# Retirement Village deferred management fees



## ghotib (11 June 2010)

Judging by the nursing home thread, quite a number of people here have elderly parents. 

Does anyone have a good understanding of how deferred management fees work and what legislation governs them? My questions are a bit technical and specific to on situation, but the gist is that we - my siblings and I - think our 80-something year old Mum has been dudded, and we're not sure how or who by. We'll be seeking legal advice if she'll let us, but we want as much information as we can find first. 

I'd appreciate hearing from anyone who's dealt with management fees in a professional or personal capacity. 

Thanks, 

Ghoti


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## Julia (11 June 2010)

Ghoti, there are many different financial structures that can apply to retirement villages.  Originally they all seemed to have these deferred fees, but I've noticed recently there are more and more who are offering "100% of the capital gain and no deferred fees".
Now if that's the case, you'd have to ask how the retirement village is making its money.  Perhaps they have very high weekly fees.  It's a claim I'd be suspicious of and would definitely be getting a legal opinion before signing to enter.

My only personal experience is of the village my mother lived in (in NZ) for a couple of years before she died.  I think most of them involve a "Right to Occupy" type of lease.  Never heard of one where you actually own the land.
She paid $x on entry, and her estate received just two thirds of this amount back after she died.  i.e. the village owners claimed all of the capital gain (and it was significant) plus a third of her original purchase price.

So it's a shocking deal financially, but the upside is that she loved it there, and was really well looked after.

There are also the villages that have the little freestanding houses similar to those you see in caravan parks and holiday villages.  I gather the purchaser in these retains the right to sell themselves, retaining any capital gain.
For some obscure reason people living in these places can claim rent allowance from Centrelink if they are on a pension.

So as far as I know, many opportunities to be horribly ripped off, and I'd be seeking a legal opinion if there's anything at all questionable.

Sorry, don't know anything about any central body that oversees the industry.


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## noirua (11 June 2010)

There is the 'Retirement Vilage Association (RVA) Limited and Minter Ellison's Australian and New Zealand Village Legislation Compendium.


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## ghotib (11 June 2010)

Thanks for that noirua. Julia, this is a deal where the village takes part of the capital gain. We all knew that when she moved in; the complication now is that there's been another sale and purchase which has affected the timing of things. That doesn't make much sense I know, but I don't want to go into any more detail. 

We're just collecting information at this point. Anyone else know anything else? 

Thanks again

Ghoti


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## basilio (12 June 2010)

Deferred management Fees. Another great business opportunity made by and for Macquarie Bank and a host of other financial leeches.

The short story Ghoti is that the BIG, BIG bickies made by owners of retirement villages is the deferred management fee taken on the sale of the property. If they have been really effective in their fine print they will also charge for refurbishment to bring it back to original condition and control who it gets sold to and at what cost.

In legal circles it could be called unconscionable behavior but to the general public it's just another dirty scam. 

Alternatives?  I've seen a couple that are interesting.  As mentioned the relocatable home villages idea is taking off. In effect you are simply renting a site to place your relocatable home. These can be quite excellent places depending on the developer. If placed cheek by jowl in a scungy area not so good. I did see a nice development in Nagambie called Kelvingrove Relocatable Home Village. Address is 127 High st Nagambie. Phone 57 942 681

Also I did actually find one retirement village that did not  have an exit fee. In fact their literature made a point of highlighting how greedy these fees were. It was called Jefferson Place in Garfield just past Pakenham in Victoria.  Don't know what has happened to it but contact details on teh brochure  were 1300 765 788.

Best of luck with challenging the exit fees...


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## ghotib (14 June 2010)

Thanks again. After a couple of days to calm down and do a bit of online research I've come to the conclusion that things could be enormously worse. Mum owned her cottage by strata title and had full control over the sale. Apparently there are some agreements where the village, not the "owner", sets the sale price. If she'd been in one of those she'd still own an empty cottage and be responsible for monthly levies on both the cottage and her new apartment. The deferred fee is a percentage of the sale price, and the percentage could have been a lot higher than it is too. 

