AGENT - IMALimal.com.au/images/agent/agen1014.pdf · 2014-10-02 · Private Investigators (NZIPI)...

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AGENTOctober/November 2014 | Volume 47 Issue 5

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I n s u R a n c e

www.imal.com.au | Oct/Nov 2014 | AGENT | 3

CONTENTS

AGENTOctober/November 2014 | Volume 47 Issue 5

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No part of this journal may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system without the prior written permission of the publisher. The views contained in articles by contributing authors are not necessarily those of the publisher, editor or directors of the Institute of Mercantile Agents Limited. Articles and content may have been edited, but remain the copyright of the author. It should be noted that articles are of a general nature and are not a substitute for appropriate professional advice. Although all reasonable attempts have been made as to accuracy of submitted advertisements and their bona fides, no warranty is given to any party. The right is reserved to accept or reject any articles or advertisements.

ON THE COVER

Technology driven results 20

MEDIA & NEWS 4

FEATURE More than a little lie! 8

Career liar 10

FORUM Career fraudsters 14

Communication clarity 16

Technology driven results 20

MEMBER INFORMATION Conference 13

REGULATORY UPDATE Debt collection guideline 18

Trespass guidance 19

Commonsense outcome 22

INSTITUTE From the President: Alex Caruana 24

From the CEO: Alan Harries 25

The AGENT also appears online at www.imal.com.au. While essentially the same content, the online version will include any updated information at the date of posting.

AGENTOctober/November 2014 Volume 47 Issue 5AGENT is the official bi-monthly journal of the Institute of Mercantile Agents Ltd.17B Denney St Broadmeadow, NSW [email protected]: 94 000 514 483ISSN: 1443-3443Editorial DirectorAlan Harries Phone (02) 4927 0477 Fax (02) 4927 [email protected]

Editor Contributions, articles, letters and comments from readers should be directed to:Institute of Mercantile Agents17B Denney StreetBroadmeadow, NSW 2292Phone (02) 4927 0477 Fax (02) 4927 [email protected] material deadline is the 1st of the month preceding publication.Design and ProductionAbigail ThompsonPhone (02) 4927 [email protected]

PrinterGreg Tapp PrintingMayfieldPhone (02) 4960 0700 Fax (02) 4960 0701General, Membership andService Directory EnquiriesInstitute of Mercantile Agents Ltd.Office hours: 8.30am-5.00pm [email protected] (02) 4927 0477 Fax (02) 4927 0677PO Box 233, Waratah NSW 2298Advertising EnquiriesPhone (02) 4927 0477 Fax (02) 4927 [email protected]

4 | AGENT | Oct/Nov 2014 | www.imal.com.au

MEDIA & NEWS

According to media reports, a number of the UK’s biggest banks via a series of letters to the Commons Treasury

committee have admitted sending thousands of letters from fake debt collection firms to intimidate customers into repaying loans. There is now speculation of a full-scale inquiry into the practice by MPs, who have condemned it.

Barclays chief has acknowledged the bank had used a number of ‘debt collection brands’ to ‘encourage’ customers to settle their debts. Andrew Tyrie, Tory chairman of the Treasury committee in responding to the conduct noted: “these letters seem to have been designed to pull the wool over consumers’ eyes. Many customers will have been understandably misled. What is more, from these responses it seems that this practice was widespread. Banks say that they have now stopped sending such correspondence but it should never have happened in the first place”.

The Barclays chief acknowledged the debt collection brands were used to encourage customers to settle their debts - he appears to have acknowledged the practice was designed to intimidate and also to encourage the customer to re-engage with the bank.

Royal Bank of Scotland CEO Ross McEwan described the letters as reflecting “common industry practice”. McEwan confirmed his bank had established an in-house solicitor Green & Co to help it collect debts and also used the brands Triton Credit Services and Tamarisk Debt Management “to fool customers into thinking they were dealing with outside agencies”. Amazingly, last year alone, Triton issued 423,000 letters to 119,000 customers, while Green & Co sent out a further 29,000 letters.

Although he claims the practice has now ceased McEwan explained the practice “appeared to have been used to attract our customers attention to the adverse consequences of not paying their debts”.

Alan Keir, the CEO of another banking giant, HSBC detailed the bank used four separate in-house brands to suggest outside agencies were collecting debts. He further noted the practice dated back to 1985 and only stopped in July this year after it was exposed by the media. Debtors had been sent letters from DG Solicitors, Metropolitan Collection Services, Central Debt Recovery Unit and Payment Services Bureau - although all were generated by HSBC and this was evident in the small print.

[Source: www.dailymail.co.uk - 6 September 2014]

BANKS shady practices exposed

CHANGE at ParmiaDanny Gumm of Parmia Insurance has announced his business has been acquired by Arthur J Gallagher one of the largest

risk management and insurance broking companies in the world and which has a national footprint of more than 30 OAMPS branches, aligned values, industry and association expertise and most importantly a strong commitment to clients.

Danny Gumm who founded Parmia in a message to his clients noted that “while our ownership has changed, your contact and broker relationship with us will not change”. Although the licensee responsible for providing insurance broking and related financial services changes to be OAMPS Insurance Brokers Limited, Gumm says there is no other impact on existing insurance solutions as a result of the change.

The business will continue to trade as Parmia Insurance and members who have insurance covers with this firm will find the same contact and broker relationships remain.

55www.imal.com.au | Oct/Nov 2014 | AGENT |

MEDIA & NEWS

AAC PROCESS SERVERSAND INVESTIGATIONS

Process Serving Repossessions Field Calls Skip TracingLockoutsCourt Filing InvestigationsOccupancy Reports

Our reputation is built on over 27 yearsof excellent service and reliability

Providing mercantile services for the whole of Western Australia has its challenges due to the size of the state and the remoteness of its country communities. AAC however has the ability to service the entire state in providing field services for its customers.

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Mail: PO Box 6157, East Perth WA 6892Web: www.aacprocess.com.au

Email: [email protected]

Aaron Evans, a NZ PI will lose his practising certificate following his recent conviction for accessing the Work and

Income (WINZ) database by impersonation - additionally, he was fined $1000 and sentenced to 240 hours community work. The charges related to indirectly accessing the WINZ database and “by deception and without claim of right” gaining access to a person’s home address. Evans pleaded guilty and appeared at Auckland District Court before Judge Rob Ronayne for sentencing.

The court was informed Evans had called Work and Income New Zealand and provided his name as that of the victim. This led to the call taker asking further identification questions which he answered. Although, he couldn’t give the victim’s current home address he did provide a number of relevant previous addresses, convincing the call taker that he was the victim.

Once satisfying the identification checks, Evans then proceeded to ask about the victim’s benefit and requested a break-down of the benefit to be posted to him and for the call taker to advise the address held for the victim. Evans then abruptly ended the call, causing the call taker to become suspicious and refer the incident to a manager. After reviewing the recording of the interview and comparing it to earlier calls with the victim, the Manager contacted police, who subsequently traced the call to Evans.

Ron McQuilter, Chairman of the New Zealand Institute of Private Investigators (NZIPI) told New Zealand Herald that Evans was not a member of the industry body and added “it’s unfortunate that anyone can apply to be a licensed private investigator ... there’s no actual requirement in the act to put forward qualifications or previous experience [to gain a licence]”.

[Source: www.nzherald.co.nz - 3 September 2014]

PI to lose licence

A recent US media report signals an emerging trend of corporations there re-establishing domestically located call centres and increasingly walking away from operating such centres in overseas locations like India, the Philippines and Mexico.

