The owner of a Norfolk firm accused of leaving hundreds of pounds unpaid to venues said she was closing the business, blaming what she has described as a "calculated smear campaign".
Donna Mackenzie, who runs Norfolk Farmers Market - which organises retail events at village halls, stately homes and community centres across the county - announced the closure in a Facebook post.
She added that "health issues" meant she couldn't "fight anymore".
It comes after at least two venues claimed that the company still owed them hundreds of pounds in hire fees, with unpaid invoices dating back to January.
Village halls in Longham, near Dereham, and Chapel Break, in Bowthorpe, say they are still waiting for payment from Norfolk Farmers Market.
The hall at Sedgeford, near Hunstanton, eventually received its costs after a delay of several months.
All claim that Norfolk Farmers Market - which creates rural events for small-scale stallholders - left hire costs unpaid for months on end.
They all said Ms Mackenzie ignored numerous emails, letters, and phone calls asking her to settle the debts.
Other venues have made similar claims, but declined to speak on the record.
Lesley Doy, the treasurer for Chapel Break village hall, alleges the company owed the venue more than £700, after it failed to pay hire fees for four markets earlier this year.
She said a payment plan was set up in January to allow Ms Mackenzie to pay off the debt in installments, but that the hall only received one payment, with communication stopping shortly after.
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Ms Mackenzie, however, claims the venue didn’t let her know the payments hadn’t arrived, and that an issue with the direct debit was to blame.
Ms Doy said the experience had been “upsetting for everyone involved”.
She said: “We try to be understanding to people experiencing hard times, but it’s been excuses after excuses.
“That money is essential for paying our bills, and when a company doesn’t pay then it’s like they’re taking directly from the community, and that’s not fair.
“It makes you cynical going forwards and think twice about giving people the benefit of the doubt. It’s really quite sad.”
Ms Doy said the outstanding payments had still not been received.
Similar allegations have also been made by the secretary of Longham village hall.
Sue Douglas claims the hall was owed around £200 for four markets, with Ms Mackenzie responding to their repeated requests for payment with “a range of excuses”.
She added that the venue had filed legal proceedings against the company.
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She said: “I just feel very sad. The business is such a great idea.
“It doesn’t sound like a lot of money, but for a small village hall like us it means a lot."
The hall has still not received the expected payments.
John Ward, from Sedgeford village hall, said it was owed £200 from Ms Mackenzie for several months, before she finally settled the payment in August.
He said: "It's all little places trying to keep their village spaces open, which is a lot of hard work, especially following the pandemic."
Ms Mackenzie said her intention had never been to avoid paying venues, and that supporting local businesses was her priority.
She said an administrative oversight was behind the late payments, and that the company had made changes to avoid further issues.
She said: ''We have been made aware of an administrative oversight that meant that a few invoices were not paid when they should.
"We apologise to any venues affected and have reached out to all venues to ensure this has not affected others.
"We have made changes to our internal processes to address this and to ensure that this situation does not happen again.
"While we refute the allegations made, these are part of an ongoing legal dispute so we cannot comment further at this time.
"We value our stallholders, customers and venues who come together to support the events.''
In a statement announcing the firm's closure, she said: “Norfolk Farmers Market will be closing, I’m sorry to let everyone down, however with the health issues I now face, I can’t fight this anymore."
She added: “As I appreciate you have a lot of questions we will be contacting all stallholders directly via email only, with regards to refunds etc in due course.
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank all stallholders, staff, and venues who have worked alongside us for the past year and wish them well.”
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