former employee that received an autographed mugshot of an aircraft then the item would be destined for the nearest bin. The cost to produce the autographed photos would have been tens of thousands of dollars which instead should have been paid to the employees that have lost their paid employment. Disgusting attitude from someone that only cares about me, me, me, me, me.
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An ominous prediction regarding what Bain Capital may do with Virgin Australia.
Dick Smith Electronics all over again?
Dick Smith Holdings Limited (formerly Dick Smith , Dick Smith Electronics or DSE ) was an Australian chain of retail stores that sold consumer electronics goods, hobbyist electronic components, and electronic project kits. The chain expanded successfully into New Zealand and unsuccessfully into several other countries. The company was founded in Sydney in 1968 by Dick Smith and owned by him and his wife until they sold 60% to Woolworths Limited in 1980, the remaining 40% two years later. The company closed in 2016, four years after its acquisition by Anchorage Capital Partners.
Bain Capital, an original corporate raider, has come clean. Virgin seems destined to become the new Tiger now that Tiger is being wound up. Promises made, Promises broken. Nothing new. SOS.
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Why is anyone surprised by this?
Virgin Blue was a very profitable no frills domestic airline. Qantas started up Jetstar to compete.
The new owners of Virgin are planning to go back to a business model that makes some money in an Australian domestic market, and ditch the crazy Virgin Australia model that saw them collapse into administration within weeks of cash flow being interupted by the Covid19 lockdowns.
Debt killed Ansett. Bad business model killed DSE. And debt killed Virgin Australia.
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Not surprised.
What does that say about a government propped up monopoly airline that has been assisted numerous times in itâs recent history?
Alternately cashflow and a failure to predict the Covid crisis killed Virgin. We will never know what might have been for sure without Covid. Itâs purely speculation.
One only needs to compare the cost before Covid of a discounted economy Qantas or Virgin or Jetstar ticket for Melbourne to Cairns Vs a flight from Brisbane to Townsville or Mt Isa or Alice Springs (Flight options limited for some). Half as far but up to twice the cost or more.
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