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   Gracchus ☕️🏴‍☠️🇺🇳 (gracchus@aus.social)'s status on Saturday, 10-Feb-2024 21:23:42 JST Gracchus ☕️🏴‍☠️🇺🇳

   Fuck Ray White Oakliegh Realestate.
   For years we have paid our rent via BPAY in a scheduled payment.
   Late last year they informed us we need to move to an app called Ailo to make our payments. we didn’t as I could not see the point, they rang us last month to say the BPAY option will be no more soon and we need to setup Ailo, ok we did, setup first payment and the bastards hit us with a fee for using the app they forced us to use. Furious but hey what can we do, ring em up and then get put on a problematic renter list.

   #auspol

   • Embed this notice
     翠星石 (suiseiseki@freesoftwareextremist.com)'s status on Saturday, 10-Feb-2024 21:23:34 JST 翠星石

     in reply to

     • dragestil
     @Gracchus It's too late now, and would be risky to do so, but I would have filed a complaint as soon as the demand to run the proprietary malware came in with whatever the rent management body is that the realestate agent is demanding that you purchase x brands of tracking device to install questionable software merely to continue to pay rent, when bpay worked fine for years.
     
     Unfortunately, there's not much you can do now unless there's some legal requirement that doesn't allow the application of arbitrary fees on top of the agreed rent amount - which would force them to offer you BPAY again, or whatever other payment method that doesn't allow have scam fees, but you'd still end up on the list of non-subservient renters.
     
     >is this even legal?
     From my limited knowledge about Australia's downright ridiculous financial requirements (i.e. businesses aren't required to accept the legal tender of cash if they just put up a sign saying that they don't accept cash), it would be illegal to demand changing from BPAY to "Ailo" during the rent term, but it's likely not illegal to demand the usage on "Ailo" on renewal of the rent period.
   • Embed this notice
     dragestil (dragestil@hostux.social)'s status on Saturday, 10-Feb-2024 21:23:35 JST dragestil

     in reply to

     @Gracchus is this even legal? What if the app could not be installed on a renter's phone?

   • Embed this notice
     翠星石 (suiseiseki@freesoftwareextremist.com)'s status on Thursday, 15-Feb-2024 19:56:10 JST 翠星石

     in reply to

     • 翠星石
     • dragestil
     @dragestil @Gracchus I came across this information by chance - but what "Ray White Oakliegh Realestate" did to you was in fact illegal.
     
     Pretty much, Landlords must make available at least one payment method that doesn't require paying fees to a 3rd party;
     …
     4. The landlord agrees
     4.1 to provide the tenant with at least one means to pay rent for which the tenant does not incur a cost (other than bank fees or other account fees usually payable for the tenants transactions) and that is reasonably available to the tenant, and
     …
     I understand that I must be offered at least one way to pay the rent that does not involve paying a fee to a third party.
     …
     
     To me, a payment method that requires being owned by either one of two brands of tracking devices full to the brim of proprietary malware (so "safetynet" isn't triggered) is in no way reasonable.
     
     
     I would suggest checking the proprietary agreement you signed at the start of the lease (that you didn't read) for such clause (have fun reading it all as the text isn't searchable for a reason).
     
     After that, you should demand to be offered a reasonable payment method that doesn't require running malware or have 3rd party fees - if they still don't, you can report such illegal behavior whatever the rent body is.