After years of sending call centre jobs offshore US corporations are bringing them back, with a reported 5 million Americans now employed in call centres. Industry observers say this reversal of trend has been driven by changes in technology, rising overseas labour costs and customers demanding better service.

[Source: Detroit Free Press - 4 August 2014]

Do you recall our feature story ‘Unjust Actions’ in the AGENT August-September 2013 edition? This was an

article about Stephen Hartman, a Texan process server who whilst trying to serve process on a judge instead found himself arrested, charged and the victim of a vindictive vendetta.

Hartman had rigorously defended the charges brought against him by taking proceedings alleging Judge Layne Walker and Jefferson County Sheriff had destroyed evidence, tampered with witnesses and obstructed justice.

In August 2014, the charges against the process server of disrupting a court proceeding were dropped with Orange County Judge Troy Johnson dismissing all charges against Stephen Hartman. Subsequently, his employer, Philip Klein, President of Klein Investigations, issued the following statement:

“We contend that Steve Hartman has always been an innocent man. Videotapes don’t lie. It is our sincere hope that the Jefferson County District Attorney’s office, and the Southeast Texas Corruption Task Force, will turn now to those that falsely accused Mr. Hartman. They are the true criminals in this matter. We are proud of Mr. Hartman’s professional behaviour and the leader he has proven himself to be to his company, his family and community.”

[Source: www.beaumontenterprise.com & www.12newsnow.com - 9 August 2014]

REVERSAL of trend

SLOW but just outcome

NEWS

When 17 year old school student Heather Waites of Florida received an automated call from a debt collection firm to

her mobile telephone seeking a person she did not know, she responded they had the wrong number and the message response to her was “I’ll remove this number”. No problems there.

But the calls kept coming … again and again and again - a total of 204 calls with the same computer generated message at the rate of 2 to 3 calls every day!

Waites had no debts owing and none of the calls ever asked for her but always for “Marcie Rodriguez”. She understandably and increasingly got annoyed. She says the messages didn’t allow her to opt out but gave the sole option of “press 1, if you are Marcie Rodriguez”.

She initially chose to ignore the calls and even took to shutting her telephone off for extended periods as some of the calls came whilst she was in class. But this created a problem when her grandfather was in hospital and her mother was unable to reach her.

When the agency made its 168th call to Heather, her mother

Patricia intervened and selected option 1 - this transferred the call to a real person allowing her to explain Marcie Rodriguez was not known and to get a promise that the number would be removed from the agency’s call list.

But again the calls kept coming and so the family got a lawyer - under US federal legislation, specifically the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) which restricts telephone solicitation, unwanted robocalls to mobile phones are illegal and companies placing such calls can be held liable for between US$500 up to $1,500 for each unsolicited call.

The company behind the robocalls, Diversified Consultants Inc claims the continued calls were a case of human error - its COO Gordon Beck is reported as saying “we do our best every single day to make sure things like that do not happen”. He says: “We make anywhere from 1 to 1.3 million calls a day”.

Heather Waites and her family are suing Diversified Consultants for the unwanted calls to her mobile telephone and are hoping to turn her annoying experience into extra money.

[Source: www.abcnews.go.com - 29 July 2014]

ROBOCALLS nightmare

A recent report in The Boston Globe raises concern over a development in the US where auto financiers have the ability in the event of overdue payments for a

financed vehicle to activate a device preventing the vehicle from operating.It doesn’t take much thought to work out there will be many situations where the

activation of such a device will be more than just inconvenient for the borrower but also potentially dangerous.

A 39.7 degree Celsius fever flaring up in a 10 year old child with asthma would worry most parents and this was the case cited in the article for one mother in Las Vegas who tried to drive her daughter for emergency medical treatment only to discover her vehicle wouldn’t start. The problem wasn’t mechanical, it was a 3 day late payment of her monthly instalment causing the financier to immobilise the vehicle. The single mother describes she felt helpless when she had to find and pay $389 to the financier in order to get her vehicle operating.

The way the system works is that before sub-prime customers can drive off with their newly purchased car, they must have their car outfitted with a starter interrupt device allowing the lender to remotely disable the ignition and also via GPS technology on the devices the opportunity to track the car’s location and movements. Reportedly, the devices have been fitted to about 2 million vehicles in the US.

These devices are said to be reshaping the dynamics of US auto lending by making timely payments as vital to driving a car as fuel. As proliferation of the devices continues, so too do complaints from troubled borrowers about the impact upon their privacy and dignity.

Borrowers who have had the devices activated by their financiers report they have found themselves stranded in dangerous neighbourhoods - others say their vehicles have been disabled whilst idling at stoplights - one woman insists her car was shut down whilst driving along a freeway although the lender concerned denied this was at all possible.

If all of this wasn’t troublesome enough for the borrowers, they report the devices emit audible warning beeps, increasing in frequency as the due date for their loan approaches.

Financiers and the device manufacturers point out the borrowers provide the consent for the installation and use of the devices and that without the devices many might not actually qualify for auto finance due to the high risk nature of the loans.

[Source: The Boston Globe - 25 September 2014]

TECHNOLOGY concerns

| AGENT | Oct/Nov 2014 | www.imal.com.au6

Thanks again to all the members who have chosen to become sponsor supporters of the IMA for 2014-15.

Just a reminder though, in order for us to add your logo to the web banner and to include a classified ad for you at the IMA website, requires you to do some simple tasks:• send your business logo and• your website addressto [email protected].

THANK you

We’ll establish the facts.

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IMA - Final 21.7.14.pdf 1 7/21/2014 1:55:56 PM

www.idsgroup.com.au

07 3862 [email protected]

MelbourneBrisbane

IDS Group have been providing a wide range of investigation services throughout Australia and abroad since 1983.

We deliver credible evidence and factual analysis to assist you in making informed decisions.

We take pride in providing a service of the highest quality.

Please contact IDS Group for further information.

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IMA Ad - IDS Group.pdf 1 15/09/2014 3:16:21 PM

FEATURE

In late 2012, my firm IDS Group was briefed by the Board of Professional Engineers Queensland (BPEQ) to undertake an

investigation in relation to NZ born Gerald Morton Shirtcliff. Allegedly, Shirtcliff had assumed the identity of William Anthony Fisher, an engineer he had worked with in South Africa during 1968 to 1969.

The IDS Investigation Team led by myself and Steve Peacock and involving fellow IMA member Michael Rumore in NSW and overseas investigators gathered evidence which directly led to a successful prosecution for offences against the Professional Engineers Act 2002 (Queensland). Evidence revealed that this fraud which has attracted strong media interest had continued for 45 years over four continents before finally being brought to a stop.

The briefOur client’s interest was that Shirtcliff was still passing

himself off as Fisher whilst working as a professional engineer in Queensland. The allegations received by BPEQ asserted Shirtcliff had never achieved the necessary qualifications - instead he had reportedly stolen the degree document from Fisher and then falsely adopted his name.

The background we received was the real William Fisher graduated as a Bachelor of Engineering from Sheffield University England in 1967 and Shirtcliff whilst sharing a flat with Fisher in South Africa had taken and used the degree document to gain engineering employment in Australia and to gain entry to the University of NSW Master’s program. Allegedly, Shirtcliff also used the degree in conjunction with other material to become an accredited Professional Engineer with BPEQ. The real William Anthony Fisher was understood to now reside in England and had no knowledge of Shirtcliff ’s activities.

BPEQ instructed IDS to undertake enquiries in Australia, New Zealand and England to determine whether the allegations were true and if so gather evidence suitable for a prosecution against Shirtcliff under the Professional Engineers Act 2002 (Queensland).