In fact, I now think it's most likely that the village management have been caught out by head office, who don't see the residents every day but do see the corporate financials. My mum lived in her cottage for 15 years through several changes in the structure and ownership of the village, multiple changes in legislation, and a dramatic growth in the supply of similar villages in the area. We've stayed in loose touch with the state of the market and we all checked over the various notices about the other things to see if there would be any immediate effects. We knew there would be a deferred fee to be paid one day, but we didn't foresee these exact circumstances. Staff on the ground told us one thing about what would happen and head office did something else. 

Over all we're lucky. The family still think Mum has been dudded and we'll still try and get at least some of the money back for her to use herself. But even if we don't succeed she has enough for what she wants, she's happy and in control of her day-to-day life, and the village itself is terrific. 

One general comment:  the controlling entity is a mutual, not a company. If I reach extreme old age, I surely do not want my well-being to be a cost centre to a for-profit company, and particularly not a public one. 

Ghoti


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## Greg (12 March 2013)

ghotib said:


> Judging by the nursing home thread, quite a number of people here have elderly parents.
> 
> Does anyone have a good understanding of how deferred management fees work and what legislation governs them? My questions are a bit technical and specific to on situation, but the gist is that we - my siblings and I - think our 80-something year old Mum has been dudded, and we're not sure how or who by. We'll be seeking legal advice if she'll let us, but we want as much information as we can find first.
> 
> ...




This may be helpful - retirement village costs!


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## basilio (26 June 2017)

The issue of Retirement Village fees has been brought back to focus by a series of articles in the Fairfax Press over the weekend.
Short story is that Aveo has  taken the bit between it's teeth to maximise the commercial returns from it's Retirement villages.  The biggest profits come from turning over residents and ensuring  a financially healthy exit fee. A key focus of the recent articles was the case of a guy whose partner died and was then told he had to leave the village because he had no right to stay.  This story apparently has been played out in many different forms.

4 Corners will run the story tonight.  Has anyone else had experience with these situations?  Is this going to pose a commercial risk to Aveo and it's plans to substantially improve the profit from it's Retirement Village portfolio?

https://www.aveo.com.au/wp-content/...15-AOG-HY17-Financial-Results-Presenation.pdf
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-06-24/elderly-exploited-in-aveo-retirement-villages/8645876


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## sptrawler (26 June 2017)

I was reading about it on the weekend, if it's factual, there should be a Government investigation.IMO


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## basilio (26 June 2017)

No surprises on the  Stock market.  Aveo has dropped 8% under heavy selling.  They have released a statement that attempts to answer the questions posed by Fairfax/4 Corners.

This story didn't just happen in the last few months. Adele Ferguson wrote about Geoff Richards who was churned out of his retirement home after the death of his partner  in 2016.  This guy was a CPA with his wits still on show. Didn't matter.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-06-26/regulators-gone-missing-in-retirement-village-industry/8647990

I was more interested in the financial report they released earlier this year that outlined how much of a profit increase they expected as they rolled out their new contracts.

https://wcsecure.weblink.com.au/pdf/AOG/01868327.pdf


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## Boggo (26 June 2017)

Tripled in price in the last few years but stalled since late last year.

A few sellers in the queue this morning !

Weekly chart (click to expand)


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## basilio (26 June 2017)

This may be  a little overblown by Auntie.... or it might succinctly  describe AOG business model.

*Watch 'Bleeding Them Dry Until They Die' on Four Corners at 8:30pm on ABC TV on Monday night.*


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## Tisme (26 June 2017)

Beggers the question of why the Govt is having to intervene on activities that their legislation should have already kept pace of. The ABC seems to be the policeman these days and parliament a reactionary force.


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## basilio (26 June 2017)

Jenna Price has nailed the issue quite well.

