An ATM company is suing the owner of the Hotel Grand Pacific in Victoria for allegedly breaching a contract and for negligence that allowed over $20,000 to be stolen from one of its machines.
DirectCash ATM Processing Partnership alleges that Cashline Inc., a company it later acquired, entered into a contract to install an ATM at the Hotel Grand Pacific in 2004.
The suit claims that in December 2011, the ATM was vandalized and $21,000 was stolen. DirectCash alleges that Grand Pacific told them not to install a new ATM. The plaintiff claims that Grand Pacific breached the terms of its contract by failing to monitor the ATM, not installing an alarm, failing to follow the operating manual and instructions, and not complying with the terms of the ATM agreement.
DirectCash alleges that on April 16, 2012, a new ATM was installed at the hotel. According to the suit, in September 2012 Grand Pacific told DirectCash that it did not plan to renew the agreement. Because Grand Pacific had not given 90 days' notice that it did not intend to renew the contract, DirectCash renewed the agreement for one more year, until September 2013, which they allege was according to the terms of the contract.
The plaintiff also alleges that in September 2012, it learned that a competitor, VI Banking, would be installing an ATM at the hotel. DirectCash alleges that VI Banking approached Grand Pacific knowing that operating a competing ATM would be in breach of the hotel's agreement with DirectCash.
DirectCash is claiming the value of the ATM, the money stolen from the ATM and lost revenue, totalling $39,878.
No statement of defence had been filed by press time.
None of the allegations has been proven in court.
