About Procon

Exactly. Most Purchasers generally do not have 10% of the purchase price just lying around in their bank account in addition to the 10% already secured by a Bank Guarantee in order to exchange the bank guarantee prior to settlement just to ensure it is able to be settled electronically (wouldn't that almost defeat the purpose of the guarantee in the first place?).  And if they did have those funds, they are generally already required to complete the purchase. How is a purchaser supposed to find an additional 10% in cash funds to settle the bank guarantee with the bank prior to settlement other than through another loan (with what security?) or borrowing from a friend or family member?   That answer does not give me any confidence in dealing with Bank Guarantees or Deposit Bonds on future transactions and I cannot see how they can be accepted in a property transaction going forward.      They absolutely should fall under the category of exceptional circumstances to an electronic transaction and the fact that Land Registry are washing their hands of it is unacceptable in my opinion.   @TheDoctor wrote:   It is easy to say that the Purchaser must arrange an alternate solution, to enable hand over of the Bankers Guarantee, prior to the financial settlement. But in practice, the Bankers Guarantee exists because the Purchaser does not have an alternate solution. ... View more

Exactly. I have tried speaking with Joe James at Land Registry who also had no idea what I was talking about and dismissed it as an issue that they need to be considering, passing the problem back to PEXA claiming that they must have a solution as they have confirmed they can accommodate the mandate of 1 October 2018.   I cannot see how Deposit Bonds or Guarantees will work after the mandate unless an employee of the provider/bank physically attends the location of where the bond/guarantee is being held and watches the settlement take place electronically with the Vendor's representative. Ludicrous. Have found one other post with a similar question and note no response from PEXA on it. I'd be interested to see what PEXA have to say along with how other members have circumvented this issue as I have an off-the-plan matter coming up for registration where a deposit guarantee  has been given by my purchaser client. ... View more

Hi @LawyersConveyancing,   You're best to speak to PEXA if you have further questions Peter, because I am not a tech specialist. Merely pointing out that this is not the first time like PEXA would have us believe.     Bre ... View more

Hi @JamesR,   It's interesting you say that " When PEXA was alerted to a case of fraud late last week, we immediately increased our monitoring of potential unusual activity surrounding password resets, new user creations and changes to BSB and account numbers."  My problem with that statement is that last week was NOT the first occurrence. So what did you do prior to that when the first known incident happened end of May? Our office is in contact with the Practitioner this first occurred to..... ... View more

The problem is not with the Conveyancers or Lawyers if they do everything by the book Peter. It is when someone creates a fraudulent PEXA user account and CHANGES the account already put in the system.    PEXA allows new users to be created WITHOUT approval by the subscriber who is identified by PEXA when creating the original account.    Once this new user is created, they go in and change the destination account with the practitioner being none the wiser. Your only protection is not to put in the destination funds to the Vendor client until the last minute (which is not practical nor fair for us as practitioners who are then left to sign off on everything last minute). And if you put in the account prior to settlement, you need to ensure you re-check the information again immediately prior to sign off of the figures.    This has happened twice now. The latest incident with the Masterchef contestant was the SECOND time this has happened. PEXA did nothing to alert us after the first occasion which was back on 28th May. That's right, this has been known to PEXA since the 28th of May and it is only since this latest occurrence (because it got taken to the media) that any action has been taken! The first time it was over $1mil in Vendor funds that was siphoned! This latest one was $250,000.     Coincidentally, the bank on the first one was also CBA account. It is only since the media release on the Masterchef contestant that both PEXA and CBA have taken some further action.    Don't be so quick to trust the system....   Bre ... View more

This is exactly our position too, as it should be for everyone who has had a settlement delayed or not taken place due to PEXA being offline.   The email I have been given is support@pexa.com.au. I would be sending claims for costs there. ... View more

Absolutely @catemccubbincomau   I am beyond frustrated with EVERY bank who has the same practice. It is not uncommon at all and I am sick of PEXA downplaying it all the time.    It's as a point now where we feel every practitioner out there needs to boycott this system or go on strike to be heard and have something change! Other states have delayed the digital timeline. It needs to happen here too. There are too many problems, not LEAST is PEXA itself who cannot handle the demand as once again, PEXA is down and my 11am settlement is now not going to happen. ... View more

Absolutely agree. The bank has to be put on notice for damages. It is their lack of action which caused the delay, they should be paying the additional moving expenses! ... View more

I echo all of the above!   The amount of stress on us as Conveyancers because the banks think we have all day to sit and watch and wait for them to do what they want when they want is unbearable. Especially when they wait until an hour or less before settlement and expect that we are going to be available to sign off after to make sure settlement goes through on time. Conveyancers do not work on one matter at a time.    Not one matter I have completed through PEXA has been stress free where a bank is involved. In fact I am on hold to PEXA right now because a bank has decided of their own free will to change the settlement due for 11am TOMORROW to next Friday claiming that they "haven't received the DA" despite both the checkbox being ticked AND the discharge of mortgage is signed. I am acting for the purchaser who is expecting to move in.   While we're on that, a bank should NOT have the ability to alter a settlement date. They are not a party to the contract.  ... View more