Investigations in relation to Shirtcliff aka Fisher (the Subject) involved the following:

• Australia:o Developing a background profile of the Subject; o Enquiries to locate and interview witnesses; o Enquiries with the University of NSW; o National enquiries with Births and Deaths registries.

• New Zealand: o Developing a background profile of the Subject; o Confirmation of the identities used there;

o Confirmation if available of any related fraud charge/s, conviction and outcome;

o Obtaining any relevant available court documentation.

• England: o Contacting the University

of Sheffield and verifying the authenticity of the Bachelor of Engineering Degree document as used by the Subject including obtaining what records were accessible to identify personal information about the recipient of the degree;

o Identifying and locating the real William Anthony Fisher; and

o Interviewing the real William Anthony Fisher to obtain a statement and copies of identification documents.

Advancing these lines of enquiry provided substantial evidentiary material for the investigation.

AustraliaWe developed a detailed background profile of the Subject

confirming the names he had used, addresses, property ownership, company and business interests and civil court records. Companies and property connections in Queensland established the Subject operated entities under both Shirtcliff and Fisher identities.

Enquiries were made with the University of New South Wales in relation to a Masters of Engineering Science qualification granted to Subject under the assumed identity, William Fisher. In November 2012 the university advised investigators that the degree of Master of Engineering Science in Highway Engineering

MORE than a little lie!An international investigation to determine the truth behind a long standing identity theft led to a successful prosecution of the fraudster, reports Peter Harkin.


9

FEATURE

awarded to the Subject as William Fisher on 17 April 1974 was revoked on 20 November 2012.

Employment enquiries confirmed that the Subject as William Fisher had been employed by a Queensland engineering firm under a contract employment arrangement.

New Zealand Our NZ enquiries established

the Subject was recorded there and was formerly involved with three companies, all of which were subject

to financial difficulties. Investigations determined the Subject was adjudicated bankrupt

on 27 February 2006 in the Christchurch High Court and subsequently automatically discharged from bankruptcy on 27 February 2009.

We also identified numerous media references to the Subject predominantly in comprehensive articles related to the Commission of Inquiry into the Christchurch Earthquake building collapses.

Records were also located detailing the Subject had a 2005 NZ Court appearance and subsequent fraud conviction. Enquiries revealed the fraud committed by the Subject related to the sale of one of his businesses. He was convicted and sentenced to 20 months prison, although the Judge left it open for the Subject to apply for home detention, which he appears to have successfully done.

United KingdomThe crucial element of this investigation

was locating the real William Fisher and interviewing him as to his knowledge of the alleged fraud. Did he know of Shirtcliff ’s activities? Was he somehow involved and would he co-operate with investigators?

These were questions discussed by the investigation team at the time.

In conjunction with our UK based colleagues, investigators located the real William Anthony Fisher residing in Exeter England. In October 2012, our UK based investigators attended the real Mr Fisher’s residence and met with him. He confirmed that he had no prior knowledge of Shirtcliff ’s activities, was not involved and was willing to fully co-operate with investigators. This was the breakthrough the investigation team were hoping for.

Fisher confirmed that he knew Shirtcliff as they had worked together in Pretoria, South Africa in 1969 and had resided in a flat together for 6 to 8 months. At that time, Fisher was a graduate engineer whilst Shirtcliff was a junior technician. It is believed that it was during that period, Shirtcliff took the original of Fisher’s degree document - Fisher recalled he had returned to the UK to get married in 1969 and when he returned to Pretoria, he discovered his University degree certificate was missing and he never found it again.

Fisher provided a detailed statement, a number of key documents and photographs including a copy of his degree document and identification documents.

IDS investigators also undertook enquiries with the University of Sheffield in England concerning the original degree document issued in 1967. Upon consent being provided by the real William Fisher, the University provided verification of the Qualifications and confirmed William Anthony Fisher had graduated on 15 July 1967 being awarded a Bachelor of Engineering with a Class One. The university provided copies of the original examination records and a student photograph for Civil Engineering students

for the relevant period, in which the real William Fisher could be readily identified.

Tying it all togetherAll enquiries, documents and other evidence

were collated back in our Brisbane office and a detailed report for BPEQ compiled together with a briefing on the investigation’s results. Subsequently together with BPEQ appointed lawyers a number of further enquiries were completed by IDS investigators during the brief of evidence preparation stage.


The tragedy of the Christchurch earthquake on 22 February 2011 was the catalyst for unravelling the lies previously undetected and shaping Shirtcliff ’s life. In

2011, he was living and working in Brisbane. He was then aged 66 years, a husband, father, grandfather and seemingly respected professional. He had a home, a late model Mercedes and a $200,000 13 metre motor cruiser aptly named “Vagabond” moored in Manly Boat Harbour, Brisbane.

The earthquake wreaked devastation on Christchurch and its citizens and whilst many buildings were damaged, only two actually collapsed. One of those collapsed buildings was the six storey CTV Building occupied by Canterbury Television constructed in 1986-7. 115 persons were killed in the building collapse and subsequent fire whilst many others suffered significant injuries.

In 2012, Shirtcliff achieved some notoriety by refusing initially to appear before the NZ Royal Commission Inquiry into the collapse of the CTV building. Lawyers assisting the commission accused him of distancing himself from responsibility for the construction despite Shirtcliff being the construction manager of the building project.

“A Life of Lies” was an investigative report into Shirtcliff published by The Press (Press.co.nz) in September 2012 - it provides an amazing account of the journey of Shirtcliff ’s life. From that source and other media reports both in New Zealand and Australia including a 60 Minutes story we have been able to put together this extraordinary background of this long term fraudster:

• Born in 1945, Shirtcliff although bright did not achieve academically at school. • He first worked with a bank in Wellington and then with an insurer - associates

from that period say Shirtcliff “had a proclivity for telling lies”. He moved on from those jobs to train for his commercial pilot’s licence.

• In 1968, his father arranged him work with a friend’s (Piet van Zyl) firm of consulting engineers in South Africa. Shirtcliff claims to have “rose quickly through the ranks and was soon supervising construction projects and, with a new ‘airline transport’ rating, flew staff to remote locations in the company aircraft”.

• Niek Diedericks knew him there: he and Shirtcliff were “technical assistants with no supervisory responsibilities”. He doesn’t recall Shirtcliff doing any flying but recalls his claim he was in South Africa to escape the NZ war draft for service in Vietnam - NZ had no such war draft!

• The two men were friends with young English engineer, William Anthony Fisher. Fisher had recently graduated from the University of Sheffield. The three used to go camping and drinking together.

• Fisher hadn’t heard of the “escaping the war draft” story but instead recalls Shirtcliff asserted he had left NZ to escape an arranged marriage.

• Fisher and Shirtcliff flatted together for about 8 months - he recalls him as being “good company but I was disturbed by the lies” he told. He describes Shirtcliff as “pretty bright” and “always keen to learn how things were done”.

• Diedericks says Shirtcliff left the employment under a cloud, due to an incident over Shirtcliff allegedly forging a partner in the firm Piet van Zyl’s signature on a cheque and cashing it.

• By late 1969, Shirtcliff left South Africa for Sydney ready to start afresh - he even had a new name, William Anthony Fisher.

• Not content with just the name, he also adopted Fisher’s birthdate, birthplace and engineering qualification. Using Fisher’s Bachelor of Engineering he gained entry

FEATURE

CAREER liarThe Subject was subsequently prosecuted by BPEQ - the case finally reaching a successful conclusion in the Queensland Magistrates Court in July 2014.

