The Kyle & Jackie O show colleagues clash: Intern Pete vs Tom Whittaker

You are now entering the court of Judge Gina Leano.

You can choose your friends, but you can't choose your coworkers. But what happens when office disputes continue when you're off the clock. That's when you come to my courtroom. I am Judge Gina, and my decision is final. You better be ready to hear my ruling.

Carpauling is good for the environment, but is it good for colleague relations. Pete Deppler has brought Tom Whittaker to Judge Gina's courtroom for carpooling compensation. Pete is seeking two six hundred dollars from Tom as reimbursement for petrol and tolls.

My Dame's Peter Deppler aka intern Pete from the Kyle and Jackie O Show. I've come on Judge Gina today because my best friend Tom me thousands of dollars in fuel money. My name is Tom Whitaker. I'm from the Kylin Jackie O Show. I'm want Judge Gina today because my former friend Pete is trying to, I guess sue me for money because he thinks that I owe him money for him driving me into work. I've known Tom for around about fifteen years. I'll consider him a very

Court is now in session. Please rise the judge, Gina.

Pete, you are the complainant today. Why are you in my courtroom?

Over the last four and a half years, I've been actually giving Tom a lift to work every morning, someone who probably hasn't been the most well behaved passenger, but has also never chipped in any money for fuel, and I think he should have been chipping in fuel money.

Okay, So how many days a week was that?

Five days a week, every day?

And what time did you pick him up?

Different times? Because we lived in different all I lived in different locations, so did Tom, so I was very adaptable to work out where I could pick him up, and the approximate time was anywhere between four ten and four twenty am.

And how did he get home? Did you drop him home as well?

Sometimes I did drop him home. Other times, if he was wanted to leave work early, which was quite regularly, he would catch the train.

Okay, So you just want your claim, EA is for the drop offs to work in the morning only.

I'm happy to let the drives home go. It's really just about being compensated for the drive team.

All right. And so for four and a half years, did you ask him to chip in multiple times?

I think it was probably a roundabout conversations. Well it was. I would say to Tom, like, you know, it would be handy for you to chip in some fuel and all that sort of stuff at some stage. But I feel like he was actually quite the manipulator, but never really was able to move or along from actually answering it.

So no, I don't want to know about his answer. I want to know if you asked him, did you say, Tom, please pay this amount of money in.

A roundabout way?

I would say, yes, okay, so how does that go? How's a roundabout way? Tell me the words driving?

And I'm just I'm just at the fuel stationer putting in more fuel. Tom, could you go in and pay? Only if he would grab my card or grab my phone because he had the pin code for my phone. That's ever happened. And that's a lie.

You can hang on a sick Tom speak.

All he's doing is lying to swear to you on my life.

All right, Well, okay, so Pete, I'll come back to you in a second. So Tom, what do you say? Do you agree that Pete drove you to work every morning, five days a week, picking you up around four am? Is that right? In his cart?

Is absolutely incorrect? Sorry. I did work here for four and a half years. For the first like six months, I drove myself because I used my housemate's car, and then she moved to Melbourne, so I didn't have access to that car. And that's how because Pete lived thirty seconds away from me, the lifts started.

Okay, but that was only for six months. What about the other four years?

The past four months this year, like the start of the year, I've been catching the train in because I no longer lived close to Pete and he wouldn't come to my place or Liai's with a pickup location because it was too far, which I understand, and I obviously didn't kick up a stink because there was never an issue. But like when he says he picked me up every morning, he didn't come to my house. I would have to go to his house. So sometimes I was walking in the middle of winter.

Okay, I'll get to that. Just tell me what timeframe do you say he picked you up in the morning. So you're saying four and a half years less ten months, six months at the beginning and four at the end, yes, right, final, Okay, So let's say about three and a half years. Is that right?

Yeah?

Okay, So you agree he's picked you up three and a half years every morning. Obviously you've got some issues about where he picked you up from, but he still got you to work every day, is that right?

Yes?

Okay, So tell me about that. What's what's the issue about? You had to walk?

Well, sometimes Pete moves a lot. Pete would move every six months, so there was never the same location. Often, like I was saying, in winter, I would have to get up fifteen minutes early to walk thirty minutes to his house to the pick up location, or I would have to walk in the pouring rain, in the freezing to a certain location, which was like out of my way because he would never want to divert him.

But you weren't in prison. You weren't at prisoner. You had other options. You could have got on the train, You could have caught an.

Driven run that early. I don't own a car. And also, Gina, can I say, I can say because that is also a lie. That is actually a lie. I say that I would.