*Federal government must step in to protect against predatory retirement villages *
*.......*
He's  (Yates) dealt with many people who've had advice from lawyers and financial planners. But "90 per cent of those lawyers and financial planners don't understand retirement village contracts", he says.

Too many people start too late. They leave it to the last minute.

That means people end up paying sign-on fees, maintenance fees and what can be called deferred-maintenance fees, more usually called exit fees. And there's plenty of trouble there. For some strange reason, buying into a retirement village isn't like buying any other kind of real estate. You are likely to be charged a lot when you buy – but not get anything like that amount when you sell. With Australia's resilient property market, that kind of real estate deal seems too weird for words. It should work this way: you buy, the unit increases in value, and you get some of that benefit. Instead, if you leave or die, you may end up paying for the privilege.

Yates says too many retirees who bought into villages think they bought real estate. Instead, it's just a licence to occupy and the responsibility to keep up with all the fees, all the time. If a resident of a retirement village dies, it can take time to settle all the fees. He recommends buying in an area of high demand – but that demand can change, too. Some us move into these villages at 60 (most enter in the mid-70s) and can expect to live another 20 or 30 years.
http://www.canberratimes.com.au/com...tory-retirement-villages-20170625-gwycv0.html


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## basilio (26 June 2017)

It will be really interesting to see how Aveo attempts to justify it's practices as this story unfolds. My guess is that scores of other disgruntled clients will be contacting Fairfax/ABC when they see these stories and give their own experience.

Given that they are aiming for a churn of 1000-1200 clients per year and that they have been particularly aggressive in their offers in the past 1-2 years there should be many other stories.

*The “get poor quick” scheme*

Despite a groundswell of complaints, problems in retirement villages remain rife – particularly at Aveo, where even the savviest customers can end up defeated. So who’s in charge of the sector and how accountable are they?

Adele Ferguson
Sarah Danckert

Tim Allerton is no pushover. From his office on Kent Street in Sydney’s CBD, the experienced public relations professional is often called in when companies and big names are in crisis, including Seven West Media during its public relations disaster with former staffer Amber Harrison.

But he came up for an unwinnable battle when sorting out the sale of his aunt Joan’s retirement village unit.

He was pitted against retirement village giant Aveo – and in the end, he and his family had to surrender more than $150,000 in exit fees, capital losses and other fees.

http://www.canberratimes.com.au/interactive/2017/retirement-racket/the-get-poor-quick-scheme/


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## basilio (26 June 2017)

The issue of "Getting Poor Quickly" via Retirment Villages has been around for a loooonnnng time.
Came across this article which just echoes the current issues. Check out when it was written.

*Caught in the web of retirement villages*
*Retirement villages - beware of the traps and rip-offs*
Articles » Scams & Scoundrels » Caught in the web of retirement villages 
*Ben Hills *
H_*is voice is not much more than a hoarse whisper, thanks to the ravages of emphysema. He walks with gingerly stiffness, impeded by an iron brace on one leg. He cocks his head, straining to pick up conversations with the hearing aid implanted in one ear.*_

At the age of 89 the flesh grows weak, but there’s nothing wrong with the spirit of Fred Myers, retired these many years from his job as a Supreme Court judge and now leading a campaign for justice for his fellow residents at the Fernbank retirement village at St Ives on Sydney’s North Shore.

“If I was trying a case based on this contract,” he says, brandishing a thick bundle of legal documents, “I would set it aside as unconscionable. Unconscionable.” He rolls the word around on his palate, as if savouring the memory of judgments past.

http://benhills.com/articles/scams-scoundrels/caught-in-the-web-of-retirement-villages/


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## basilio (26 June 2017)

Part 1 of this story was called "The Price of Freedom

http://www.smh.com.au/interactive/2017/retirement-racket/the-price-of-freedom/


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## basilio (27 June 2017)

4 Corners ran "Bleed 'em dry till they die" last night on the Aveo retirement homes issue. 

It did reiterate and expand on a number of the cases already discussed but it also introduced fresh material.
The most disturbing, in my eyes, was the treatment of resident Gwyneth Jones.
Short story is that Gweyneth is most definitely bright, energetic, no body's fool and fiesty. In essence the absolutely last person an organisation like Aveo would like to have in one of their centres.
So Gweyneth started to get ansty about the myriad ways Aveo drip feed off their residents.* Apparently  every single interaction asked by a resident incurs a fee.*
$5 to put on a band aid. $5 to pick up a broken cup (because she couldn't get down) ad infinitum
The situation deteriorated to the point where Aveo decided that Gweyneth would be better off out of the place.

