Leesa Ross bought Maggie May clothing store from previous owner Margie Riley who, exhausted by chemotherapy, was too unwell to run it – but more than a year later Ross owes Riley more than $20,000 and Riley says her mental health is "in shreds". Mava Moayyed reports.
Last week, Fair Go uncovered a trail of debt and frustration left by Te Awamutu clothing store owner Leesa Ross. Multiple locals reported missed payments, lost clothes, and threatening messages after giving their clothes to her to sell at a consignment store.
Ross owns Maggie May Boutique on the main strip of town where locals take their pre-loved clothes to be sold on their behalf. She denies ever threatening anyone and disputes her debts are as big as some claim, but now new information shows Ross owes more than was first reported.
Leesa Ross (Source: Fair Go)
The original owner of the store, Margie Riley, has revealed that Ross owes her more than $20,000 for the sale of her store more than a year ago while she was undergoing cancer treatment.
'It's so sad... My beautiful shop'
Riley came forward after seeing the Fair Go story and felt it was “terrible all the people she has deceived. It is so sad that my beautiful shop has come to this”.
The Te Awamutu community Facebook page ran hot while Ross was running the store. (Source: Fair Go)
Riley named the Maggie May store after the Rod Stewart song. She ran the shop for about 12 years then, in 2019, she was diagnosed with stage three cancer. “It was right in the middle of the lockdown, so it was very hard getting treatment.” She completed a round of chemotherapy and radiation while running the store but began to struggle last year when she started a second round of chemotherapy. “I was dead on my feet. I was so tired,” says Riley.
This is when Leesa Ross first came into her shop. “I’d never seen her in the shop before, but she told me that she had recently moved to Te Awamutu from Hamilton and asked if she could buy the shop. She said that she was really interested.”
Maggie May store in Te Awamutu (Source: Fair Go)
Riley’s partner suggested she take up the offer since she was so unwell, so in July 2023 Riley offered to sell Maggie May to Ross for $34,500.
“She agreed straight away to the price.”
But two weeks later, Ross told Riley the bank wouldn’t loan her the money and suggested they set up their own payment plan instead.
“For a few weeks she paid the agreed amount, but it was not long before the payments stopped completely," says Riley. “She was very aware of my health situation and to take advantage of an older lady when they are going through cancer treatment does not reflect well on her character.”
Riley says Ross became “very difficult to deal with” and sent “threatening messages”.
In February, Riley says, Ross texted her: “FOR F***S SAKE THERE IS NO F***EN MONEY!!!!!!! you will get your f***en money when I have it now don’t f***en text me again!!!"
The Disputes Tribunal
At that point Ross had paid Riley a total of $15,305. Riley took her case to the Disputes Tribunal two months ago.
Ross attended the hearing over the phone and told the mediator the business was not worth the agreed price because “trade is very slow, and the retail sector is dead”.
However, the Tribunal ruled this did not alter the fact that Ross had agreed to the amount and was legally bound to pay. Ross was ordered to pay Riley the remaining balance of $21,045.89.
She had until July 22 to comply with the order but is yet to pay.
“Not being paid this money has caused me a huge amount of stress and has had a really big and negative impact on me,” says Riley.
She was relying on the money from the store sale to get her through her cancer treatments and the stress caused by Ross has made her recovery harder, she says.
“My mental health is in shreds.”
We reached out to Ross about the allegation and whether she intended to pay her debt to Riley. She chose not to comment.
Leesa Ross has also gone by the name "Leesa Bagley" and “Leesa Wright". She recently changed her Facebook profile name to "Michelle Freddy".
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