I'm going to stop you there, going to stop you there. So Tom, yes, you weren't imprisoned. You could have found an alternative way to get to work, but you chose at the time, for the benefit of the pickup, to walk when you needed to. Is that right?

Well, the only alternatives that early in the morning are an uber or in a cab, which I could not afford.

Okay, so you would have had to pay for that. So the benefit for you was to get a free ride.

Correct, Yeah, from a friend and a colleague of ten years.

Okay, but the colleague of ten years is now saying that that wasn't meant to be for free.

Well, he never told me that ever. He never asked for money.

So you say that he's never approached you and said you need to contribute. What do you say about stopping at the petrol station to pick up fuel and he's asked you to go in and pay? What do you say about that?

That's a lie too. We would often go to the petrol station and it would make us late each morning, because not only would he arrive late to the pickup area every morning, pretty much, we would then have to stop for petrol on the way in. And he's one of those people that only fills up ten dollars at a time, so we'll fill up like ten dollars and then he'll go in and get three bottles of sparkling water, And so did he five minutes later.

That's actually you're complicating the answer to the question. The question is do you agree that he asked you to go in and pay? No, Now, he's never asked you to go in and pay at the petrol station. What do you say about that? Pete?

That's actually a lie. And I wish I had my other mobile phone here because I've actually filmed him going into the servo for me before, Gina.

So I just want to know why you didn't just ask him directly? Why you were round about because I find this a lot amongst friends. Can I call you friends? Are you both friends? Would you say that I don't know who will be after today? But yes, okay, yes, currently we've won, we'll try and hold it together.

Yes, Tom has looked up to me over the years.

Gina Hush, So, I often find amongst friends that they have this special thing where they think that their friend has mental telepathy of sorts, that one friend will think that the other friend can read their mind, and that when they don't, that there is reponsible for that. What do you say about that, Pete.

I have known Tom for a long time, and I think from from where I'm from, regional Victoria, I'm a country kid. If someone gives you a lift, you've got to chip in something, whether it's buying the sandwich at the servo or chipping in for fuel. I couldn't imagine getting in anyone's car without at least offering if I'm getting a lift into work or a lift into the footage.

So you say it's just a matter of courtesy that he should have offered or he should have paid.

Gene. You're you know, you're old school like me. I'm not saying you're old. I've just been in general like insulting term your honor.

I don't mind being insulted. I think it's quite exciting to be insulted at times.

Go on, well, no, I just I just think it's got the way I was brought up, if someone was to give you something or do something for you, you exchange a genuine common courtesy of like, oh can I pitch in for that? Or can I whatever? It happens to.

Be okay, but that wasn't happening. So do you think at some point that you should have actually just asked him?

It's fair you're saying, but I believe I dropped multiple hits. I've got stats. If tell me the stats, because stats will help me at the end of the day. This is what I wrote out. I will take into the equation that it's a little bit shorter. I thought it was.

Around taking to the equation. You just told me what you think, Well.

There's fifty two weeks a year. There was about two hundred drive days.

Do you work fifty two weeks a year?

Sorry for two weeks, five weeks, forty working weeks a year. Yep, around two hundred drive days So that's about one thousand drive days over five years. So let's just take it down to seven hundred for the sake of this ridiculous argument at the end of the day, If that makes sense. The multiple locations Tom was, by the way, me giving him a lift late multiple times, multiple multiple times.

Were one You were late multiple times?

Now I would Peter was the laser. Sorry, if I could just finish my statistics as well for you. So Tom being late means I would have to pull over sometimes out the front of where he lived at the time, which would leave my car idling for three or four minutes. I'm not just talking about the fuel that you put into the I'm talking about unnecessary usage of fuels. If we were running late sometimes I would have to take

But you feel that you've been punished for your good deeds is that what it feels.

I do definitely feel like that.

Yeah, sure, okay, all right, So let's finish the statistics. So you're saying one thousand drive days, let's say seven hundred YEP.

I spent approximately for work fuel around fourteen thousand dollars. I worked out extra idle time on the average of two to three minutes a day, was an approximately extra seven hundred dollars. Okay, So I've gone down to citis here on days that were late, I've gone back over my linked account, which is connected to my tolls. An extra four hundred and fifty dollars was spent, So not a lot, but still enough into the equation. Plus car servicing.

What's two six hundred the repairs.

