Newsagents angry at their treatment by Bill Express are closing bank accounts in order to stop the company sweeping their account for the lease payment on the Bill Express equipment. Newsagents I have spoken with tell me they are taking this drastic step because of the lack of a response from the company to their request to terminate the lease agreement on the basis of a breach by Bill Express.
Bill Express was already losing revenue through newsagents leaving their network for ePay terminals or the PC based eziPass (established by me). The loss of equipment lease revenue will hit harder.
The company is also losing revenue because of network downtime. Around 500 newsagencies were down for most of this last weekend. Calls to the Help Desk went unanswered.
Yesterday, the company emailed newsagents with what can only be described as a big stick communication about various contractual issues. Here is an excerpt:
Q. This is illegal and unfair!
A. At Bill Express we gave very careful thought to the changes before making them. In the end, we simply couldn’t continue to run a sustainable business without them.
When the subsidies and rebates were put in place five years ago, they were only ever intended to be temporary.
The agreement terms have been in place for five years. They are well understood by the ANF who have consistently reviewed the agreements. The facts here are simple: you entered into Rental and Merchant Agreement with TBI and Bill Express respectively for a period up to five years. This is much like a mobile phone contract. If you wish to prematurely terminate the contract, there is obviously a cost associated with doing so.
Our legal advice is that we are acting within the terms of the Merchant and Rental Agreement(s).
You are welcome, of course to get independent legal advice.
First, the 5 year contract is not stated anywhere on my contract.
Second,they have stopped paying me my $210 advertising rebate every month.
why?
Frank I think the five year contract is for those who were unlucky enough to have their 4 year contract extended upon the take up of their plasma screen upgrade. As for the advertising rebate well just go through this blog to see whats going on in regards to that. It’s just too depressing for words for most. I’m one of the ‘lucky’ ones to have signed early therefore avoiding for the time being all the current problems.
It looks like the rumours of the withdrawal of Vodafone are false.
They have 100% backed Bill Express and come out saying all those rumours are completely false.
Dear newsagents
We found following law clause is very useful in arguing our case.
This is only for reference, because lawyers may have own interpretation (quote from business law book and contract law book and prepared by Carlingford newsagency)
Australian believing in Trade and commerce:
Trade and commerce should be based on equality and fairness.
A signed contract under inequality or unfairness will be void.
Fair Trading Act 1999 (VIC) clearly outline the following;
Misleading conduct and unconscionable conduct are prohibited in any trade or commerce. Those conducts include spoken and written words.
Improper pressure, such as duress and undue influence, is prohibited in any trade or commerce. The duress means the improper threat for someone to do something. The duress includes some physical harm by someone, threatening to someone’s property and mostly, threatening to the economic well-being. Undue influence is basically concerned with presumed pressure from the relationship between parties. The decision to enter into the contract is not freely made.
Unconscionable conduct is mainly concerned with the following aspects;
One party has the relative strengths of the bargaining position;
One party is required to comply with the unreasonable conditions;
One party is unable to understand and documents relating to the other party;
One party has some disability or other circumstance placing that party at a serious disadvantage in entering the contract. That part is unable to make a proper judgment and the other party knowing of the disadvantage take unfair advantage of the superior position.
One party is not given an opportunity to seek for the independent legal or other expert advice.
The provisions of the contract and their legal and practical effect are not accurately explained by any person to the party, and that party does not fully understand the provisions and their effect.
Fair Trading Act 1999 (VIC) clearly outline the following:
Unfair terms in a contract are void. An unfair term in the unfair contract causes a significant imbalance in the parties’ right and obligations.
The following are the list of specific circumstance.
One party has the right but not the other to avoid or limit performance of the contract;
One party has the right but not the other to terminate the contract;
One party has the right to determine the price without the right of the other to terminate the contract;
One party has the right to assign the contract to the others determent without the consent of the other party;
Imposing the evidential burden on the other in proceedings on the contract.
Jim/Clem
Does anyone know whether Bill Express has taken legal action against those who have closed their accounts to prevent the monthly direct debit?