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| Centrelink Centrepay Fees - who pays? 14 replies 10 voices |
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Emily Sim
on Aug 12, 2010 12:24pm
apmasphere Sydney NSW |
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Just in case you don’t know about Centrelink’s Centrepay billing option, here’s a quick run down. Tenants receiving rent assistance through Centrelink can chose to pay their rent through Centrelink’s bill payment method, Centrepay. A tenant can choose whether to have their rent assistance paid directly to the agent or they can choose to receive the payment themselves, then pay the agent or landlord when they receive the rent assistance. Part two of this equation is that an agency needs to be registered as a Centrepay Participant in order to receive a payment from Centrepay. You can register here http://www.centrelink.gov.au/internet/internet.nsf/businesses/centrepay_apply.htm to do this. This is one of the better schemes run by the government in my opinion as an agency can substantially reduce their arrears where they have tenants paying by direct debit. When funds comes directly from Centrepay, they come on time and in the exact amount required. Very tidy. What’s the catch? The recipient of the funds must pay the transaction fee. Tenants can not be charged this fee and they are explicitly advised by Centrepay to report anyone that is passing this fee onto them. So here is the dilemma. Does the agency absorb the fee or is it passed to the landlord? |
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Tracy Barnier
on Aug 12, 2010 4:45pm
Property Manager LJ Hooker Lennox Head Lennox Head NSW |
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Our agency has absorbed the fee in the past. In a lot of cases it has been for a tenant who has trouble paying on time, and we are spending money on postage, phone calls and our time in chasing them. We think it is worth the 99 cents it cost each transaction. |
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Margaret Fogarty
on Aug 12, 2010 9:22pm
Principal DM Realty-- www.dmrealty.com.au Pimlico Townsville QLD |
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We have been avoiding having centerpay as a payment option because of this issue with this fee. We recently signed up because of one lot of tenants who are refugees and cannot speak any english. When dealing with their support group case manager we felt it was the easiest way to arrange the rent payments for them. We have opted to pay the fees. We have decided to only use this option in extreme cases as we don’t want to have to absorb too many extra fees. Margaret www.dmrealty.com.au
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Tara Platell
on Aug 15, 2010 8:56pm
Property Manager TaraGrove Realty Eagleby Queensland |
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I agree with Tracy – Our agency is using Centrepay as we find it works really well for us, the tenant and in turn the landlord. Most of our landlords are happy to bear the cost of you explain the Centrepay process to them. We have had a few landlords not wanting to pay the fee so as an agency we pay the fees monthly, however you can minimise it by ensuring the tenant’s Centrepay deduction fortnightly (so it is only 0.99c per fortnight). |
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Margaret Fogarty
on Aug 16, 2010 7:38am
Principal DM Realty-- www.dmrealty.com.au Pimlico Townsville QLD |
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We were told by centrelink that this is a guarantee way of receiving rent, Then we were told that the tenant can go in anytime and cut it off. This is no guarantee. This is just like any other payment system where the tenant chooses to pay the rent. With this system however either the agent or the landlord has to pay to use the service. |
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Daniel Parker
on Nov 3, 2011 10:54pm
General manager JMRealty CASINO NSW |
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We use centrepay and absorb the fee. If a tenant does stop their payments, it appears on the top of the centrepay report as a new instruction amount of $0.00. Seeing this usually prompts a call to the tenant to find out why, a letter and a couple of action/diary comments in Rest!. |
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Clint A
on Nov 4, 2011 10:38am
Property Manager Theo Poulos Real Estate Katoomba NSW |
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Our company absorbs the fee and pays it monthyl from the general account. An annoying thing I find is it mucks up ledgers as the tenant is only paying $319.01 (Example) per week. Without manually adjusting any arrears letters, it comes out with confusing amounts. |
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Tara Platell
on Nov 4, 2011 11:04am
Property Manager TaraGrove Realty Eagleby Queensland |
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Clint A – contact centrelink and ask them to not deduct the fee from the tenant rental payment but invoice your agency directly. They invoice us quarterly. Much easier. |
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Tara Platell
on Nov 4, 2011 11:05am
Property Manager TaraGrove Realty Eagleby Queensland |
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Clint A – contact centrelink and ask them to not deduct the fee from the tenant rental payment but invoice your agency directly. They invoice us quarterly. Much easier. It therefore does not affect the rent. |
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Clint A
on Nov 4, 2011 11:11am
Property Manager Theo Poulos Real Estate Katoomba NSW |
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Thanks for the tip. |
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