The Magistrate determined that whilst registered with BPEQ as a Registered Professional Engineer in Queensland (RPEQ) based upon the false identity and the fraudulent use of Fisher’s university qualifications, the Subject had carried out “significant and complicated professional engineering services with respect to large coal projects, mining projects and civil infrastructure projects ... coal handling and preparation plant, bulk earthworks, haul routes, ... construction pads, stormwater design, drainage, erosion, heavy plant, ventilation, tailings ... Any deficiency in the engineering calculations ... could have very serious consequences in terms of injury to persons, damage to property and... failure of the projects concerned”.

The Subject worked on the CTV Building in Christchurch supervising its construction - that building collapsed in the Christchurch earthquakes on 22 February 2011, killing 115 people. He featured in the subsequent New Zealand Royal Commission into the Christchurch earthquakes in relation to his role supervising the construction of the CTV Building.

Whilst in Queensland, the Subject worked on major projects for engineering firms including Worley Parsons Limited and Sedgman Limited. The Brisbane Times reported in August 2014 that a spokesman for Queensland Housing and Public Works Minister, Tim Mander that the Subject’s most recent employers had reviewed his work and “reported no concerns”.

Gerald Morton Shirtcliff aka William Anthony Fisher was convicted of 146 offences against the Professional Engineers Act 2002 (Queensland) - he pleaded guilty to the charges including carrying out professional engineering services while not a registered engineer and making “false and misleading” statements to BPEQ.

This was BPEQ’s largest ever prosecution for offences against the Act and although Shirtcliff walked free from court he was fined $500,000 and ordered to pay $20,000 in professional costs. ■

As the previous article details the incredible 45 year journey of deceit and fraudulent activity by Gerald Morton Shirtcliff aka William Anthony Fisher aka Will Fisher all started when he stole the identity and engineering qualification of his flatmate.

10| AGENT | Oct/Nov 2014 | www.imal.com.au

to the master’s programme at the University of NSW in 1971 and the following year to become a member of the Institute of Engineers in Australia. In 1974 he was awarded a Masters of Engineering in highway engineering.

• Initially working for a period as a project manager in Sydney, he also worked for a time as a fleet manager for Streets Ice Cream before joining as a qualified engineer MacDonald, Wagner Priddle which later became Connell Wagner.

• He moved in the mid 1980s to Christchurch, under his original name. There he met a commercial pilot, Murray Cresswell who was contemplating setting up a regional airline. This idea appealed to Shirtcliff, who offered to invest - he took on a management role in Goldfields Air and convinced other stakeholders of his big plans for the airline, which Cresswell viewed as unrealistic causing the 2 men to fall out - the airline failed in 1986.

• In 1986, Shirtcliff joined Williams Construction which was contracted to build the CTV building. To the Royal Commission he claimed he visited the construction site

only about once a month because it was a straightforward job. Shirtcliff continued as construction manager for a new company (Union Construction) set up by Tony Scott, quantity surveyor for Williams) and Michael Brooks (Managing Director of Williams) - Union took over the CTV job and the building was finished towards the end of 1987.

• Ultimately both Williams and Union failed and Tony Scott and Shirtcliff set up their own construction company, with Shirtcliff looking after practical aspects on site and Scott in charge of the office and finances. Scott recalls “I have to say Gerry was generally capable and conscientious … he was a hard driver and sometimes I would have to tell him this wasn’t South Africa. He wasn’t well liked. Although things turned sour at the end, we had a good partnership and didn’t interfere with each other’s jobs”.

• After Scott Shirtcliff Ltd Shirtcliff started up another venture based on setting up hamburger outlets in service stations. In October 1992, Autoburger Ltd was created - it eventually changed its name to Langford Services and went into liquidation in 1999.

• Interestingly, in the 90s, Shirtcliff also worked 8 months for March Construction as an in-house engineer on a sewerage pipeline. Owner Edwin March recalls during that time he discovered Shirtcliff wasn’t registered as an engineer in NZ and queried him about this and was told he was registered in Australia under the Fisher name.

FEATURE

We felt sorry for the poor old bugger … He convinced us he was innocent. He had a lovely smile and came across

as a kind grandfatherly type of guy



FEATURE

• March told NZ Police in a statement made in March 2003 Shirtcliff had been the ‘house’ engineer in 1993-4 and again in 1998 when employed as a consultant.

• According to March, Shirtcliff had signed off an engineer’s design certification on a sheet pile wall in Christchurch using the name Shirtcliff and giving a registration number - another engineering firm queried that certification. When confronted, Shirtcliff said he used his Australian registration, which was under the name William Fisher. The Police statement details that “he told me the reason for using another name was because his father had hated him so he was brought up by his aunts in London and renamed”.

• Next Shirtcliff set up a Nationwide Service Centre franchise and although the business was busy it wasn’t profitable and so by 1997 Shirtcliff was ready again to move on. Eric and Kay Zust of Queensland were keen to move to Christchurch where their children were in boarding school - although knowing nothing about the automotive trade they looked at acquiring the business but initial negotiations stalled. About 12 months later, Shirtcliff recontacted the Zusts claiming the business had experienced phenomenal growth and produced the GST figures to prove it - the Zusts bought the business. Shirtcliff stayed on for 2 weeks before moving to Australia, taking the business records with him.

• Eric Zust was suspicious and checked the previous GST returns filed with the authorities and compared them to the ones provided by Shirtcliff - they were totally different and he realised the business would fail. He hung on for a year, paid the creditors and virtually gave the business to its employees.

• Zust pursued Shirtcliff over the scammed sale and in December 2000, the NZ High Court awarded the couple NZ$640,000 in damages and costs. They also pressed the

NZ Police to act - Shirtcliff was arrested in Brisbane in 2003 and insisted he was not Gerald Shirtcliff despite a car registered in the name of his daughter Kate Shirtcliff being in his driveway.

• Eventually, Shirtcliff agreed to return to Christchurch to face charges and in 2005 was found guilty of fraud and jailed for 20 months by Christchurch District Court Judge Murray Abbott, who described him as “grossly dishonest” and noted his actions displayed “patent criminality”.

• Shirtcliff ’s imprisonment was short lived remaining in gaol for only two weeks before his lawyer got his sentence changed to home detention with fellow franchisees in the failed Nationwide network, Phil Stanley and Sue Lyons agreeing to take him in.

• Stanley & Lyons treated Shirtcliff like a member of their family. Stanley said “none of his family wanted him and we felt sorry for the poor old bugger … he convinced us he was innocent. He had a lovely smile and came across as a kind grandfatherly type of guy … he was a pretty sharp character but we sort of admired him”. Lyons cooked and cleaned for him. Shirtcliff helped out with the paperwork of the couple’s auto service business to pay his way.

• Stanley over the preceding 10 years had developed a dual-fuel injection system for diesel engines and had a diesel generator set up to run on ethanol, methanol, LPG or diesel, running on a test bed in his workshop. Usually he insisted on any interested parties signing a confidentiality agreement before explaining the engine design but he trusted his friend Shirtcliff and spent a lot of time explaining to him the invention.

• According to Stanley as soon as the home detection bracelet was removed, Shirtcliff ’s wife arrived and they headed off to the airport and left NZ. He says there was “No goodbye. No nothing.”

• Returning to Australia Shirtcliff took up his life again as Will Fisher in Brisbane. He told some wealthy investors of his idea for a dual-fuel system. Brisbane contractor Wayne Smith paid him $1000 a week to develop the idea and get it working.