So how did they propose to achieve that ? Simple. Trash her with revolting allegations, get her committed to a psych ward, and then try to get a guardian to take over her affairs and move her out..

All these failed because it turns out she most definitely has her marbles in place.
Enough.  Check out the story on line. See the 4 Corners program. Consider writing to Aveo and expressing your concern/disgust/apprehension at what you have seen.

_PS.  The title for the 4 Corners program came from Gwenyth Jones_
http://www.canberratimes.com.au/interactive/2017/retirement-racket/bleed-them-dry/
http://iview.abc.net.au/


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## SirRumpole (27 June 2017)

I don't think writing to Aveo would be any help.

People who do this sort of thing should be de-registered from operation in this country, their property confiscated and turned over to administrators who will do the job properly.


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## Tisme (27 June 2017)

"Bleed them dry until they die":

Aveo making a motsa out of old people and taxpayers

http://iview.abc.net.au/programs/four-corners#playing


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## basilio (27 June 2017)

SirRumpole said:


> I don't think writing to Aveo would be any help.
> 
> People who do this sort of thing should be de-registered from operation in this country, their property confiscated and turned over to administrators who will do the job properly.




Maybe... maybe not.

Aveo lives and breathes on people believing their BS. If it becomes clear that many , many people no longer believe their pitch, distrust and despise their operations *and will tell all their friends and family to have nothing to do with Aveo.*.. the story might change.

Also I suggest the problem goes beyond one company. I understand that in the for-profit sector the modus operandi is much the same.


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## SirRumpole (27 June 2017)

basilio said:


> Also I suggest the problem goes beyond one company. I understand that in the for-profit sector the modus operandi is much the same.




I only have experience with one company, Allity. A friend of mine is in one of their aged care centres and seems happy. I don't think he had to buy anything up-front, they just take 80% of his pension for the room, meals, clothes washing, medical attention etc and single room.


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## basilio (27 June 2017)

SirRumpole said:


> I only have experience with one company, Allity. A friend of mine is in one of their aged care centres and seems happy. I don't think he had to buy anything up-front, they just take 80% of his pension for the room, meals, clothes washing, medical attention etc and single room.




Different model Sir Rumpole. This is an aged care centre not a retirement village.

Mind you your friend is in a sense fortunate that he has been able to get into an aged care centre without a substantial up front fee. That model at the moment has a detailed financial analysis of new clients and the entry fee is considerable. Think anything from $350k to $600k.

In fact Aveo is attempting to change it's retirement villages into Aged care centres. It means they can charge for a whole new set of services and turn freehold units into leaseholds.

https://www.allity.com.au/feesandcharges


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## SirRumpole (27 June 2017)

Thanks for the clarification basilio.


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## basilio (28 June 2017)

Saw another story about how Aveo managed it's cash cows (yes I have given up any semblance of respect for Aveo..)
The comments after the story bear checking out as well. 
If there is a proper investigation of the practices of this organisation, and if fact the wider industry, there should  be thousands of submissions.

*Aveo retirement village keeps charging daughter for father’s meals nine months after his death*
Janelle Miles, The Courier-Mail
March 6, 2016 1:00am
BROUGHTON Cottam has been dead for almost a year but the Brisbane retirement village where he lived for 17 years until recently continued to bill his daughter for his meals.

Desley Cottam, 72, said the $358 monthly catering fee kept coming until January – nine months after her father died.

