Author: Mark Fletcher

I had a lengthy conversation with a regional manager for a bank yesterday on behalf of a newsagent who was having trouble getting the bank to refund money they had deducted from the newsagent’s account without authority.

I understand why the bank takes they view they do – they are skeptical of a customer who says that a long standing direct debit is wrong. This is easier than them having to fully research the situation. The problem with the Bill Express direct debits is that newsagents signed them for one business and the payments now in dispute have been taken out by another business.

I expect that yesterday’s conversation will lead to the newsagent receiving over $1,000 back from their bank.

Pepper Homeloans has written to some newsagents claiming to act on behalf of the trust to which they claim Technology Business International assigned rights in relation to the rental of Bill Express equipment. The Pepper letter requests that Bill Express equipment rental arrears be paid. It lists a contact number for newsagents to call to discuss the matter.

The QNF continues to the newsagent association providing good leadership on this matter. Below I publish with their permission what they have sent to members today:

Please find attached (below) Hank Spier’s advice regarding Pepper Homeloans correspondence received this week.

We further suggest that all newsagents may wish to contact their Bank and give notice that any direct debit for the amount mentioned in your letter of demand from Pepper Homeloans should not be allowed to go through on the 25th of this month (QNF are unsure as to which company may attempt to debit your account as they have used different company names, previously using TBI & CHP).

The attached advice was to go out to only those newsagents represented by Hank Spier but the QNF & Hank feel that it is important that all newsagents are informed.

As Hank Spier representing 100’s of newsagents with this issue and the ongoing issue of Bill Express, he is presently being inundated with phone calls and emails.

If you wish him to represent you simply email him with your details, he is unable to reply but will include you on his list.

The details required are:- Full Name & Company Name, Business Name (shop name), Address, Phone, Email address

For wording in the email:- “we wish to be represented by you with regard to this Bill Express issue”

If you have any specific questions you can direct them to the QNF via email.

Here is the advice from their legal team:

Pepper Homeloans.

Some of you will have received letters from Pepper Homeloans headed Over Due Notification and demanding payments.

These letters follow on from similar letters some time ago from Mobius.

I have today written to Pepper along the same lines as I did to Mobius, namely we regard the claims as invalid and their action unlawful. We have also asked them to prove the validity of their demands.

We have also said to Pepper, as we did to Mobius, that should they take any legal action against anyone in our group we will immediately move in Court against them.

In relation to the letter you have just received from Pepper I suggest that you either write back to Pepper saying that the matter is with solicitors acting for newsagents and newsagents associations or simply do not respond.

ACCC

I met with ACCC last week. Their investigation is well underway.

Hopefully some positive action will be announced very soon by the ACCC.

Hank Spier. Special Counsel. Sweeney Commercial.

For those interested, Pepper is owned by Oakwood (Luxembourg). Merrill Lynch is a major shareholder in Okawood.