• Eight months after he left Christchurch, a company called DGC Industries of which Shirtcliff ’s wife Julie Rook was a director and shareholder filed a patent for a dual-fuel system for diesel engines - the inventor named on the documentation was Will Fisher.

• Stanley only learnt of the patent application from The Press in September 2012. “He is a lifetime cheat … He’s done it to everybody. He has no compunction.” According to Stanley, the patent documents filed had changed his invention slightly but not much.

Shirtcliff ’s past has caught up with him. As is often the case with career fraudsters, a close associate who declined to be named by The Press claims the fraud and deception was unnecessary: “He was bright enough and hard-working enough to have achieved it all honestly. It’s such a waste and he has done so much damage to his family, to others and to himself.” ■

13

CONFERENCE

Join us next year at The Langham in

Melbourne from Thursday 21 May

to Saturday 23 May for the

2015 IMA National Conference.

Expressions of interest welcome for sessions, speakers

and sponsorships. Email [email protected]

or phone 02 4927 0477



Do you ever wonder about the extent of fraud in government projects? It is

seemingly massive given all we have heard just in media accounts of the ineffective controls in the implementation of the Pink Batts and School Halls schemes rolled out by the former Federal government in response to the Global Financial Crisis.

The detection of fraud and dealing with the victims plays a large part in the work many IMA members undertake on a daily basis. A lot of energy is expended by scammers and the clean-up of the havoc they wreak on businesses and individuals is similarly immense.

At the heart of a scam recently described as one of the most successful crime stories ever in the US were motorised wheelchairs!

The wheelchair scam started in the 1990s but the sophisticated enormity of it has only just been fully understood through US court proceedings this year. Since 1999, US Medicare, a federal health insurance program for those aged over 65 spent US$8.2 billion to buy power wheelchairs and ‘scooters’ for 2.7 million people - but it is now clear a vast amount of that money was paid out to scammers. The US government can’t determine how many of the claims paid were actually bogus.

Even more alarming was that this scam revealed a critical failure point in the bureaucracy supervising the health insurance program - its defences against fraud at best were weak. Whilst the US government learnt of the wheelchair scam in 1998, it took 15 years to finally plug the holes which allowed the scammers to succeed.

This delayed response to plugging the holes perhaps is not surprising when it is considered that in FY2013 alone, US

Medicare paid out almost US$50 billion in “improper payments” being payments which on further scrutiny contained mistakes and ought not have been paid. The extent of those mistakes which were deliberate frauds as opposed to being due to innocent errors is not apparent.

This scam exploited blind spots in US Medicare, relying upon the fact the provider often paid insurance claims without checking them first. The lack of scrutiny allowed criminals to set up a lucrative trade. Posing as medical supply companies, they generated fake invoices for the provision of expensive wheelchairs to Medicare patients, even though the patients didn’t even need such aids. They then presented the invoices to US Medicare and pocketed the huge mark-up the government paid on each chair.

Claims must be paid out by US Medicare within 30 days according to legislation - the organisation receives about 4.9 million claims every day. Within that short time frame, the organisation is required to filter out frauds - this is an impossible task, so the system copes by using a procedure known as ‘pay and chase’. Only some 3% or less of total claims are actually reviewed by a live person prior to payments - the other 97% if reviewed at all, are examined after the payment has been made.

Reportedly the wheelchair scam first surfaced in the mid 1990s in Miami, a city with a large elderly population and very active professional scammers. A former Justice Department official from that period recalls the investigations uncovering those early frauds - elderly people when visited in their homes were found to be walking and mobile but often had a wheelchair (then valued about US$2,500) in their home with household clutter stored on the wheelchair.

Investigators would ask “why do you have this wheelchair?” only to receive responses such as “they told me I could have this, so I took it”.

Growth in claimsBy the early 2000s this scam had spread

further afield to Houston, Texas. Houston proved to be a growth market for the scammers - in 2001, Medicare rebated for only 3,000 power wheelchairs in the county which included Houston but the following year, it paid for 31,000 wheelchairs!

The scam spread to Louisiana, Arkansas, California and then finally nationwide. Back in 1994 only 1 in 9,000 Medicare claim recipients obtained a new wheelchair

FORUM

CAREER fraudsters

they told me I could have this, so I took it

The US Medicare frauds were frustrating and obvious to staff. One fraud investigator with the US Department of Health & Human Services, Mike Fields told the Washington Post: “an agent in Little Rock witnessed a scooter race in one of the neighbourhoods. Old people. One of them had attached an ice chest to it … It just gets your blood up, you know. Knowing how much we’d paid for them.”


- the scams soon skewed those figures, such that less than 10 years later, by 2002, it was 1 in every 242 claimants who received a wheelchair!

Closer scrutiny of the claims submitted would also have shown that initially power wheelchairs were mostly prescribed for significant illnesses such as multiple sclerosis or Parkinson’s disease whereas under the full power of the scam, the typical claimant’s diagnosis increasingly changed to include back pain and arthritis.

Corrupting the processLegitimate medical suppliers only act

to supply wheelchairs after a patient sees a doctor who recommends the aid. The

scamming suppliers instead reversed the process by seeking out patients and a doctor to sign off on the aid request. Often they used ‘recruiters’ who would induce seniors to hand over their Medicare ID numbers even sometimes paying them a bribe. Usually, though the inducement was as simple as telling the patient “the government is offering free wheelchairs, but only for a limited time, if you don’t act now…”

For the Medicare scam to work, the scammers needed a doctor to sign the request. This could be achieved by paying a set price for each bogus request to a corrupt doctor or as apparently occurred sometimes they corrupted deceased doctors. This latter process was as simple as writing to Medicare under the recently deceased doctor’s name to advise a change of address to achieve a redirection of the doctor’s mail including his Medicare provider’s number and thereby facilitating for the scammer the opportunity to write false scripts for the wheelchair aids.

Finally, the process was complete when the claim relating to the patient was lodged with Medicare which then paid the supplier (scammer).

Big rewardsYou might ask were all the elaborate

efforts worthwhile? The answer is an emphatic yes! Although the power wheelchairs typically cost the supplier no more than US$840, Medicare used to set its rebates based upon manufacturers’ recommended retail prices and so would rebate almost US$5,000 for each power wheelchair supplied.

Local lessonsWe don’t suggest this exact same scam

is being perpetrated in Australia but we would all be naïve to think that fraudulent activity is not about us - for ongoing financial security as individuals and businesses there is a need for constant vigilance. Fraudulent activity also presents real opportunity to those members able to support businesses and government in fraud detection and recovery services. ■

[Source: www.washingtionpost.com - 16 August 2014]

FORUM

“I said I didn’t need it” Heriberto Cortez, 73, testified in a LA Court when a scammer was being prosecuted.

He was recalling the day when a stranger (allegedly one of the patient recruiters) came to his house and offered him a wheelchair. He declined but the recruiter didn’t listen.

“She insisted” Cortez said “she said that they were giving the chairs away.”

Later in the same trial, 71 year old Rodolfo Fernandez testified a woman showed up at his house and asked whether he was on Medicare - he was.

The following day, she came back with a van loaded with other seniors. “They took us to a clinic…they did an exam on us” Fernandez recalled with the assistance of a Spanish interpreter.

Fernandez told the court the clinic was in a second-floor walk-up and “I had to climb the stairs”, Fernandez said, in order for the doctor to proclaim him unfit to climb stairs!

Prosecutors allege that after seeing the doctor both Cortez and Fernandez got power wheelchairs from the scamming company, which sent Medicare the bills and Medicare paid.


FORUM

Undoubtedly, increased competition and new technologies have

delivered great benefits to Australian businesses in recent years yet because of a preoccupation with running their businesses many enterprises miss out on the available substantial savings and new services which would dramatically improve their business efficiencies.

