iscover Accounting firm reports business renewal provider for deceptive conduct
BusinessAn accountant has reported a third-party business renewal provider to the ACCC after the provider allegedly made unauthorised direct debit drawings from its client's account.
In what one accountant has called misleading and deceptive conduct, a struck-off ASIC agent has allegedly continued to correspond with her client and taken money from the client's personal direct debit account despite the client not providing authorisation.
Wild Vine Accounting senior bookkeeper and director Caroline Hager has told Accountants Daily that her client had been having issues with one of these providers, reg.com.au, which allegedly drew direct debit payments from her client’s personal bank account without her permission. She has now reported this matter to the ACCC.
“The payment came out of her personal credit card. She doesn't remember authorising it,” Hager said.
Hager added that this issue is not only impacting her client.
“I've lost hours each time fighting this. For me to do all [of these] complaints to ACCC quite a few times … I can't charge for that, so you'd have to say you lose easily half a day if you add up the hours of worktime, just trying to do the right thing by your client.”
“It annoys me that [the providers] do it because [they] were pinching my clients and taking them off to their portal,” she said.
In a statement to Accountants Daily, an ACCC spokesperson said: “Under the Australian Consumer Law, businesses cannot mislead or deceive consumers about their goods or services.”
“This includes creating an impression that the business has already agreed to acquire the services, that the business needs to pay for services when they do not, or that communications are from government agencies.”
The ACCC and ASIC refused to comment on reg.com.au’s conduct, despite ASIC announcing on 5 June that it had cancelled reg.com.au's registered agent status for “breaches of ASIC’s Registered Agent Terms and Conditions”.
Hager said that her client continues to receive correspondence from the provider.
“... ASIC is aware of unsolicited correspondence from third‑party service providers offering to assist with company annual reviews or business name renewals. These providers are not ASIC, and are not endorsed by ASIC, and their services are entirely optional,” read an email from ASIC to Hager, seen by Accountants Daily.
“Some providers may charge additional fees on top of ASIC’s prescribed fees, and in some cases their communications may create the impression they are official notices,” ASIC said.
Hager said that ASIC told her on a phone call that it cannot take any action against companies with a cancelled ASIC registered agent status.
During the call, Hager said that she was told that “anyone can offer to pay your return and charge you for it, do insolvency resolutions etc. The only advantage there is to being an ASIC agent is access to their portal (and hello Austrac for your trouble)”.
“The only thing they are doing wrong is trying to impersonate ASIC … It seems we don’t have to be [an] ASIC agent [to be a provider] unless we want access to the portal.”
“They can keep going without being an ASIC agent,” Hager said.
“We encourage businesses to continue to report these issues to the ACCC and ASIC,” the ACCC said.
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Carlos Tse
Carlos Tse is a graduate journalist writing for Accountants Daily, HR Leader, Lawyers Weekly.