A woman in Auckland said she was overwhelmed with anger after her five cargo drums of non-refrigerated goods arrived in Tonga frozen.
Lani Pongi Vaea accused the owner of the Tika Way cargo shipping in Papatoetoe, South Auckland of being negligent and not telling her the goods would be sent in a refrigerated container.
The goods included packs of wipes, rolls of toilet papers, tinned fish and beef, 20-litre buckets of paint, bags of white sugar and flour as well as other cans of food.
Vaea claimed the goods were unusable and not fit for consumption.
She said her shopping for her parents had ended up being thrown into the deep ocean (“laku ki he moana.”)
She said the paint looked like sand after it was defrosted.
“I feel for my dad as he was looking forward to painting our house,” she said in Tongan on Facebook.
She also shared photos of the goods which appeared to have been taken in Tonga after they were unloaded from the container.
The photos showed what appear to be various frozen goods and the post received a number of supports for Vaea on Facebook.
The post racked up 358 reactions, 151 comments and had been shared 252 times.
Vaea cursed the company and said it would bear the brunt of her anger.
Tika Way response
Tika Way representative Kalo Koloamatangi said she was unhappy after she discovered her customer had shared the complaint on Facebook.
She said her service provided refrigerated shipping containers.
Koloamatangi said she contacted her staff in Tonga who confirmed the goods had become blocks of ice.
She said she was willing to pay for the damage, but because the issue had been made public she had withdrawn her offer of compensation.
“They have posted it on Facebook and any problems on Facebook are difficult to be resolved,” she said in Tongan.
Koloamatangi said on Facebook the complainant contacted her, but instead of naming the complainant she likened them to the coronavirus.
She also denied an allegation made on a livestream video that she swore at the complainant.
She said she told the client she can pay back up to $700- $1000 but they weren’t happy with that.
Koloamatangi said her service had operated for two years and she felt for the complainant as it was her duty to look after her clients.
She said she was free to put whatever she wanted in her containers and how much she charged. She said her license could not be revoked unless she shipped illegal or prohibited goods.
She said the complainant threatened to see a lawyer, which she welcomed.
Ko e ongoongo’ ni ‘i he lea fakaTonga:
Lāunga ha fefine Tonga ko Lani Pongi Vaea ‘i Nu’u Sila he ‘ai hake ‘ene ngaahi talamu ‘e nima ko e me’akai mo e me’a ki he fale kuo poloka ia ‘i he ‘aisi’ ‘i Tonga. Ko e ngaahi kane vali fale ‘eni, mo e me’akai kapa hangē ko e kapapulu mo e kapaika pea kau ai e pepa toilet, uaipa mo e suka pehē ki he mahoa’a. Kuo’ ne tukuaki’i ai ‘a e kautaha ‘ave uta koloa ko e Tika Way mo e tokotaha ko Kalo Koloamatangi ki he ngāue pango’ ni. Kuo fakamahino ‘e Kalo he ope’ ko ‘ene kautaha’ ko e kautaha fetuku koloa ‘aisi pea’ ne ‘osi fakahā mei he’ene kau ngāue ‘i Tonga’ ko e mo’oni ne tū’uta ange uta’ kuo poloka ia. Pehē ‘e Kalo ne ‘ai ke ne totongi fakafoki e maumau ko ‘eni’ ka kuo’ ne kaniseli hili ‘ene ‘ilo kuo ‘ave ia ‘e he tokotaha lāunga ‘o tufaki he Feisipuka’.
Tatau aipe ‘ene tufaki he Facebook ka ‘oku totonu kene totongi fakafoki ne mole ai ‘ae kakava. Sai hono launga ke lulu’i ai kautaha kenau toe feinga ke toe tokanga ange kihe ‘enau founga ngaue, pe koe ‘ita AI ho Kalo kapau koha loi ‘ene hanuhanu, he kohai ia ta’e hanu ha hoko ha me’a pehee kiate ki nautolu. Tuku ‘ae holi ia ke fefeka ho loto pea ‘ai ke ngali koe kautaha pisinisi ke ngali kuo mou nofomuli lauta’u, oo aa muimui he founga pisinisi kau palhngi koe ignore the hanu moe launga he koe me’a pe kuo pau ke hoko kae lotovaivai mo angamolu kae faifatongia lelei pisinisi ke a’u kae manakoa ho kautaha.