The IMA in recent months has been talking with CUBE Voice & Data (CUBE) with the aim of developing a process for members to analyse their communication needs and receive recommendations for the best solution without distracting you from managing your business.

CUBE has built strong relationships with the most reliable Australian communication providers ensuring your business can access the most cost effective communication solution for your operations through the best available telecommunication products and services. Its partnerships enable it to provide your business with the best of breed products including:

• Fixed Voice Telephony (PSTN,ISDN,SIP)

• Business Grade Internet (ADSL2, NBN, Mid-Band Ethernet, Wireless, Fibre, IPVPN)

• Hosted Solutions (Desktop as a Service)

• Office Phone Systems (Supply, Install, Maintain)

• Video Conferencing (Permanent/Temporary, Buy or Rent).

At the core of its business model is CUBE’s commitment to the principles of accountability, integrity, fairness and transparency in all its business relationships with clients and suppliers. CUBE is now available to members for the provision of sound, ethical and practical advice; to oversee the implementation of any recommended solution; and available for any ongoing assistance required.

Trent Goodall, CEO of CUBE told the AGENT: “We only use well-proven technology - this is so that in addition to great savings, our clients can be assured of the great quality of service delivery. We are committed to providing 24/7 support for all services via a call back service. Additionally, CUBE provides billing, fault reporting and account enquiries all through our dedicated Australian based customer services department”.

The AGENT has invited CUBE in coming editions to contribute a series of articles to outline, explain and examine the array of products which so often confuse

business operators due to the use of acronyms with suppliers assuming the type of service offering is actually understood. The aim is to explain how each technology can be best used to facilitate your business operations to increase overall productivity whilst hopefully reducing overheads along the way - CUBE will also detail an exclusive offer to IMA members relating to the presented products.

Fixed Voice TelephonyThis product will probably be familiar to

many members but some may be unaware of the pros and cons of the various service types existing under the “Fixed Telephony” banner. There are three main components of Fixed Telephony available through CUBE being: PSTN, ISDN and VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol):

• PSTN (Analogue) – Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) refers to the international telephone system based upon traditional copper wires carrying analogue voice data. A PSTN service is also sometimes referred to as a “plain old telephone service” or POTS. This is in contrast to newer telephone networks based upon digital technologies, such as ISDN.

PSTN lines are most commonly are

COMMUNICATION clarityTelephone and data costs for some business operators are seen as a fact of life and an aspect they have little control over. In the first of a series of articles, the AGENT sets out to provide some clarity on the communication choices available to members.

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for residential use and in smaller to medium businesses where call volumes are low as this type of service can be operated without a complex phone system setup. Despite the introduction of digital lines, analogue lines continue to occupy a small (but necessary) space in the mid-market to enterprise communications market.

The presence of a physical copper line is still required for the operation of back-to-base alarm systems and fax machines, being integral to the security and operations of many organizations. Another benefit of a PSTN line is it is unaffected by power outages and can still be operated during a failure (providing the handset connected does not require power).

• ISDN (Digital) – Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) is a circuit-switched telephone network system, which also provides access to packet switched networks, designed to allow digital transmission of voice and data over ordinary telephone copper wires, resulting in potentially better voice quality than an analogue phone can provide.

The digital capabilities of ISDN lines allow for additional features analogue (PSTN) lines are not capable of, for example if your phone system has the capability, ISDN will allow transfer of a call externally to an employee’s mobile. Due to ease of scalability and

capacity, ISDN lines are suited more towards mid to larger businesses requiring more complex functions and call management for day to day operations.

• SIP (VoIP) - Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) is an application-layer control protocol, specifically a signalling protocol, for Internet Telephony and therefore requiring an internet connection to function.

SIP can establish sessions for features such as audio/video conferencing and call forwarding to be deployed over IP networks, thus enabling service providers to integrate basic IP telephony services. Because SIP solutions can be deployed without the need for expensive infrastructure or maintenance, it is an ideal solution to minimise ongoing costs for small to enterprise business needs.

Each access type has its own distinct advantages and disadvantages. Careful analysis of your business needs, combined with an understanding of your current and future business needs will allow CUBE to design a suitable solution for your business. Solutions may utilise single or multiple uses of these connection types in order to ensure a robust, efficient and overall reliable communications environment.

Many carriers of Fixed Voice Telephony in today’s communications market charge what is commonly referred to as a ‘flag

fall’ or a connection fee. Put simply this is the cost the carrier charges you to connect your service with the person you are calling - generating a steady guaranteed income for the carrier whilst imposing a cost for your business.

As an alternative to the flag fall, some carriers charge a ‘minimum call fee’. This is most commonly noted as a ‘minimum one minute charge’ or similar in the footnotes of the brochure or contract the carrier presents to you. Such a charging regime means that the moment the call connects you may be charged for a minimum one minute of usage regardless of the call duration! This quickly adds up given your business is paying for a minimum one minute (some carriers impose charges up to 37c/minute) even if only connected to a voicemail briefly.

Exclusive offerCUBE extends an exclusive offer to

all IMA members to waive all flag fall and minimum connection fee charges on its Fixed Voice Telephony Suite. Members taking up the offer stand to save their business potentially hundreds if not thousands of dollars annually in communication costs! ■

CUBE has a dedicated account manager as a single point of contact for IMA members looking to use CUBE for their information and communication technology needs. To take advantage of the above offer contact Rhys Wawryck on 1300 884 884 or email him directly on [email protected].


REGULATORY UPDATE

DEBT collection guidelineAs reported in previous editions, the revised Debt Collection Guideline jointly published by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) was released on 8 July 2014.

Members will have mostly reviewed and taken account of the 2014 guideline in their business operations by now.

Our sincere thanks go to IMA member Collection House Limited which has kindly shared a detailed review of the 2014 guideline undertaken by its Corporate Solicitor, Justin O’Flaherty and this has been added to the Members Only area at www.imal.com.au for the benefit of all members.

The resource online includes a marked up version of the 2014 guideline together with a very useful matrix developed by Justin contrasting the 2014 guideline to corresponding sections of the 2005 guideline. In the marked up version of the guideline, new insertions have been highlighted and marked as ‘New’ whilst amendments have been underlined and marked as ‘Amended’.

Justin’s review matrix highlights the new sections of the 2014 guideline and provides a useful road map for areas and potential obligations warranting consideration by members, such as:

Part 2.3 What is contact?Part 2.11 Providing information and documents This includes a whole additional section in relation to assignees (debt buyers)Part 2.13 If liability is disputed New section on assignment of debts New section if the identity of the debtor is disputedPart 2.23 Compliance programsPart 3.2 Trespass Entering private property to take possession of secured goods Trespass to landPart 3.3 Prohibition on misleading or deceptive conduct Engage in ‘conduct’ Misleading or deceptive or likely to mislead or deceive’Part 3.5 Enforcement and remedies for breaching Commonwealth consumer protection laws Infringement notices


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Whilst on the issue of the 2014 guideline, IMA member Daniel Steers of Derwent Mercantile who regularly undertakes repossession services has raised some concerns about the newly included guidance on trespass and specifically whether there might be need to gather specific clarification.

The guidance causing concern appears on Page 48 of the guideline under Trespass to Land:

“…an agent must not enter private land (both residential and commercial) to take possession of secured goods unless … the agent has:• a court order authorising entry; or• the express consent of the occupier.Otherwise, the …agent is trespassing on the occupier’s land. The mere existence of a debt, or a right to give notice in relation to a debt, does not create a right to enter premises where the requisite consent has not been given.”

