The contract for the "Ray White Advantage Card" seems full of fees and no-contest, no-fault clauses. It appears to do nothing to protect the user while giving the corporation full access to a renter's bank account without notification.

Over the last year my local Ray White have made several mistakes with my account. They have have misplaced or misfiled data and sent me letters demanding monies I had already paid. They have made mistakes filing and not kept proper records of rent books. They have made mistakes such as contracting the lawn mowing company to only mow half the lawns on the property.  (that is, to mow as though there were a fence dividing one side of a quarter acre block from the other.)

In the first case of demanding monies already paid, the new contract would have allowed them to grab several hundred dollars from my account without notifying me. I am a disability pensioner and the first I would know of it would be when I had no money for groceries and no idea why!

They could have held the money until the dispute was resolved (several days) and charge all sorts of fees. They had incorrectly registered the rent payment booklet. Several times I was given incorrect data as to what was required to fix the problem so I would return after contacting the agent who pays my rent and not have the data to fix the problem. All this would now involve my paying fees to get the problem resolved including fees to get a rent refund, (if I read the contract correctly) and I would have no money to live on.

I found all the mistakes above to be the normal events that happen in life. Under the new card contract these events become ominous indicators of a imminent mountain of fees and headaches. The totality of the Ray White changeover to this form of contract may force people to sign dangerously unfavourable contracts simply to prevent losing their residence because Ray White have closed off all other payment avenues. I wonder if that is legal or at even morally acceptable? It forms some sort of duress I suspect.

The Contract (digested and with comments)

• These Conditions of Use, as amended by us from time to time and notified to you, apply to all pay-by-phone, internet, direct debit, Bpay, or POSTbillpay in person services ("Services") offered by Corum eCommerce Pty Ltd...etc . I am troubled by this clause because it may mean that another payment method offered by Ray White could be placed under this contract without any warning and the unfavourable conditions could be enforced without any further input from the renters.

Fees.

7) You agree to pay us the following non-refundable, non-rebateable fees and charges quoted excluding GST

• 8. a) For payments where a default payment method is by bank, building society, or credit union account a monthly fee of $2.70, payable quarterly, (ie $8.10) in advance. The following charges per payment will apply. (I want a refund if my tenancy ends and payments were not made into the bank. That's fair isn't it? I don't want to pay for services not rendered!)

• (b) A Void Payment fee of $5.50 payable whenever we are requested to void or reverse a payment. (I see this as constituting a no-fault, no-contest clause for an event that may have been caused by their staff. )

• c) A Statement Fee of $3.00 payable whenever we are requested to produce a statement manually. (Once again this is a charge that could be levelled while in a dispute about some misfiling or computer glitch on the part of the corporation and it will not be refunded. I would like the opportunity to get equal redress where their actions, or the needs of their accounting, force an outlay of time or effort on my part!)

• d) Other fees are generally charged by us from time to time, such as (for example) an Administration Fee of $2.75 for the administration of your account. (I see this as saying we will levy unspecified fees whenever we feel like it and because this is the only way to pay the rent you are stuck with it... but I could be wrong!!!)

9.  For bank, building society or credit union account payments, we will charge you a Declined Transaction Fee of $22.00 for payments that cannot be processed for any reason (such as insufficient funds) for the administration of your account. (In the events with my landlord mentioned in at the top of the page I would have incurred this fee at least once because the money they were asking for was already in their bank. Under the terms of this contract they can debit your account again and again, without giving you notice, if they feel you have missed a payment. It would result in hundreds of dollars of bank and card fees incurred with no warning and no chance of a refund. It is an extremely DIS-advantageous clause.)

10) Fees are to be paid by you as follows.

• a) Monthly fees payable under clause 7a) are due quarterly in advance. The first payment becomes due on the day your Rent Card becomes operational.
• b) Fees payable under clause   etc
• c) Fees payable under clause 7a)1 and 8 b) and fees payable under clause 8 or 9 are due immediately upon the relevant event occurring or process failure, as the case may be. (So before anyone can make any claims or defend the action or even be informed.)

11 We may also charge you merchant fees and adjustments for:

• a) any "invalid" transactions (as defined in clause 14) or transactions declined by your financial institution for any reason; (So, if you have a debate and stop them directly debiting your account until it is resolved they can charge you repeatedly for the priviledge? It may be possible that under this contract you may be charged if your bank goes offline. Not once but repeatedly as I see it!
• b) any over credits we have made in respect of transactions due to errors or omissions; and (did they just say they will charge a fee if they overcharge?)
• c) any fees, fines or penalties we are required to pay to Mastercard, Visa or any other financial institution pursuant to the relevant credit card scheme or payment rules as a direct or indirect result of your act, error, omission, neglect or default, including your failure to observe your obligations under these Conditions of Use. (Why do I feel like a 200 pound gorilla has asked for my bank pin number? I think it would be appropriate to add a clause where similar penalties and fees are incurred by Ray White if the fault belongs to Ray White or their officers and representatives.)

