I and some colleagues have been doing some research into Technology Business International Pty Ltd (TBI), the company through which newsagents signed lease agreements with for the Bill Express equipment.
- TBI is owned by Technology Business Holdings Pty Ltd (TBH) and has two Directors, one of whom is Sandro DiDonato.
- Technology Business Systems Pty Ltd (TBS) is owned by TBH and has one Director, Sandro DiDonato.
- TBH has four shareholders, the largest (96.5% of issued capital) being Equip Rentals Pty Ltd and one Director, Sandro DiDonato.
- Equip Rentals Pty Ltd was deregistered on 9 December, 2007. It had one shareholder, Sandro DiDonato and two directors, one of whom was Sandro DiDonato.
It would appear from letters received by newsagents recently that TBI has moved from the Bill Express Eaglemont Head Office to Helen Street in West Heidelberg. It has been suggested that this move coincides with the move of treasury functions to the Helen Street address. This is the address used for Australian Private Networks.
- APN is primarily owned (95.5% of issued capital) by Telecards Asia Pty Ltd and has one director, Sandro DiDonato.
- Telecards Asia Pty Ltd is owned by Sandro DiDonato and has one director, Sandro DiDonato.
In their February 29 announcement of half yearly results, Bill Express announced that it would acquire a controlling stake in APN. The announcement talked up the Activ8me business. The due diligence for the purchase was expected to be completed in the first week of March. The company has not made an announcement regarding APN since. There is a question as to whether Bill Express should have disclosed that this is a related party transaction. While I am not saying it was, if I were a shareholder in Bill Express I would want the question asked.
I would like to know more about the reported visit to Bill Express headquarters by the Federal Police and what their visit relates to.
There are many questions which come to mind as I go through the tangled web of companies:
- Questions about APN and its financial and otherwise relationship to Bill Express.
- Questions about ETT, a public company linked to the Bill Express / OnQ group.
- Questions about OnQ itself and its tangled relationship with Bill Express and associated companies.
- Questions about the legal battle between OnQ shareholders.
- Questions about where the intellectual property which is at the heart of the Bill Express proposition is actually held.
These and other questions go to the heart of the viability of Bill Express, a matter of great interest to newsagents.
Mark, Did you know that the former name of Technology Business International Pty Ltd was On Q International Pty Ltd – I dug that up from an ASIC search…what a tangled web they weave!
Just a bit more background – have a look on the internet at the 30/6/2004 Annual Report for Australian Pure Fruits Ltd and It’s Controlled Entities – particular pages to have a look at – page 7 and page 39 onwards as they further reveal the tangling of the web and some very familiar names are listed as directors/major shareholders….they will be sorry they didn’t stick to squeezing oranges and not newsagents!
From further searches you will find that Sandro DiDonato, Julian Little, and the brothers Hal and Ian Christiansen have all been business partners since the 1990s…Further searches will also illustrate how satisfied or ,otherwise, their past clients have been from their web of activities….
It’s a scam that’s getting all too common nowadays form a public company float the idea to investors then fritter it away to friends and family and keep doing it because it’s not against the law. Whats get me is that the AnF should have been more switched on and to a lessor extent newsagents to their modus operandi?
I agree, fortunately for myself I did not join the BXP bandwagon….I have had less than memorable past dealings with these gentleman…a warning I did pass onto both my state and national bodies for consideration. Unfortunately the teasing propsect of riches helped these people amass a huge retail network, at little expense to themselves, and ultimately under their control and discretion…The sad thing is the newsagents, under a constructive commercial union, could have done this alone…with Newsagents as shareholders and active retail outlets..benefiting from the retail services for customers, returns as shareholders and a vehicle for other services designed purely for their memebership and retail channel in mind…It is sad to see such an opportunity lost.
Steve you are right. Indeed, this is what was proposed in 1997 to the national association. The opportunity was passed.
Thanks for this research. You have no idea what a help this is to those of us trying to make sense of BXP and ONQ. Take a look at BXP Vietnam if you can. Keep up the good work.
“These and other questions go to the heart of the viability of Bill Express, a matter of great interest to newsagents.”
Read: “these and other questions go to the heart of whether I’ll find success with EziPass, depending on whether I can make a dollar sledging my competitors and peddling my products through the resulting confusion to newsagents”. philip_carmody@hotmail.com
Philip,
My post documents some facts about Bill Express. They speak for themselves. If you were $495 a month worse off now because of a broken promise I bet you would have a different view.
On eziPass, get your facts straight.
Mark
Tee hee hee. Go Phillip. Now that’s telling it like it is! … And Mark, you slipped up mate… it’s not at all like you to let through a comment that isn’t 100% supportive of your self and your own money making ventures. Well done!
oh, and BE never promised to continue to pay us a marketing subsidy indefinitely so perhaps you should get your facts straight for a change! Instead of trying to just drum up business for your own gain!