Daniel’s concern with such guidance which is shared by Travis Carter, the IMA’s Repossessions Sector Chair, is in relation to dealing with unregulated contracts as previously the industry has understood all that is required is the implied consent of the occupier (i.e. access to the asset is free of any item blocking it such as a closed or locked gate, roller door, other vehicle etc) and that such consent is given, up until the point it is expressly withdrawn, such as by the placing of a ‘no trespassing’ sign or upon the direction of an occupant to leave.

This matter has been now raised with ASIC to clarify the guidance expressed in the 2014 guideline. ASIC have indicated they are willing to review the guidance and if appropriate to provide some additional clarification.

We will keep members advised of any developments on this aspect. ■

TRESPASS guidance

FORUM

Digital Recognition Network’s (DRN) data analytics and solutions are

adding up to big dollars for lenders and repossession companies in the US and now those solutions are beginning to taking hold down under. In fact, recently one of Australia’s top banks shared with us that they had written off in excess of $90 million of “auto related” bad debt in FY 2013. DRN’s license plate recognition recovery solutions can help to recover that debt faster and easier.

License Plate Recognition (LPR) capture automates a process that has been done manually for many years - capturing publicly available information. Every car has a license plate. License plate readers photograph license plates in public spaces, and in plain view. They capture the plate number, vehicle location, time and date of the recording. DRN then takes that data, and plugs it into its analytic engine - the data becomes valuable intelligence capable of transforming auto recovery processes, and substantially increasing revenue for all concerned.

In the US, companies have been realising

substantial returns on investment with DRN’s solutions for many years and now they are bringing that technology to Australia. Every 1000 vehicles put into the DRN network for repossession translates into a $1 million portfolio impact.

DRN customer, Frank Massey with Stinger Certified Asset Recovery reports “license plate technology has enabled our company to recover vehicles faster and more efficiently for our clients. The ability to pick up vehicles quickly and with less resources expended, has allowed us to dominate our market, as well as to expand our operations into other areas of the state. The ability to use historical scan data enables us to go to where we have previously seen the vehicle and has been a major factor in our growth and success.”

DRN has got you coveredRepossession agents and banks that

deployed LPR for recovery in the US quickly discovered the power of LPR to increase their volume and profits. In turn, LPR use skyrocketed. Data collection nearly doubles annually, and now DRN’s technology captures 80,000,000 hits per month across North America. In Australia, law enforcement already deploys LPR to help solve crimes and locate criminals. Now, it is going to be available to private enterprise as well and done at a cost that is available to all, regardless of how large or small your agency may be.

Chris Metaxas, CEO of DRN noted “we have seen the shift of providing LPR-based data and analytics take hold with our customers in a big way. This includes the release and adoption of SmartRecovery, DRN’s subscription based LPR solution. SmartRecovery makes for a smart decision when you consider the benefits - target the right location for pickup, accelerated recovery and the opportunity for shared revenue for data that is shared with the network and leads to recovery.”

Safety and compliance up frontDRN’s solutions operate within a fully

compliant environment. All regulations regarding data capture and privacy use are strictly adhered to. In the US, agents report that over 90% of pickups involve no human interaction, making it much safer and easier for the agents to re-allocate the assets without being put in harm’s way.

Take charge of your recoveryNow is the time to take charge of your

recovery process with LPR data and solutions with the power to transform your business and drive revenue. Stephanie Findley of IR Services out of Houston, Texas reports “before DRN, our company was a repossession company using the same tools as the rest of our competition. Since we started using DRN and the License Plate Recognition technology, we have transformed into a database driven business that uses technology to become a force in our industry. We have actually become a database company that happens to do repossessions for a living. We continue to grow and expand into other markets and the cameras have been invaluable to our ability to grow.”

In 2011, there were over 16,368,383 cars in Australia - with all of those vehicles on the road and millions of dollars in bad auto debt to recover DRN’s Stuart Mallory says “LPR just might be your ticket to higher profits and new revenue streams. Don’t let your competition beat you to the upside in your industry!!” ■[Stuart Mallory is VP of International Sales for DRN, www.DRNData.com - contact Stuart Mallory at [email protected]]

TECHNOLOGY driven resultsThe arrival of new technology appears likely to re-shape the Australian repossessions industry and to enhance the recovery prospects in relation to motor vehicle losses of financiers. The AGENT invited Stuart Mallory of Digital Recognition Network to explain the opportunities for our industry.

Stuart Mallory

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REGULATORY UPDATE

In February this year the Australian Financial Security Authority (AFSA) distributed a Cost Recovery Impact Statement to the

greater industry outlining proposed changes to Debtors Petitions, International Travel and the Bankruptcy Realisation Charges.

Those proposals included:• A fee to file a Debtors Petition under Section 55, 56B and

57 of the Bankruptcy Act 1966 to be introduced and set at $120.00;

• A fee to process a request by an undischarged bankrupt whose bankruptcy is being administered by the Official Trustee for permission to travel overseas pursuant to Section 272(c) to be introduced and set at $150.00

This coupled with an increase in the Realisation Charges of a Trustee (4.7%-6%) were claimed to assist with AFSA becoming a cost neutral organisation. As part of introducing the changes, AFSA called for responses to the proposal from the greater industry.

The IMA responded with a submission arguing the proposed changes should not be implemented as they would adversely affect the ability for a debtor to voluntarily go into bankruptcy. The IMA Submission was in support of various industry bodies such as Financial Counselling Australia, Consumer Action Law Centre (CALC), Consumer Credit Legal Centre, and Footscray Community Legal Centre.

In putting forward the IMA’s position on this matter, IMA CEO Alan Harries noted:

“The IMA agrees with those groups in their expressed view that bankruptcy should not be allowed to become inaccessible to low income debtors “because of the fees and difficulties imposed by authorities” and that rather continued accessibility to bankruptcy not only supports the debtors but also creditors and the entire financial system.”

A reasonable expectation was that with creditor focused industry bodies such as the IMA supporting debtor focused industry bodies AFSA would take heed of the ‘whole market’ and look at alternative ways in which the organisation could become cost neutral. Unfortunately, this was not to be the case and on 1 April 2014 the changes were implemented by AFSA.

Sensing a real and grave injustice by the implementation of the charges, the IMA teamed up with CALC to support that organisation’s application before the Senate for a Disallowance Motion to see the overturn of the Debtors Petition filing fee.

After much lobbying and hard work by CALC on 23 June 2014 the decision to levy a fee for filing a Debtors Petition was overturned and the fee removed. This was a fantastic outcome and demonstrates the people of Australia do still have a voice and should be considered when Government attempts to make decisions which adversely impact the community as a whole.

In preparing this article, it was interesting to note a decline in the incidence of bankruptcies during the 2013-2014 financial years as detailed below:

Debtors Petitions filed on Eastern Seaboard of Australia

State 2013-14 2012-13 % Change

NSW 6,098 6,799 -10.31%

VIC 3,854 4,180 -7.80%

QLD 5,356 6,052 -11.50%

These figures caused me to wonder whether the changes made by AFSA had been a contributing factor to the decline or whether this just a coincidence? ■

[Daniel Taylor is the IMA’s National Vice President - Administration and CEO of Credit Collection Services Group located at Hurstville NSW.]

COMMONSENSE outcomeDaniel Taylor details how a joint effort turned a positive response on AFSA’s changes to Debtor Petition fees.