On car servicing, basic car servicing. So my total spend over that period of time that I'd been driving Tom was twenty one thousand, six hundred and fifty dollars that I spent myself out of that period of time. If Tom could, if he kicked in ten percent of all of that. I feel like that's fair.

But you didn't ask him, well.

I didn't ask him exactly around, so it's a moral issue.

You think that he's maybe taken advantage of you, Would that be fair to say?

I would say so for sure.

All right, and Tom, what do you say?

I've got quite a lot of things to add, Judge Dina.

All right, so I want to hear that firstly.

I just want to say, off the back of that comment, there the original original lift four years ago he offered me and never said at any point in time I would need to give money. He was going that way anyway. We lived in the same suburb. He never had to veer off his route. I was coming to his place or to the meeting point. He was going this way anyway with the car, with the pet all taking the tolls. It was never anything out of excess that was going

Were they going to one of them? They were one of I don't need names. I just need to know where they'll give you.

Nay, if you want a witness as well. I didn't talk while you were talking. It's now my turn, and I'm serious.

Sorry, Pete. I'll just listen to Tom or come back to you. You'll have to hold your tongue.

Thank you, your honor. One of them was Pete's sister who worked in the building with us and started at the same time.

Okay, And did she pay you petrol money?

Nice? She did, lie, thank you. And the other one was another producers on the radio show who also lived right by the pickup zone and would come in and start at the same time as us. So really there was three of us all getting a lift in the one car at the same time, three passengers plus Pete, right, okay?

And that other passenger did they pay? They contribute?

He did not pay?

No, okay, if you ask them for money.

If I may speak now, because there's a couple of things that are absolutely inaccurate, they're judgment. She's asked you was a yes or no question? Did Jermaine pay yes or no? Yes? He did? Okay, Well it once I've asked once? One paid once? How much one thousand dollars. He paid me thirty.

Dollars and was that at your request?

It was at him reading my hints very clearly. Okay, all right, so Tom go on the I think two than six hundred dollars for him saying that's servicing of the car. The cars beyond servicing. Peter's car is so old they don't even make it anymore.

That's probably servicing was so expensive and he probably had to do it regularly. But it was better than the old car you didn't have, wasn't it.

Well not really. The passenger seat window is broken. It's permanently down.

Okay, so it's not road worthy.

Well, it's down by about three inches. So if it's pouring rain, you get drenched. If it's the middle of winter at four am, which for half of the year it obviously is, which is when we go into work, it's freezing and the hot air only works some of the time, and he has so much old food and rubbish in the car. It's like a Hord's car that there's actually full of bugs and cockroaches, and once you're

I don't believe you, funny bone, this is not a true story. This is true flew out into our baby cockroaches flew out, yes, okay, out of the air vents, and Thenanosaurus rex across the road.

No, no, I swear to you, swear. Baby cockroaches flew out at our face. And he said, oh, don't worry, this has happened before, and reached behind him and pulled out a giant can of more team with one of those long straw attachments and put it while the heater was on, into the air vent and turned on the sh and then it sprayed back in our face and cover us with mortine, hot mortine on the face.

So when did that?

That is the kid? Did that happen about two winters ago? Maybe?

Okay? And that is kept getting into the car.

That I had to put up. I had no other way of getting in, no other choice.

Well, can I ask you, is there a policy with a radio station or any production company that if you are working those sorts of hours that you're given a taxi voucher, or you're given a driver or some other means of getting into our companies.

Yes, the company we're at. No.

No, they didn't give you any any other means of transport. No, no, other than you paying. So you didn't get an allowance of any sort for travel at four am.

Correct. No, it's get your own way there.

I'm going to investigate that. If you're telling me a lie, you'll be in trouble.

No, that's true, Peter, I can vouch for him. Is that true? That is that's actually the only true thing he's probably said in the last five minutes.

By the way, Okay, all right, okay, and Pete, did you offer to drive Tom to work every morning? I mean, obviously you've moved around and the arrangement has continued, so you've had communication, You've had discussions about, oh, I'll see you tomorrow morning. Is that sort of how it went. Yeah.

I think it just became the expectation. And I suppose you don't expect to have to ask someone every day. Could they just chip in a bit of cash for the fuel?

But did you say that there was a time limit on your offer? Did you say I'll pick you up for the next week, but after that, forget about it.

I didn't. I didn't Gina, and that it probably probably could have been said. But as I said to my point earlier in the podcast, I really there is that expectation if someone's helping you out with something, surely you'd chip in.

So the mental telepathy argument. So you've never asked him for an amount of money to pay, You've just assumed that he would pick up on your vibe.