Mr Cottam, known as Snow, had just turned 100 when he died on April 13 last year.

He had lived at an Aveo retirement village in Explorer Drive, Albany Creek, since 1998, leasing an independent living unit until 2010, when he moved into an assisted living apartment.

His distraught daughter is keen to warn others about retirement village fees after her dealings with Aveo, which operates runs 75 retirement villages in Queensland, NSW, Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania.

His daughter has refused to sign the lease to her father’s apartment back to Aveo until she can obtain an adequate explanation for “unconscionable” exit fees.

She believes the retirement village operator may have made a “mathematical error”.

*Although Aveo has told her the lease is worth $195,000, she has been offered a settlement of only $18,000, minus billed catering and other charges.

http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/...h/news-story/90e5675e8384c49419c066a4d67b7446
*
Some comments

Lachlan Mar 6, 2016

I was an RN in various Aged Care facilities for many years. I worked in everything from government owned facilities to outrageously expensive private facilities. I worked at one place which the minimum cost per month was $6500 for a shared room. They also offered the dubious "extra services" on top of the standard fee, where the resident was charged an extra $700 per month for extras. The thing was, there weren't enough staff to carry out the "extra" services. It doesn't surprise me one bit this has happened! Privately operated Aged Care facilities are there for one thing, to make as much profit as possible. 

@Tracy @Lachlan Not forgetting the extremely contrived Accreditation inspections. In the weeks leading up to Accreditation, management run around making sure everything is just right. Things which have been non serviceable for months are repaired or replaced. Staff to resident ratios are dramatically increased, but only for the days the inspectors are present. I worked at one place which employed a second Nursing Supervisor in the months leading up to Accreditation. When the inspection was over, he was sacked!  Staff are coached in what to say to the inspectors if asked. Residents who normally are bed ridden are dragged out of bed and propped up in a chair, with hair and make up done. I remember one woman who couldn't move was forced out of bed, put in a chair and had a magazine placed in front of her, despite the fact she had no concept of reality and was unable to move her arms. It's all so set up and deceptive.

Lachlan Mar 7, 2016

@FN Cate @Tracy @Lachlan  The last facility I worked only permitted RN's to administer medication and the RN's had to fight to have that policy implemented. Otherwise, there would have not been much for us to do. EN's and Cert III Carers were not permitted to touch medications. Even EN's who were certified to give medication, were not permitted to administer them, although they did carry out wound care and wound management. There was one RN per floor (six floors), 2 EN's and 4 Cert III staff on each floor. Each floor had 28 residents. I worked in a facility which preferred RN's on 457 Visas. There were only four of us out of 12 RN's who were Australian. I became frustrated because so many of the staff couldn't speak or understand English fluently and in nursing, understanding each other is paramount. 

Samantha Mar 7, 2016

*@Lachlan @Tracy We used to do a 400km round trip every week to visit a family member. On one occasion my husband asked how were the meals that week.  The reply, "Beautiful, the accreditation people are here".  Says it all.*


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## Tisme (28 June 2017)

basilio said:


> Saw another story about how Aveo managed it's cash cows (yes I have given up any semblance of respect for Aveo..)
> The comments after the story bear checking out as well.
> If there is a proper investigation of the practices of this organisation, and if fact the wider industry, there should  be thousands of submissions.
> 
> ...



https://www.aveo.com.au/investor-centre/corporate-governance/board-of-directors/


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## basilio (2 July 2017)

Adele Ferguson is keeping up the pressure on Aveo with more stories on how the "cash cows" are milked. Interesting to note how may new stories are appear to be surfacing and the sustained questioning of the alleged client satisfaction surveys.

* Aveo retirement village investigation has put the sector under a spotlight *







*Adele Ferguson*
 Contact via Email 
 Follow on Twitter 

11 reading now
When Benjamin Disraeli famously outlined his damning assessment that there are "lies, damned lies and statistics" he could have replaced the word statistics with retirement village surveys.

