Have you been offered cheap phone calls and a free Plasma TV???
We are all victims of these scams.
We offer free help to victims and their Law Firms who represent them. The only allegiances we have are to the victims who we endeavour to help.
If you are a victim, it is very important to register your details with us: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it this will ensure we can lobby your case.
We are not a Law Firm, and cannot replace a Law Firm, however, we can help your case in other ways that your Law Firm cannot, as they are bound by regulations and cannot seek help in the Media, etc.
ACCC wins prosecution
Click here to see the judgement
IMPORTANT: If you are going to Court or a Fair Trading Tribunal, print this judgement out if it relates to the companies you are with, and submit this with your evidence to show that they have been found guilty, and show how your circumstances are the same.
Strategy to fight these scams
Click Here to go to the strategy Page for advice
Recent Court wins !!!
During 2011 there have been 2 Court cases which both used Section 73 of the Trade Practises Act (now Section 278 of the Consumer Act), and they both won and set precedents that everyone can use!!!
Refer to Strategy page for more details !!!
These are the 28 Companies, Directors and Managers that are being prosecuted by the ACCC for alleged hidden contracts and misleading conduct.
Link Solutions P/L, Service LS P/L, Axis Telecoms P/L, Service AT P/L, Sonofon P/L, Service SO P/L, Telecom One P/L, Service TO P/L, George Tawaf (Director of Axis), Mark Nesbitt (Director of Axis), John Masia (GM Axis), Barry Kennedy (Mgr Axis), WorldtTel (Aust) P/L, WorldTel Corp (Vict) P/L, Skylink Communications P/L, Romeo Wehbe (Director WorldTel), Manoel Wehbe (Director WorldTel), Fakhr Fakhr (Director WorldTel), Joseph Ayoub (Mgr WorldTel), Australian Integrated Finance P/L (AIF), Enterprise Finance Solutions P/L (EFS), CIT Group (Aust) P/L, Queensland Communications Co P/L, Service QCC P/L, Clear Communications (EurAst) AB, Clear Telecoms (Aust) P/L, Anthony Hakim (Director National Telecoms Group & Clear Communications), & National Telecoms Group P/L.
Since then, other Companies have been using the same business model and most of the Telco's and Equipment suppliers have since closed down.
CLICK HERE to watch the 4 Corners video clips
If you watched this story or have been affected by this scam, please send your feedback to 4 Corners “Have your Say” so we can keep media pressure on this scam.
Daily Telegraph story slams Macquarie:
Have you been offered cheap phone calls and a free Plasma TV? If so, the chances are you have been caught up in this scam. There may be as many as 40,000 small businesses caught up in this scam and many owe $30,000 - $50,000 (the range is $5000 to $380,000).
Don’t feel embarrassed, as there have been at least 3 Law Firms who are victims as well. If a Law Firm, who deals with contracts every day of the week can be caught, what hope do us “Mug Punters” have ???
Send us an email with your Company details and details of what happened and we will put you on our data base and keep you up to date by email.
If you have continued to pay, read your contract and be aware of the Termination Notice period. They usually have a clause that says you must give 3 or 6 months notice otherwise they rollover the contract for another 6 month period. One victim found out that they had continued to deduct funds for 5 years after his contract expired. He thought it was his car payments. They refuse to return the extra funds they deducted from his Bank Account.
Be aware that the Finance Company won’t let you keep the “Free” equipment, and they will also expect a payout which is probably higher than the brand new cost of the equipment. If you were told the equipment could be purchased for $1.10 inc GST at the end of the contract period, and you are nearing the end of your contract, this is the time to start negotiating with them.
This website has been setup by victims of this scam, to help other victims and unite in the fight against the Finance Companies who are trying to use the Courts to collect on these fraudulent debts. The people and organisations behind the fraud are not being investigated or prosecuted, and in most cases, resigned as Directors and re-opened new Companies.
Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman
This is a link to the TIO's Newsletter regarding the Telco Finance Scams: http://www.tio.com.au/publications/TIO_talk_issues/39/39.1.html
Please click on the link at the bottom of the page to read the Ombudsman's Overview as well as Cases they have investigated.
Fair Trading Tribunal
In each State they are different they have different names and Solicitors are not welcome so you are fighting on equal terms. NSW = CTTT, Vict = VCAT, Qld = QCAT, etc.