Yeah, because Kate, my sister for two months, gave me sixty dollars a month and Jermaine gave me I think it was I think it was around forty dollars. Wow. We also had a group chat as well for pick ups because everyone would update me when theyah blah blah. Tom always the last one. They're always late, by the way, even when I was car pulling as well. So he saw other people putting receipts into that Facebook.

Group, so they were paying you, what forty a month or sixty a month.

Jermaine gave me forty and Kate gave me sixty dollars twice, so so one person gave you forty dollars once, another person gave you sixty dollars twice.

I think you said thirty dollars once. So I think your story has changed a little bit. It did think.

All. Actually, if anything, to be honest, I've got evidence. I've just completely forgotten about.

What is that? What's the evidence?

So Tom and I a directive from the show If who Were Driving in Together was to sometimes films and videos, and we did a video series. And that video series was like our car lifts in and chatting and what's coming up on the radio show and stuff like that.

Was that carpool KARRYO, keep it good, okay? And you just did that on your mobile phone, Yes.

Filmed, filmed illegally on the on the phone on the go pro. Things I've extracted. I completely forgot about this. I've extracted the audio. This is from twenty twenty one. I hope your people have given it to you. Gina. This is actually hard evidence of me actually asking for money. So I've got audio proof.

Actually, Okay, I'll hear that.

Pin.

Don't put the chicken out of the window, Damn. When I'm driving, It's.

Fine if that thingure, the birds will eat it anyway. Can you just comet down when I'm driving say, seriously, it's littering. You can't throw a chicken as I can eat it another. I'm sick of it. Honestly, I drive you in every mornings.

I'll send this to your minions.

I actually want you, if you're going to carry on for a starter, to actually put money. If filled twenty bucks a week, say you're putting money in, You're putting money in. Moving forward. Maybe after the holidays, will revisit the conversation bird, Yes, yes.

After the holiday.

Thanks you finally now Jesus Chris, pull up, Hang on, men, I'm gonna get out of hurry up. When's that from? I don't remember twenty twenty one February. I don't remember that you judged Gina. That is on the video as well, which I'm more than happy to and you judged Gina.

So Tom, do you remember that conversation?

I don't I remember that conversation. No, do you agree?

Do you agree that you were recording things in the car conversation?

Yeah, we recorded the because I was the main star of them for our boss. So I remember those videos. I don't remember that at all. But I mean the day that I threw a piece of chicken out of the car. He threw a whole char girl Charlie's chicken out the window of the car. There's another story. Doesn't matter, Gine. It doesn't need to know about that.

So if we calculate that it was about two years ago that you agreed, we've got it here, hard evidence, you've heard it. So about two years ago you agreed to pay twenty dollars a week?

Well, I think I said after the holidays. Maybe, I don't think I said yes, which I could recall the holidays were literally two weeks away. So yeah, you're right, Gina.

So about twenty dollars a week for the last forty weeks a year, so it's about eighty weeks. So that's twenty times eighty weeks. Would you agree that's yes?

I mean, no, I agree, but I agree. Do you say teen about sixteen hundred? I mean I said maybe after the holidays. I didn't say yes, you did that. I said, if you hear that audio? I said confirmed, and you said yes?

And how much do you say, my friend, I'm going to stop you there. How much do you say? The tolls were.

Around that for that period of time? So for I think it was four fifty let me bring up my I have only accounted on my linked account the times that were running late and I would have to take tolls because you made me late. This is the only ones that I've counted here. Sorry, Gina. I'll just bring that up onto my document here, my linked account. Okay, so that was four hundred and fifty I'd be happy to look even if you said I don't know one

All right, I'm going to make my decision. I'll be back in a moment.

Judge Gina is deliberating and will soon hand down her verdict. Please do not leave the courtroom.

I've made my decision and I'm going to deliver that now. Pete, you say you drove Tome to work every day in your claim you've got five years, but in actual fact it was four and a half less six months at the start and four months at the end, so let's say about three and a half years. And you say that Toime never contributed to fuel or road toll and that you had a big blow up fight about it,

Oh, I've got to give him that money.

My decision is final.

I could not be happier with today's outcome. Everyone knows Tom is a leech who got a freelift for years and never chipped in money for Gina Liano, Judge Gina, to actually say those words out loud that it's in my favor just means the world. And I'm just so so happy. I'm so pissed off about today's outcome, Like I'm actually so annoyed. This is ridiculous. Today felt fair, Today felt like justice was finally given. This absolutely was