Embattled Aveo retirement village giant and peak lobby group the Retirement Living Council have spent the past few days talking up the popularity of retirement villages and talking down allegations raised in a joint media investigation by Fairfax Media and ABC's _Four Corners_.

That investigation exposed a litany of questionable business practices at Aveo including punitive fees, churning of residents, misleading marketing promises and sub-standard safety and emergency services.

Since the stories broke, I have received hundreds of emails and phone calls from long-suffering residents who have been suffering in silence due to poor regulation.

*Related Articles*

*'Some things can't be forgiven': The horrific death of Iris Lees*
*'A raised eyebrow': calls for probe into Aveo share trading*
The spotlight is now firmly on a sector that is clearly crying out for reform. Not that the company or the industry is enjoying the attention. Both seem to hope the issue will just go away.

Since June 2, almost a month before the stories were published, Aveo was repeatedly asked to participate in an interview, but declined.

Instead the company has chosen to pay for full page ads in newspapers castigating the stories as one-sided.

It has also released a statement to the ASX containing answers to questions sent to them as part of the investigation. Those answers were provided to the investigation five days after a deadline the company's spokesman had committed to meet.
http://www.canberratimes.com.au/bus...sector-under-a-spotlight-20170630-gx2490.html


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## Wyatt (2 July 2017)

Not all aged care and retirement communities are out to bleed their residents dry.

A family member lived in 2 IRT properties on the NSW south coast and in both cases received full refund of their leasehold payments. Firstly for a self contained 2Br apartment 500m from the beach and secondly a private room in a higher care facility. In both cases the outlay was less than $250K.
Definitely pays to do your homework and not get sucked in by the smarmy ads.

The commercial exploitation revealed is a disgrace, vote with your feet


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## Tisme (3 July 2017)

So does anyone else watch the "Freedom" ads and think to themselves ............


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## basilio (3 July 2017)

Tisme said:


> So does anyone else watch the "Freedom" ads and think to themselves ............




Freedom from worrying about money ever again....


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## basilio (3 July 2017)

One might wonder why Aveo has declined to answer the myriad questions concerning residents left to die in 40 Degree courtyards, left helpless for days after falling in their homes ect, ectera ectera.

Well it's simple. *It comes out a deep respect for the privacy of their cash cows (soory  residents) and compliance with their legal obligations.
*
_Just reminds of a defendent accused of killing his mother and father and throwing himself on the mercy of the court because he was an orphan.
_
http://www.asx.com.au/asxpdf/20170630/pdf/43kbk18m3vtw7t.pdf


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## Tisme (3 July 2017)

basilio said:


> One might wonder why Aveo has declined to answer the myriad questions concerning residents left to die in 40 Degree courtyards, left helpless for days after falling in their homes ect, ectera ectera.
> 
> Well it's simple. *It comes out a deep respect for the privacy of their cash cows (soory  residents) and compliance with their legal obligations.
> *
> ...




et cet era


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## basilio (3 July 2017)

Et cetera indeed..


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## basilio (3 July 2017)

ACCC is opening an investigation into Aveo. ASIC and the State regulators will also be on board. Let's see how serious they are.


*ACCC to investigate Aveo over contract terms and conduct*

The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) will launch an investigation into retirement village giant Aveo, which is caught up in a national scandal.

ACCC chairman Rod Sims told _The Australian Financial Review_ the ACCC would investigate some of the "more serious matters being raised" in relation to Aveo. "We have taken a serious note across the agency."

He said there also needed to be a wider regulatory review of the sector and the ACCC would stand ready to participate. He said ASIC would also need to get involved, as well as state regulators.

A first step in the ACCC investigation would be to talk to state regulators including Consumer Affairs Victoria and Fair Trading in NSW, given retirement village operators are regulated by the states.