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Sitting around the table of knowledge the other day with a few colleagues

one of the topics was what motivates us to continue doing what we do in our business lives? One quick response was “school fees” but then we more seriously pondered what drove us to get up each day and face the daily challenges of operating a business not only in our industry but universally.

Each of us had a different answer. Mine was that I can wake up each day and make a difference to the way we do business. I am fuelled by a desire to provide the best possible service I can and ultimately strive to galvanise my team with the same passion to deliver their best and thereby provide our clients with the best experience when dealing with my business.

The passion for our work is what makes us all different but the challenge is how to harness that passion. On top of my list is having a positive mental attitude. Such an attitude can be infectious and eventually creates what I call a ‘business attitude’. You know what I am talking about. It’s when the person who answers the phone sounds like he or she wants to answer the phone! It’s when you are dealing with a problem you actually sound like you care and offer a solution rather than getting your back up and arguing about the issue.

As an example of how to be positive about everything, my business is constantly audited by our larger corporate clients and I often find the auditors walking in somewhat on the back foot thinking we will treat them as some type of enemy. The fact is when my business is audited, I welcome the auditor with open arms as in effect, I have a free fresh set of eyes reviewing our processes from start to finish providing us with a compliance report card that I can then review and make whatever improvements might be

required to bring us up to speed with the latest and greatest compliance regimes.

If you have ever paid for an auditor to come into your business on a commercial basis, you will know that having an auditor provided for free by the industry is a godsend. My point is if you tick the boxes for one client you will no doubt tick the same boxes for the rest.

So what drives you each day? What makes your staff, your agents, your clients excited to do business with you? I think as IMA members we are certainly miles ahead of agents who are not members as we are well informed of industry based issues, well represented to legislators and in a much better place thanks to the hard work of many people who have been associated with the IMA over the past 50 years. What can you do to make a difference to your business and our industry?

Find out the answers to these questions and more by asking yourself, your staff, your agents and even your clients. You might be surprised at what fuels you and them and what passion you might find to instil in your team to make it all happen. Why stop there, I have told you what motivates me, why not ask the same question of other IMA members perhaps at the next IMA National Conference in Melbourne in 2015.

Each of us finding our personal motivation will ensure collectively as IMA Members, we provide the best experience to our clients in the market place.

Regards

Alex Caruana

FROM THE PRESIDENT

Alex Caruana

tick the boxes for one client you will no doubt tick the same boxes for

the rest

IMA President Alex Caruana considers the value of passion in our business performances

PASSION


FraudMany assignments relate to either the

detection of fraud or attempting to assist victims to recover their losses and/or to prosecute fraudsters.

In this edition, our feature on Fraud details work completed by several IMA members in relation to an extraordinary longtale of lies and deception by an individual over 45 years!

Accepting the highlighted investigation involved some unusual circumstances, the reality is many of our members in their skiptracing, repossession and collection activities daily deal with situations where an element of fraudulent activity involved. Members need to keep an objective eye on whether fraud is an element of the specific assignment being worked but they should also recognise providing such detection and assistance presents an enormous business opportunity as their skills are unique and in demand given the under-resourcing evident in modern day policing.

TechnologyNumber plate recognition is soon to be

launched in Australia (see page 20) and be available for private enterprise to access. The company supplying Australian police with their effective number plate recognition tools will soon establish a database populated by static and dynamic scanning of vehicle registration plates. Scanners will be in fixed locations and also mounted as mobile scanners on vehicles - all contributing the collected data and GPS location back to the central database.

Access won’t provide the name and address of the owner of vehicles but subscribers will be able to search on a specific number plate to gather data on when and where the vehicle has been sighted, providing intelligence on where the vehicle might be located for repossession purposes.

This presents a great opportunity however many will be hoping we continue to avoid the negative aggressive aspects of the US repossession industry as seen in various TV shows, replicated here.

GuidanceA very useful resource as detailed on

page 18 is now available online for IMA members to assist in their review of the 2014 Debt Collection Guideline and comparison to the previous version. Collection House Limited has generously shared a marked up version of the 2014 guideline together with a matrix comparing the 2014 and 2005 versions.

Concern over one aspect of the guidance issued in respect to trespass detailed in the 2014 guideline released by the regulators in July 2014 has been identified by members engaged in repossession services - a request has been made to ASIC for clarification of the trespass guidance specifically in relation to unregulated finance contracts and the general concept of implied consent to enter premises.

ConferenceThe dates and venue for the 2015 IMA

National Conference have been set: the event will run from 21 to 23 May 2015 at the Langham Hotel located in Melbourne’s Southbank Casino precinct.

Now is the right time to receive suggestions from members of sessions and speakers they would like to see considered as we build the Conference program - if you have any thoughts or ideas, please let me know.

Cheers

Alan Harries

FROM THE CEO

UPDATEIMA CEO Alan Harries updates members on matters recently crossing his desk

Alan Harries

continue to avoid the negative aggressive

aspects of the US repossession

industry


NETWORK

IMA NATIONAL OFFICE17B Denney StreetBroadmeadow NSW 2292PO Box 233 Waratah NSW 2298Ph: (02) 4927 0477Fax: (02) 4927 [email protected] www.imal.com.au

NATIONAL BOARDNational President Alex CaruanaPh: (02) 8833 3300Fax: 1300 556 [email protected]

National VP Administration Daniel TaylorPh: (02) 8568 6500Fax: (02) 8568 [email protected]

National VP Finance Basil FaulknerPh: (08) 9325 3855Fax: (08) 9325 [email protected]

Immediate Past National President David CainsPh: (02) 9472 7400Fax: (02) 9482 [email protected]

CEO Alan HarriesPh: (02) 4927 0477Fax: (02) 4927 [email protected]

EXECUTIVE COUNCIL Comprises the National Board, President of each Division and Directors Emeritus.

EXECUTIVE

BUYING or SELLING?Have an opportunity and want to discreetly find and engage with interested members?

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Victoria DivisionVictorian President Michael NugentPh: 1300 228 588Fax: 1300 535 [email protected]

Victorian Vice President/Secretary Derek ChallisPh: (03) 5277 [email protected]

WA DivisionWestern Australian President Phil BotsisPh: (08) 6296 7455Fax: (08) 6296 [email protected]

Western Australian Vice President David CombrinkPh: (08) 9409 4088Fax: (08) 9409 [email protected]

Sector Sub-committees

Collections Chairperson Daniel TaylorPh: (02) 8568 [email protected]

Investigations Chairperson Peter HarkinPh: (07) 3862 [email protected]

Process Serving Chairperson Nick WrightPh: (07) 3868 [email protected]

Repossessions Chairperson Travis CarterPh: (07) 3868 [email protected]

ACT BranchACT Liaison Nigel GregoryPh: (02) 6255 [email protected]

NSW DivisionNSW President Frank FodorPh: (02) 9630 6844Fax: (02) 9630 [email protected]

NT BranchNorthern Territory Liaison Grant JonssonPh: (08) 8927 [email protected]

Queensland DivisionQueensland President Nick WrightPh: (07) 3868 4558Fax: (07) 3868 [email protected]

Queensland Vice President Liat WalkerPh: (07) 3034 8900Fax: (07) 3034 [email protected]

Queensland Secretary Peter HarkinPh: (07) 3862 5400Fax: (07) 3229 [email protected]

SA Division South Australian President Andrew SmithPh: (08) 8244 1922Fax: (08) 8244 [email protected]

South Australian Vice President/Secretary Liam O’CallaghanPh: 1300 364 282Fax (08) 8232 [email protected]

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AGENT - IMALimal.com.au/images/agent/agen1014.pdf · 2014-10-02 · Private Investigators (NZIPI)...

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