Month: July 2008

The Australian Newsagents’ Federation today did a u-turn in advising newsagents to suspend direct debit authorities for the Bill Express equipment. They also said that their goal is the dissolution of the equipment rental agreements and that the present ANF Board had been placed in a complicated situation.

Today’s communication matches what I put to the Chairman and Deputy Chairman when I met with them, at their request, at the VANA offices on Tuesday this week. I explained the flaw in their approach to then of trying to negotiate a deal with Mobius on a discount on the equipment rental agreement. I was pleased to see the ANF u-turn. However, I suspect that my advice to them on Tuesday was not the first time this advice had been given to them.

It is important the ANF now disclose what they are doing to seek the dissolution of the Bill Express equipment agreements given that up to Tuesday, nothing was being done or had been done on this. Until then, their focus had been on negotiating a discount on the amount newsagents owe.

The ANF today also said:

We are also deeply concerned that there is third party commentary and we see this as serving no ones interests. This continues to fragment our industry.

Given the performance of the ANF, third party commentary such as my posts here and the comments of others serves newsagents well. If newsagents had relied only on the ANF then many would have paid one or two months of direct debit payments and the ANF probably would not have changed its position as announced today.  Sure I am critical of the ANF from time to time. They could take this as an indication that I think the organisation has an opportunity to be relevant.

Debate is healthy. It does not fragment the newsagency industry.

Click here to download a copy of the proof of debt form newsagent can complete to register as a creditor of OnQ. OnQ is the company which committed to paying a monthly rebate to newsagents. I have lodged a form for rebates not paid this year. Once you have completed the form, keep a copy and post the original to Worrells, GPO Box 1834, Melbourne 3000.

While there is no money in OnQ and therefore no apparent chance of getting the rebates repaid, newsagents shold still register as a creditor. I have claimed $1,050 for each of my newsagencies – rebates payable as per contract.

Based on ANF advice to newsagents, the organisation appears to be collectively bargaining on behalf of newsagents with Allco and Mobius in pursuit of a discounted settlement over newsagent’s Bill Express equipment rental agreement.

I cannot find authorisation from the ACCC on their Collective bargaining notifications register for the ANF to act on behalf of newsagents on this Mobius issue. Nor has the ANF sought permission from newsagents on this.

Newsagents may wish to email the ANF asking that they not represent them in discussions with Mobius and Allco. Emails could be sent to: reception@anf.net.au.

The ANF would be well advised to compare the number of newsagents registered with its legal strategy compared to those registered with the Class Action which was started by an independent group of NSW newsagents.  I expect that the numbers will show newsagents want the Bill Express equipment agreement challenged before there is any consideration given to negotiating a settlement.

The Banking Industry Ombudsman website has some helpful information for canceling a direct debit which may be useful to newsagents who have had payments deducted for Bill Express equipment this week even though they had cancelled the direct debit authority with their bank.

If you have given a third party an authority to debit your account, that authority may be cancelled either by notice to the third party and/or by notice to the bank. This is reflected in clause 19 of the New Code of Banking Practice, which says that a bank will promptly process your instruction to cancel a direct debit request and will not direct or suggest that you should first raise any such request directly with the third party. The bank may suggest that you also contact the party and this is a prudent course to take to ensure that the authority is cancelled.

Newsagents who cancelled their direct debit authority and had money taken our for the Bill Express equipment this week ought to make representations to their bank about how this is a breach of the Code of Banking Practice.

If your bank refuses to refund the money they allowed to be deducted after you cancelled the direct debit authority, you should advise them you will make a complaint to Financial Ombudsman Service.  Click here for details of how to register your dispute online.

Mark Hawthorne at The Age today continues excellent reporting on Bill Express and the collapse of OnQ.

We have spoken to the Administrators of OnQ and they have provided a formal proof of debt form. This will need to be completed and lodged with Worrells in advance of any creditors meeting. My view is that OnQ is indebted to my newsagencies for the rebates as documented in Schedule D of the Bill Express agreement.

While there is no money in OnQ, by registering as a creditor newsagents can at least have a voice at the table as the last rites are performed and therefore hopefully be better informed. I will publish an updated example of the form completed later today.

When a creditors meeting is announced I will publish details here along with a proxy form.

Meanwhile, a group of around 20 newsagents yesterday met with representatives of the ANF in Melbourne. Most of the meeting was taken up with Bill Express matters. The difference between the ANF approach and that of the team behind the NSW instituted Class Action was evident. The ANF approach is to negotiate a settlement of the Mobius debt newsagents have been saddled with. The NSW Class Action approach is to challenge the debt on the basis of legal precedent. As I blogged here last week there are precedents worth considering.

The major flaw in the approach the ANF is taking is that it accepts that the equipment rental agreement is separate to the Bill Express agreement. That acceptance leaves the ANF strategy pursuing an outcome which is unacceptable to newsagents. Unless the ANF changes its approach or communicates its reasoning in a more convincing way it will continue to lose members on this issue.

The ANF Directors needs to practically and publicly demonstrate that they will pursue the Mobius agreement issue until the very end and that they will put the needs of newsagents ahead of their own. If they are not prepared to do this they ought to resign. On the evidence so far this year, the Directors of the ANF have not put the needs of newsagents ahead of their own.

My understanding is that the majority of newsagents attending the meeting in Melbourne with the ANF yesterday signed up for the NSW Class Action and not the ANF strategy.

OnQ, the parent of the collapsed Bill Express company, has announced the appointment of administrators.  This move was only a matter of time given once Bill Express collapsed.

I am a creditor of OnQ as are most newsagents.  The Agreement I signed commits the company to paying rebates as outlined in Schedule D attached to the Agreement.  While the company will claim that it varied the Agreement, I’d like to hear how a judge views that.  In the meantime, I’ll register as a creditor.  If I get a form for this I will post it here.

I will be interested to see what happens now with ETT, a public company 43% owned by Bill Express.  If it collapses that will be three related  ASX listed companies collapsing.

On the weekend I checked my Bill Express and Mobius equipment agreements and noticed that the document version markings, in fine print on the lower left corner of each page, matched.  These common markings link the Bill Express and Mobius equipment finance agreements.

Much has been made about these agreements being separate.  The ANF in its communication to newsagents makes it clear they view the agreements as separate.  While I am no lawyer, I would have thought that a court would find it relevant to its considerations that agreements intended to be separate would have the same version markings.

The status of these agreements is of grave concern to newsagents across the country.  It concerns me that not enough is being done by the ANF to address this situation.