It costs around $100 to lodge a Claim and this usually results in the Finance Company deciding to negotiate a fairer outcome with you. Victoria has the best Consumer Laws which does not exclude Business Contracts if a Consumer Good was supplied – eg Plasma TV or something that is used in a normal household, or could be bought from the likes of Harvey Norman. The fine print in a Consumer Contract must be minimum of 10pt font and must include a cooling off period, otherwise it is unenforceable.
The Fair Trading Tribunal is the best place to fight things like unfair Termination periods, or having to purchase the “Free” equipment at the end of the period. If you are interstate, particularly Victoria, and you were supplied “Domestic” goods, VCAT is your best option and it is important that you lodge the claim which means the Tribunal is held locally to you, not in Sydney where the case will be heard under NSW Law.
I have heard that there have been victories in the Fair Trading Tribunal for victims in both NSW and Victoria. There have been others who have chosen to settle their matter for a fraction of the amount the Finance Company originally wanted. If nothing else, lodging a claim is a great bargaining tool.
If you need help lodging your claim, or need more info, send me an email.
Did you know that Clear Telecoms and Strathfield Car Radio have done a reverse takeover?
Strathfield Car Radio are now contacting businesses offering security cameras as part of a deal with their Telephone service! They say it is like signing up for a capped Mobile plan – but you are signing 2 separate contracts. At first they told me the carrier was AAPT, then Optus, then they had many they could choose from, and now they say that the Telephone service and Finance/Rental is all done through Strathfield Car Radio.
Sound Familiar?
Google cracks the Strathfield share mystery – The Australian
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/google-cracks-strathfield-share-puzzle/story-0-1111118693233
The Secretary of Enterprise Finance Solutions (EFS) and Strathfield Car Radio, according to the story in the link below, Vazerick Hovanessian has 10 different spellings of his name and was born in 6 different places. There is also reference to Insider Trading, links to organised crime and enforcing the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 with the other companies he is associated with.
Read this link: http://www.equipmentfinancing.com.au/news/2008/12/17/whats-in-a-name-variety-maybe/
Please use the Contact Us page to email us and we will keep you updated on our progress.
Politicians
Over the years we have made contact with all of the current Federal Politicians and most either ignore our complaints, or fob them off from Department to Department. From Telecommunications, to Small Business, to Police and finally they end up being fobbed off to the ACCC who can't do anything for us individually. The ACCC are already prosecuting a case with 28 individuals (see above) which started on 2nd October 2008 and will probably finish in 2011 after everyone has been forced to pay out on these illegal contracts. The ACCC has already prosecuted a similar case which started in Dec 2008 and was completed by Sept 2009 and sets a precedent ACCC vs Bill Express. None of the victims had to pay legal expenses and all of the contracts were terminated and the finance Company was forced to refund money to victims. The ACCC cannot change or tighten Laws, this all comes from the Government and Politicians. Had they tightened the Laws and made these contracts illegal, there would not have been a need for us to fight the Finance Companies.
The ONLY Politician to show an interest in our situation is Liberal MP Bruce Billson from Victoria. He has contacted me direct several times by email as well as by telephone, he has contacted victims direct, he has communicated directly with Finance Companies on our behalf and written to the ACCC. From his contact with the ACCC, the ACCC have agreed to help in Court with our Test Cases using Section 73 under the Trade Practises Act and they will appear in Court on our behalf.
I would like to personally thank the efforts of Bruce Billson – Liberal MP from Victoria, and ask that you all remember his efforts come election time.
Not one Member of the Labor Party has tried to help victims (that I am aware of), whether it be a Local Member, State Member or Federal Member.
Police
Michael Daley MP, Minister for NSW Police passed our enquiries onto the Police Commissioner, who forwarded it onto the State Crime Command. The Commander of the Fraud Squad has been alerted to these problems and was going to do a full assessment of the issues raised. I posted an email link to the Police who made contact with us, so that others who believe fraud has been committed in their cases could also forward their complaints for investigation.
I have been contacted by Detective Superintendent, Commander Fraud Squad, State Crime Command in NSW Colin Dyson who has asked me to remove this email address as they are not interested in taking reports of these matters. They originally directed us to everyone’s favourite scapegoat – the ACCC, but after I lodged my complaint with him, he suggests that these matters be reported to the Local Area Command. This is a link to the Fraud Complaint form.