Maria, all comments posted are published. There are plenty critical of me. I don’t have a glass jaw. on BXP, I have a written guarantee for the advertising subsidy. I am not alone. Mark
Hmm…really I thought the focus of this was BXP..it was a lack of past focus that has caused today’s problems. Whilst Mark potentially has many diffferent hats and opportunitty to self promote…he at least engages his demographics in a rather constructive and consultative way…personally I think he is a great self promoter and something I sometimes shudder at…but congratulations to him…he also offers tremendous insights into industry issues through his opinions….and sublime marketing. But they are only his opinions and at least they create forums for discussion…I, by the way, use competitive products to his, but nonetheless feel he offers many good things for the industry…the main being his discussion points and this blog for instance..I could be jealous of his self promotion, but that would be too self centred given all the light he throws on so many other subjects…I have no connection with him, nor ever spoken with him…but good on him for having such an active role…something I sometimes envy and think I should do that…but like most others do not…at the end of the day we all make our own decisions…the more informed the better the decision…hopefully…
Thanks for the comments Steve. Whacks come with climbing on a stage and voicing an opinion. What frustrates me about what Maria and Philip wrote is that they link BXP’s own created troubles to eziPass.
eziPass only came into being as a result of BXP’s inaction in an equivalent platform which they committed to within our software two years ago. As with eziPass, it was to be free. Once their internal difficulties started to surface we explored other alternatives.
Mark
I am amused to see that Bill Express are looking for someone to prop up their business. In my opinion they will not have any business left after legal action or if this happens to fail, I could not imagine Newsagents re-signing when their respective contracts expire. What business will BXP have without Newsagents.
does maria work for bxp, or the anf (or both)?
Maria
Mark did a tremendous job for us all and I can’t imagine how I can get so much information without this blog. As for ezipass, I am sure this is an option for most of us who unplugged BXP platform. You can choose other service providers if you like. There is no harm to know there is one service provider called “ezipass”.
Don’t be jealous of other people’s sucess. If you want to express dissapointment, you’d better write a complaint letter to BXP.
I agree, Mark has provided a great source of information, without him we would all be in the dark just as BXP has left us. Thank you Mark
As an ex-employee. All I can say is there are many dark secrets that that place do not want released. I for one am glad I am well removed from their past dealings. I wish I had kept a little black book, but alas I was young and naive. So much is now he said she said. Digging needs to be done – so nice job so far. If you have the means keep digging as there are other gems to discover.
Anon, do you want to release them?
The truth will set them free and heal our wounds.
I have seen falsified documents. For example several instances where a merchants signature was forged to ensure payment from a finance company. There were ‘special’ payments made to companies owned by other family members. I have spoken to people who witnessed the withdrawal of moneys out of the business for personal use. Excessive executive lunches – that ran for half a day and ended up in strip clubs and bars late into the evening. And miss appropriated stock (hardware)… thousands of dollars worth of stock out all around Australia and no one accountable for it.. Just written of as bad practice.. No wonder they owe so much.
If I were you id take my lcd tv home… they wouldnt know!
Much of what is said by anon above is true regarding BXP, as I have seen first hand. There is no documents promising a rebate as it was never intended to continue and was only verbally promised. What i find interesting is Tower systems jumping to the rescue as a white knight. Sorry but you cannot run a business on making no margin and just good will.
Has anyone notice in OnQ latest ASX announcements 3/7/2008, Hal Christiansen passed away on the 1/7/2008. Not being connected with the entities for nearly a decade now, I have no reservation in saying Hal was a great visionary who always treated his staff with great respect and fairness.
As to what is happening at Bill Express currently, I am unable to comment.
Can we as newsagents invoice Bill Express for the discontieued Market subsidy and therefore register an invoice with the administrators. Then maybe we can after a perioid of time ( 3-months in my business) sell the assett to pay the account.
Just a thought.
Hi there,
Can anyone confirm if TBI or Mobius or whatever they are called are actually in recievership?
Yes, TBI had liquidators appointed more than a week ago. Mobius is alive and well.
mark
Who owns Mobius Financial?
Allco.
I Have been studying the contracts signed with Dialtime. Shecdule A Has dial time Header and the pages 1-3-4 carry the BXP ABN and page 2 has the TBI ABN.
Shedule B desribes the terms and conditions with On Q but has the BXP ABN.
Rental Doc 1 has the dial time header and uses TBI ABN.
Rental Doc 4 uses the dial time header and has the Mobius ABN.
Rental doc 4 Also has the dialtime header, but uses the TBI ABN.
Shedule D has dial time header and uses the BXP ABN.
The last thing I have noticed is that a Company called On Q stopped trading on the 11-3-08
Has anybody else noticed this.
Darryl, I have. How can they have different headers with different ABN’s anyone half decent with contract law?
So what does Allco have to say about all of this?