Read more: http://www.afr.com/business/health/...rms-and-conduct-20170702-gx2wze#ixzz4llAmdykn 
Follow us: @FinancialReview on Twitter | financialreview on Facebook


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## basilio (5 July 2017)

It will interesting to see all the political parties react to the expose on price gouging and huge exit fees in the Retirement  village industry.  The whole business reminds me of the scandals surrounding the Timeshare industry with their aggressive marketing and ongoing fees. 

The big difference with the Retirement Villages is that the sums are far bigger and people involved generally older and more vulnerable. I think (hope) there is a big opportunity for concerned village residents to put pressure on all MPs to get serious about the situation.

* Time for retirement living to meet the fairness test *

*Gerard Brody*

 facebook SHARE 
 twitter TWEET 
 email 
  

  

  


Retirement is often called the "golden years". If you read the marketing of the large companies that operate retirement villages you'd be led to believe that it's all lawn bowls, cocktails and luxury. The reality can be very different.

*As one retiree recently told us: "When I moved in, the reason for that place's existence was residents. Now it's reason for existence is shareholders and there is a huge amount of distrust."*

*Exploitation at Aveo unacceptable: Minister*
Following revelations retirement village operator Aveo ripped off older Australians, the Aged Care minister says all governments need to do more to prevent this happening again.

In Australia, retirement housing is a mess. If you're considering the lifestyle promised by the operators of retirement housing, what you'll soon encounter is needlessly complex contracts and legal arrangements that even lawyers have trouble understanding.

Your unit might be a strata title, licence arrangement, or a lease and loan. You might even be renting the land while owning the mobile home on top of it. The intricate contracts are impenetrable for most people and are cruelly one-sided. When you read them, it's hard to escape the conclusion that these contracts are written deliberately to bamboozle.
http://www.canberratimes.com.au/bus...o-meet-the-fairness-test-20170704-gx45xs.html


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## sptrawler (21 July 2017)

It looks as though the message has got through.

https://thewest.com.au/news/wa/retirement-fees-investigation-ng-b88542803z


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## basilio (21 July 2017)

Freedom Aged Care.  A better way to fleece the sheep.

 
*Aveo faces outcry over push into Freedom Aged Care *


*Adele Ferguson*

*Sarah Danckert*
Embattled retirement village giant Aveo has been forced to effectively refund residents at two villages after an outcry about its decision to transition the villages to its new, expensive Freedom Aged Care program.

At the same time, Aveo is stinging residents at some other villages with two sets of exit fees, which can run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars, if they switch to the new Freedom program, a program offering care similar to that being offered in a nursing home.

Fairfax Media can also reveal that Aveo is using a company that is owned and operated by a current director of its wholly-owned Freedom Aged Care subsidiary to conduct reviews and provide recommendations on the village. It is telling residents the company is independent.

A letter sent to Concierge Bayside residents in Melbourne, says "to assist with the review, Aveo have engaged the services of Aspire Aged Care, an independent advisory firm, to review the village environment and to meet with residents to discuss their needs." 

Aveo has been under fire for the past month after a joint Fairfax Media-_Four Corners_ investigation uncovered a litany of questionable business practices at the retirement village operator including churning of residents, fee gouging and misleading marketing promises, such as safety and emergency services, made to some of the country's most vulnerable people.

The investigation has also uncovered that Aveo's two new programs The Aveo Way and Freedom Aged Care squeeze even more money out of residents.

Residents at Freedom can pay more than $900 a week in maintenance fees and care fees, then pay additional fees for services such as changing a light bulb, $15.

http://www.canberratimes.com.au/bus...h-into-freedom-aged-care-20170721-gxg6ur.html


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## luutzu (21 July 2017)

basilio said:


> Freedom Aged Care.  A better way to fleece the sheep.
> 
> 
> *Aveo faces outcry over push into Freedom Aged Care *
> ...




dam. It's like season two of Better Call Saul.


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## Value Hunter (21 July 2017)

I would avoid investing in the whole sector not just Aveo. Expect the full wrath of government to come down on the sector within the next few years.


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