A man has decided to take the James Cook Hotel to court after they “ruined his new years eve” after they told him they didn’t serve the right variety of Coca Cola.
Back in 2020, Taiming Zhang decided to eat in at the James Cook Hotel in Wellington where he ordered a bourbon with coke no sugar, in which the bartender had to explain they only have coke zero.
The difference in the coke mattered so much he challenged the legality of hotels advertising that it had the product we wanted when it actually didn’t.
He then made a written complaint where he threatened to take the hotel to the commerce commission.
The hotel refunded him the cost of his drink, but also banned him from its premises because of his rude and demanding behaviour on New Year’s Eve.
The ban was also fuelled by his decision to frequently visit the establishment and lie on the couches that made other guests uncomfortable.
Zhang then took the matter to the Human Rights Commission which declined to progress his complaint, before making a claim to the Human Rights Review Tribunal.
Zhang’s claim was that he was banned because he made a consumer complaint about false advertising that amounted to a “political opinion” which is protected under the Human Rights Act, and that his ban was a form of personal vengeance against him.
The tribunal found Zhang was not expressing a political opinion and as such the very basis on which his claim relied could not succeed.
Photo Credit: Healthy Food Guide
