The sad final weeks of a lonely Scottish national who drank himself to death in his Bondi flat have been revealed as alcohol delivery service Jimmy Brings is thrust under the spotlight.
The drinks delivery service is facing an investigation after it was revealed it delivered the man three bottles of wine almost every day in the weeks before he died.
Friends and neighbours of the 49-year-old reported seeing delivery drivers dropping off copious amounts of alcohol to his Bondi apartment.
His order included bottles of wine and spirits delivered nearly every day, including two identical orders within 10 minutes of each other.
Friends and neighbours of the 49-year-old man who drank himself to death in his Bondi flat reported seeing delivery drivers drop off copious amounts of alcohol
Jimmy Brings is facing an investigation after it was revealed it delivered the Bondi man three bottles of wine almost every day in the weeks before he died
It’s believed the man spent about $24,000 with the service in the three years preceding his death on nearly 300 orders.
Analysis of Jimmy Brings’ sales data showed the man’s orders increased substantially in the fortnight before he died.
Liquor and Gaming NSW had previously reviewed the man’s death in June 2018 but has confirmed it will re-examine the circumstances surrounding the man’s death.
‘The investigation will examine whether the actions of an online alcohol delivery company breached NSW liquor laws and if excessive alcohol consumption was involved,’ a statement said.
The Endeavour group, who own Jimmy Brings as well as outlets BWS and Dan Murphy’s, said ‘in response to the tragic death of the man in 2018’ they had developed an automated responsible service of alcohol system.
The system is triggered by the volume or frequency of orders and identifies certain customers as high risk and ‘red flags’ them.
‘Red flagged customers or transactions are reviewed by the Responsible Manager to determine whether further action should be taken,’ a spokeswoman said.
‘Using this system, thousands of orders have been cancelled.’
It comes as an alcoholic who pleaded Jimmy Brings to stop serving her was instead repeatedly sent promotional messages and discount codes.
The woman sent several messages asking to ‘opt out’ of the service and self-exclude from any future advertising.
In one email seen by Daily Mail Australia, she detailed her issues with alcohol – including receiving professional treatment to beat her addiction after spending more than $5,000 on the service in just four months.
In one email she recently received, the woman was offered a $10 voucher to shop with Jimmy Brings again. The subject line read: ‘WE MISS YOU!’. This message was sent after she revealed she had an alcohol addiction
A spokesperson for Endeavour group, who own Jimmy Brings as well as outlets BWS and Dan Murphy’s, said at the time the group sought to ‘exceed’ obligations in terms of compliance with the laws
At the height of the woman’s addiction in the early days of Sydney’s lockdown, she was using the service up to three times a day.
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The email included the woman’s home address, phone number and account details as instructed by her never to accept further future orders.
A Jimmy Brings spokeswoman has since said it appears an invalid email address was used, adding they never received the correspondence.
She also said choosing to ‘opt out’ of the text messaging service does not immediately exclude a customer from email promotions.
In one email the woman recently received, the woman was offered a $10 voucher to shop with Jimmy Brings again. The subject line read: ‘WE MISS YOU!’
‘It’s been too long between drinks… Where did we go wrong? We used to be drinking buddies.’
The woman, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told Daily Mail Australia she asked the company on several occasions from June to stop contacting her
Jimmy Brings is under investigation after it was revealed it delivered three bottles of wine day to a man’s house almost daily in the weeks leading up to his death. Pictured: An unrelated Jimmy Brings delivery model
The woman has underlying mental health issues in conjunction with her addiction and is finding her sobriety more challenging due to the repeated messaging.
‘It’s hard to resist,’ she said.
‘I used the service several times a day and every 8th order is free, so if they don’t hear from you they call you and email you… even if you’ve self excluded.’
She is now demanding tighter regulations to ensure vulnerable people are protected after using easy-to-access home delivery services for alcohol.
The process of ‘self excluding’ is recognised by the brand and a spokeswoman told Daily Mail Australia any requests that were not followed through can be reported to industry body Retail Drinks Australia.
‘There have been no recorded complaints of Jimmy Brings to date in regards to failure to comply with the requirements around self-exclusion,’ she said.
Online purchases of alcohol for home delivery grew markedly during the Covid pandemic, as people were restricted to their homes. One figures suggests more than 8.6 per cent of all liquor sales will be made online by 2023, compared with four per cent in 2018.
More than 3000 businesses in NSW now hold an online liquor licence, with many bottle shops and smaller venues permitted to home deliver during Covid lockdowns.
New rules came in effect from last July which addressed concerns online delivery services were being used by minors and intoxicated people who might not be served were they drinking in a licensed venue.
The rules make it an offence to sell packaged alcohol to a minor or an intoxicated person, with fines up to $11,000.
Further laws were introduced for same day delivery operators such as Jimmy Brings requiring them to support drivers to check a person’s age and ID and ensure alcohol is delivered to the person who made the order, or an adult at the same premises who agrees to accept it on their behalf.
More than 3000 businesses in NSW now hold an online liquor licence, with many bottle shops and smaller venues permitted to home deliver during Covid lockdowns
Delivery people must also undergo Responsible Supply of Alcohol Training.
Same day deliveries were also restricted to the hours of 9am-midnight, Monday to Saturday, and 9am-11pm on Sunday.
A spokesperson for Endeavour group, who own Jimmy Brings as well as outlets BWS and Dan Murphy’s, told the Herald the group sought to ‘exceed’ it obligations in terms of compliance with the laws.
‘All Endeavour Group (including Jimmy Brings) drivers are trained in the responsible service of alcohol and all same day alcohol deliveries must be delivered to an adult over the age of 18 years and who is not intoxicated,’ it said.
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