Inventive Building Pty Ltd trading as Panel Up on brink of liquidation after $53k customer dispute

A NSW building company says it is on the brink of collapse after failing to pay a court-ordered refund to a customer and the regulator seeking to have it struck off the business register.

The sole director of the company has notified a court of plans to place the business into liquidation, though it has yet to go under.

Inventive Building Pty Ltd, which according to ASIC trades under the name Panelup, is a Wollongong-based business on the NSW south coast that specialises in off-site manufacturing for add-ons to existing houses.

That includes making modular granny flats and second storey additions for prospective customers.

At time of writing, its website was no longer working but its social media accounts are still live.

John Liou claims his experience with the building firm has been nothing short of a nightmare and now he is waiting for the business to either go into liquidation or pay him back his money.

Mr Liou, from Sydney, was looking to put a granny flat in his backyard so he could move in his 75-year-old mother with health conditions to take better care of her, and engaged Inventive Building.

“They kept saying it will be ready in six weeks. They never did anything,” Mr Liou, 50, lamented to news.com.au.

Mr Liou signed a contract with Inventive Building in March last year, paying $53,000 as a deposit for the $65,000 build.

He was given assurances that the granny flat unit would be completed within six to eight weeks, according to email trails seen by news.com.au.

It would be up to him to deal with the installation of the modular unit, as Inventive Building’s area of expertise only fell under the construction of the product off-site and its delivery.

As a result, Mr Liou paid for a contractor to dig holes in his backyard, in anticipation of the granny flat to come.

But fast forward 18 months, and there has been no progress on his build, while the holes sit unused in the back of his home, gathering leaves.

“Initially they (the company) were professional, they showed me photos of their factories and the prefabrication process,” he said.

The dad said “the ease” of what they promised was appealing, as it meant he could “avoid the messiness” of his backyard being in a state of disarray for months from construction.

Unfortunately, it hasn’t worked out like as the project has been hit with long delays.

“I’m paying interest on the $53,000 loan I’ve taken out,” Mr Liou added.

The delays went for so long that he took take the matter to the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT).

An order handed down in September stipulated “The respondent is to pay the applicant the sum of $53,125.00 immediately.” In the court files, Inventive Building Pty Ltd was listed as the respondent.

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No representative from Inventive Building showed up at the court case but prior to the hearing, the sole director of the company, Sasha Veselinovic, sent a telling email to the tribunal.

“My company is entering into Liquidation in upcoming days, and I am unable to attend or to be involved in any proceedings, as the matter will be handled with the appointed Liquidators,” he wrote.

“All parties will be officially informed by the Liquidators.”

This was sent on September 6 and the company still hasn’t gone into voluntary liquidation.

On ASIC, the company’s status is listed as: “Strike-off action in progress”. That means the regulator is seeking to have the business deregistered,

Mr Liou has since hired debt collectors to recover his funds but aside from calling Inventive Building and receiving no answer, they haven’t escalated the case further.

In conversation with news.com.au, Sasha Veselinovic, listed as the company’s sole director on ASIC, said that the woes facing the construction industry was the reason for the long delays.

“A piece of framing timber reached $7/lm at some stage, and used to be $1.90, it only came down a fraction,” he said.

“We have endured soaring material costs, which have skyrocketed beyond the 7 per cent inflation which was told to the public,” he said, adding that “external factors have made it exceptionally difficult for even well-established companies to fulfill (sic) their contractual obligations and deliver projects on time”.

He also said that he would be challenging the NCAT order on the premise that the wrong company had been sued.

“Our legal team is actively engaged in preparing the case against Mr Liou, who, regrettably, initiated proceedings against an entity not involved in the subject matter,” he said.

“We are presently in the process of appealing this decision at the higher court level.”

The ASIC business register shows Panelup is registered as the business name while Inventive Building Pty Ltd is its holder name.

Mr Veselinovic is listed as the sole director.

On top of that, Mr Liou entered into a contract with Inventive Building Pty Ltd trading under the web address panelup.com.au, according to a document supplied to news.com.au.

“I wish to clarify that Panel UP was indeed a registered business name in the past. However, I want to make it clear that the branding and trademark associated with it are no longer under my ownership,” Mr Veselinovic said.

According to ASIC’s public records, there has not been a change to the company’s details since 2021.

In an email to news.com.au, Mr Veselinovic said Inventive Building Pty Ltd did possess the trading name ‘Panelup’ but said it had “lapsed” and it “was not subsequently renewed”.

He said he was now working for an entity called ‘Panelup Systems’, which is “distinct from Inventive Building Pty Ltd in terms of ownership and legal rights”.

He did not respond when news.com.au asked for a document showing a change of trademark.

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Mr Veselinovic also claimed it was Mr Liou who walked away from the contract.

“It is indeed unacceptable for any customer to abandon their Contract obligations, leaving a small business with a financial burden. You should appreciate the efforts made by Inventive Building to amicably resolve the matter with this customer,” he added.

alex.turner-cohen@news.com.au

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