Commercial Securities and Gateway Technologies are the same entity. There was a name change in October 2009 but all else the same except for change of Managing Director (see below). Most lower level sales employees use an alias and they are are not fully aware of the company's operations. Commercial Securities operates on "silos" of information and does its best to restrict communications between the various stakeholders e.g. employees are not allowed to take up a "licence" for spurious, if plausible reasons, otherwise they would know the real results. Clients are losing 30 of capital per month, not making $5000 a month on a pool investment of $10,000.
Gateway Technologies has over 50 complaints listed with ACCC . It previously sold betting software on CD before moving to selling betting services.
Commercial Securities does not trade in listed or unlisted securities: the company name is misleading however regulation of the company does not come under ASIC's jurisdiction - although it allowed the company to trade under this misleading company name.
Commercial Securities method of operation is to publish historical Australian Group A horse-racing results which are contrived to indicate a return of around $60,000 p.a. This theoretically brings returns under the tax threshold (around $70,000) and avoids review by the Tax Office. This threshold is used as a ploy by the company to explain why it provides its betting information to outside parties.
Actual bets are on different horses to those belatedly published. The historical results are provided by Commercial Securities as an example of what could occur had they bet on those horses. It is a subtle but significant difference, and not a distinction drawn by the sales staff, most of whom do not realise there is a difference. The company leads sales staff to believe what they pass on to their prospects is actual results: this is not so.
Cost of the betting service is $8,800 inc. GST (plus 10% of earnings after the first $10,000 returned) for two years service; and clients are solicited over the phone from lists provided by Dunn and Bradstreet and others (e.g. new mobile phone numbers): and Commercial Securities especially target tradespeople and others who may deal in "black money". This is because these people are not likely to report a loss or complain about fraudulent activity.
Payment by credit card is encouraged however only for the $8.800 so-called "trading licence" as many credit card companies (eg AMEX, CitiBank) will not deal with gambling companies for fear of claims of unconscionable conduct. This legislation is strong in the USA following their "no/low-docs" mortgage debacle, and it will become stronger in Australia. The Bill has been debated.
The two year "licence" is invoiced by Commercial Securities as "management services" or as "business software" so that the $8,800 can be claimed by those with an ABN as a tax deduction. Clients are encouraged to place a further $10,000 of funds into the "trading account" with the bookmaker, Over The Odds (part of EzyBet) and these funds are accessed by Commercial Securities for gambling purposes. Clients are asked to deposit this amount
($1,000 to $10,000) on-line by direct deposit to avoid problems with the credit card companies.
According to ASIC, Commercial Securities is based in Queensland (Brisbane telemarketing office) Level 21, 300 Queen Street, Brisbane, and director is Zoei Charissa,, Keong of 8 Sundown Drive, Paradise Point, Qld 4216, born: 07 Jul 1983 - Toowoomba,Qld: Appointed Date: 09 Jun 2009. The company has no "trading rooms"in any State and may have moved office since this this address was posted.
The company's Sydney address (Crows Nest) is listed as its head office but this is a "virtual office" run by a serviced office provider called "Silent Partner". There is no personal representation by Commercial Securities in Sydney and this office is essentially used for receipt/transfer of mail.
The company also had a telemarketing office in Melbourne until May 2010 and it still has a presence (see below). The Melbourne office was at unit 3/426 Burwood Highway, Wantirna South, VIC 3152 Phone (03) 9008 6932.
Melbourne manager, Quinten Hann, who has an investment in the company, in mid-May 2010 moved office to Unit 505 in the Knox Centre (tower), Professional Office Suite, Level 5/425 Burwood Highway, Cnr. Stud Road and Burwood Highway, and his company name is Queenbury Pty Ltd. It is on the ASIC National Names index.
Mr Hann also runs another business (dog breeding - French mastiff, also called "dogue de Bordeaux") from 29 One Tree Hill Road, Ferny Creek, Victoria, It can be viewed on Google maps (satellite) large residence with pool, substantial grounds, on southern slope: and he is also a property developer in the Dandenongs region (Vic.).
Mr Hann's mobile phone number is available on-line from his dog trading activities: it is 0419666 147.
Further public information on the infamous Quinten Hann type his full name into Google, Wikipaedia, or You Tube.
Hann's unrefuted published history includes unusually aggressive and threatening behaviour, match-fixing exposed by the media in England, an 8 year-ban from playing professional snooker for bringing the sport into disrepute, and sexual assault charges. He is also closely connected with the shadowey Principals of Commercial Securities.
If you wish to make complaints against Commercial Securities contact the ACCC not ASIC. This is because Commercial Securities offers a gambling product and not an investment product so the company does not come under ASIC's jurisdiction. You may also effectively complain to the the Consumer Affairs/Office of Fair Trading regulator in your State.
As of I July 2010, ASIC will undertake class actions against organisations such as Commercial Securities on your behalf. Register with the ACCC to take advantage of this service.
And if you were invited to contact an "independent referee", often called by the alias "Marie", then this person was a paid "stooge". This is blatant fraud and should be reported to the police in your State.
To encourage prospects to purchase a "trading licence" sales staff have also been encouraged to offer shares in the company in the future. They do not have an IPO (see Wikipaedia for definition) and so should not be making these offers. Sales staff have also been encouraged to ask prospects to take out loans or use credit card funds to fund this gambling activity. This can be construed as unconscionable conduct, an illegal activity.
Hope the above info. is useful to the "burnt". However Commercial Securities will probably disappear to soon re-appear elsewhere. The Principals operate by setting-up people like Hann and Keong to take the "fall". Maybe one-day we will have regulators who will trace the source and extinguish it.
But things are improving - as of July, ACCC will undertake class actions!