Hi,
I apologise for the lengthy post, but I figure the more detail the better the potential response. Also I'm not sure if this topic belongs under this sub forum or not, but I'm wondering if someone with knowledge can tell me where as a consumer where I stand with this.
I'm currently overseas. I recently acquired the services of a virtual office company in NSW to have a physical address I can send urgent mail both to myself personally and a potential company that I'm only considering at this stage about establishing through Google. I don't have an ABN for this company yet as I'm not at the stage of needing to acquire one.
This virtual office's terms and conditions give the client a few options on how to receive their mail. These include opening the mail, scanning it and sending it to me via emaiI or forwarding mail to another address. I recently received a letter at the virtual office that was from Google which I'm assuming is a verification code for my potential business. I asked the virtual office to forward the mail to the address I had given them as I did not need it urgently and would get someone else to hold onto it.
The virtual office claimed that under their terms and conditions, I had to pay a 12 month fee to acquire the verification code from the mail to use their business address for Google services. After informing them that I did not need or want to use their address for this purpose and only wanted the mail forwarded, they still refused. After re-reading the company's terms and conditions is does state this word for word.
1. If you want to use the address for the purpose of registering at Google (For example Google my business service) or at Bing, you have to order and pay a minimum of 1 year service in advance. You have to pay this 1 year service fee before you receive the google or bing code.
Whilst I should have checked the terms and conditions more closely before agreeing to acquire their services, the terms and conditions make no mention of not forwarding mail from Google or any other company addressed to the client. I did not want them to open the mail and give me the verification code. Also if I don't want to use their address for this purpose and pay 1 year for a service I did not want and I'm paying for the postage of the letter to the forwarding address, I don't see why the company would refuse this?
Whilst I could have and since have just had Google resend the letter to the other address, I want to know if the director of the company has breached any consumer and even criminal law by permanently depriving me of my mail by refusing to send it to my forwarding address which is a service they normally provide, even if it only a letter from Google? Does the director have the discretion to choose which mail addressed to me I am allowed or not allowed to receive? Could this be considered mail theft or larceny under the definition of the law?
After a few email exchanges with a representative of the company in relation to this and no clear resolution, I felt I did not want to continue with their services and gave the company 30 days notice that I was terminating the use of their service as per their terms and conditions.
I received an email with this further condition of the termination of the service word for word
Please note that at the termination of the contract, you have to change your address officially everywhere, for example at ASIC, ATO. If you fail to do it, you have to pay the monthly fee until you change the address and you show proof of it to us.
As I stated at the beginning of the post, I have not established the company yet so do not have an ABN and my company is not listed on the ASIC business register. When I pointed this out to the virtual office, they said that will continue to charge my credit card as I can not provide proof of a change in address. I do not know how I can provide proof of something that doesn't exist. I have sent them a screenshot of the ASIC business register with the name of my company resulting in zero matches, but that was not good enough. I have had to lock my bank account to prevent the company from continuing to charge me for a service they did not provide and I no longer want.
My question in relation to this part of my dilemma is, does the director of the virtual address have the jurisdictional right to enforce ASIC and ATO regulations on exiting clients as I was under the assumption that the onus for this would be on the directors of the companies being responsible for complying with ASIC and ATO regulations, not the director of the virtual address and does the director of the virtual address have the right to continue to try and charge me for a service I do not want until I can provide proof of something that doesn't exist?
Any assistance with this enquiry would be greatly appreciated.
I apologise for the lengthy post, but I figure the more detail the better the potential response. Also I'm not sure if this topic belongs under this sub forum or not, but I'm wondering if someone with knowledge can tell me where as a consumer where I stand with this.
I'm currently overseas. I recently acquired the services of a virtual office company in NSW to have a physical address I can send urgent mail both to myself personally and a potential company that I'm only considering at this stage about establishing through Google. I don't have an ABN for this company yet as I'm not at the stage of needing to acquire one.
This virtual office's terms and conditions give the client a few options on how to receive their mail. These include opening the mail, scanning it and sending it to me via emaiI or forwarding mail to another address. I recently received a letter at the virtual office that was from Google which I'm assuming is a verification code for my potential business. I asked the virtual office to forward the mail to the address I had given them as I did not need it urgently and would get someone else to hold onto it.
The virtual office claimed that under their terms and conditions, I had to pay a 12 month fee to acquire the verification code from the mail to use their business address for Google services. After informing them that I did not need or want to use their address for this purpose and only wanted the mail forwarded, they still refused. After re-reading the company's terms and conditions is does state this word for word.
1. If you want to use the address for the purpose of registering at Google (For example Google my business service) or at Bing, you have to order and pay a minimum of 1 year service in advance. You have to pay this 1 year service fee before you receive the google or bing code.
Whilst I should have checked the terms and conditions more closely before agreeing to acquire their services, the terms and conditions make no mention of not forwarding mail from Google or any other company addressed to the client. I did not want them to open the mail and give me the verification code. Also if I don't want to use their address for this purpose and pay 1 year for a service I did not want and I'm paying for the postage of the letter to the forwarding address, I don't see why the company would refuse this?
Whilst I could have and since have just had Google resend the letter to the other address, I want to know if the director of the company has breached any consumer and even criminal law by permanently depriving me of my mail by refusing to send it to my forwarding address which is a service they normally provide, even if it only a letter from Google? Does the director have the discretion to choose which mail addressed to me I am allowed or not allowed to receive? Could this be considered mail theft or larceny under the definition of the law?
After a few email exchanges with a representative of the company in relation to this and no clear resolution, I felt I did not want to continue with their services and gave the company 30 days notice that I was terminating the use of their service as per their terms and conditions.
I received an email with this further condition of the termination of the service word for word
Please note that at the termination of the contract, you have to change your address officially everywhere, for example at ASIC, ATO. If you fail to do it, you have to pay the monthly fee until you change the address and you show proof of it to us.
As I stated at the beginning of the post, I have not established the company yet so do not have an ABN and my company is not listed on the ASIC business register. When I pointed this out to the virtual office, they said that will continue to charge my credit card as I can not provide proof of a change in address. I do not know how I can provide proof of something that doesn't exist. I have sent them a screenshot of the ASIC business register with the name of my company resulting in zero matches, but that was not good enough. I have had to lock my bank account to prevent the company from continuing to charge me for a service they did not provide and I no longer want.
My question in relation to this part of my dilemma is, does the director of the virtual address have the jurisdictional right to enforce ASIC and ATO regulations on exiting clients as I was under the assumption that the onus for this would be on the directors of the companies being responsible for complying with ASIC and ATO regulations, not the director of the virtual address and does the director of the virtual address have the right to continue to try and charge me for a service I do not want until I can provide proof of something that doesn't exist?
Any assistance with this enquiry would be greatly appreciated.
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