12  Any amounts due or owing by you to us may be recovered by us by way of a direct debit or charge by way of the applicable account nominated by you for that purpose without any notice or demand against you. (I have already covered this but it seems to imply the money will be gone without a bye-your-leave and if you are not conversant with financial dealings it could cost a fortune to retrieve. All those old folk and forgetful people on pensions will certainly see action on this clause. I am left wondering how many people will be applying to charities for grocery money when somebody (it could be Ray White or the bank) makes a mistake)

13) It is your responsibility to make any unprocessed rental payment to your real estate agent. We are not responsible for any loss or damage you suffer because of any breach of your lease or otherwise. (is this a no-fault, no-contest clause freeing Ray White from action over events, losses or costs they may have some responsibility for?)

Invalid Transactions

14  A transaction is invalid if:

• c) the relevant institution or credit card provider from which the relevant funds originated or were otherwise provided: (1) disclaims or refuses to accept or process the transaction for any reason (what if Ray White supply some incorrect detail); (2)disputes the transaction ( so anybody even asks if there has been a mistake you pay?); claims the transaction is invalid for any reason ( same as above);claims any form of set-off or counterclaim.
• d) the transaction represents the payment of monies that have been paid in respect of the same underlying obligation by any other means, including the payment in cash, whether before or after the transaction occurs. (there really doesn't seem to be any room for human error in this contract. I read this clause to say if they make a mistake and tell you you have not paid and you pay again you will be charged fees. It appears if you and some partner do not communicate and accidentally both pay the rent you will be liable to a range of fees and charges).
• e)........... you dispute the transaction. (so it appears any dispute will result in Ray White charging fees)
• g) a payment we receive in relation to the transaction is wholly or partly avoided, or a claim is made to avoid it and that claim is upheld, conceded or compromised under any applicable law (including but not limited to any law relating to bankruptcy or liquidation) (On the basis that an invalid transaction may have fees charged does this clause mean that a claim against a charge, fee or payment, even when upheld in a court will draw further fees?)

17 You will indemnify us on demand against all losses, expenses, and damages we suffer or are likely to suffer as a result of or arising (whether directly or indirectly) out of: (a) your failure to observe any of your obligations or duties under these Conditions of Use; a credit card issuer or other institution imposing fees, fines, penalties on us as a direct result or indirect result of your act, neglect, omission or default; (c) any dispute between you and a third party; or any invalid transaction. (In my opinion this clause states that no matter who is at fault you will pay all fees, penalties and costs.)

I have not included all the fees applicable to the Advantage Card in this document but I almost felt that every time some machine or person considered me or anything about me there would be a charge. I don't want to be bound by a contract like this and there is a distinct possibility (as stated in the website last time I looked) that all other payment methods will be dropped where there is market advantage to do so.

Variations

This is the real gem among all of the clauses and conditions of this amazing document.

25 We may amend these conditions , including fees, from time to time without prior notice to you.

26. We will notify you of any amendments by publishing the latest conditions on the website. Unless otherwise specified, any notice under this section is effective on the day it is posted.

27 If you do not accept the amended conditions (including fees), you must contact us immediately before you use the Services again. By using the services after the notification of any amendment, you accept the amendment. (what a minefield. This means you have to check the website EVERY time you make a payment or before they direct debit your account or will give up the right to oppose any changes. It means that you may be in dispute and MUST stop payment and incur fees if you have a dispute or you WILL lose the right to enter the dispute.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

28 You acknowledge (a) that you have read and understand these conditions; (b) you understand fees apply to using the services; (c) you have not been required to enter into this contract by any landlord, real estate agent, or any other person (Phew. If all other payment gateways have been closed then you have been forced into accepting this payment method and should not sign. IF there is a possibility this will become the only payment method you are able to access because your other payment methods have been closed you should not sign (as I see it).

This whole deal appears to be as shabby as if the banks had closed off ATM and cash dealings because they are able to make more money on every transaction by forcing you to use counter-transactions.

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Clauses and fee concerns

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I am no expert. My opinion is below!

After reading the contract supplied with the Ray White "Advantage Card" I came to the conclusion that it contains clauses and costs which should concern anyone planning to use it.

Ray White Advantage Card