Sims 2 Cars Range Rover' title='Sims 2 Cars Range Rover' />ACCC to investigate Aveo over contract terms and conduct. Emma Official Se Service Software there. 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. The investigation comes as The Minister for Aged Care Ken Wyatt told the The Financial Review that he had met with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to discuss the alarming allegations raised in the recent reports on retirement village contracts and fees. Since the stories broke, Mr Wyatt said his office had received many calls and emails, asking for action. In a statement he said although the states have primary responsibility for regulating this sector, the Commonwealth needed to be assured the overall national system of consumer protection had strong safeguards for older people. This is clearly an area where the Commonwealth cannot act alone, he said. Mr Wyatt said a national coordinated approach was required, including working with the ACCC and ASIC and the states and territories, to ensure the adequacy of regulations. Buy Toy Cars, Trains Planes from our Toys range at Tesco direct. We stock a great range of products at everyday prices. Clubcard points on every order. After loading the treats into the Petcube, my boyfriend and I selected a shortrange toss for the treats, which makes sense because I live in a small apartment in New. Questionable practices. He said consultation through the Council of Australian Governments COAG may be necessary for unified change in this area. Though they the states have primary responsibility for regulating this sector, the Commonwealth needs to be assured the overall national system of consumer protection has strong safeguards for older people. This is clearly an area where the Commonwealth cannot act alone. A joint Fairfax Media investigation put the spotlight on the retirement village industry, particularly one of the biggest operators, Aveo. It uncovered a litany of questionable business practices at Aveo including churning residents to collect hefty exit fees, fee gouging, safety issues and misleading marketing promises, such as safety and emergency services, made to some of the countrys most vulnerable people. The investigation found that many retirees dont know what they are signing until it is too late and when it comes time to exit a retirement village, to move into a nursing home or closer to family, some find they are financially trapped. Aveo denies it has a policy to churn residents and says surveys show that most of its residents are happy. It also says its residents come first and that its new contracts, The Aveo Way which represent 2. Weve been making PC trainers for over 15 years. Never used a trainer before WATCH HOW EASY IT IS Join Cheat Happens Premium for access to all 9,000 of our. Check out the BMW i3 review at CARandDRIVER. Use our Car Buying Guide to research BMW i3 prices, specs, photos, videos, and more. New and used Toyota cars, deals and offers in Toyota Milton Keynes, Toyota Luton, Toyota Aylesbury, Toyota Bedford, Toyota St. Albans, Toyota Watford, Toyota. MTS_Fresh-Prince-1195369-Screenshot-1130.jpg' alt='Sims 2 Cars Range Rover' title='Sims 2 Cars Range Rover' />These contracts charge a 3. The exit fee is based on the purchase price of the unit. Any capital gain or loss is absorbed by Aveo, there are weekly maintenance fees and according to a contract obtained by the Financial Review, residents pay the cost of reinstating the property. ACCCs Rod Sims said three laws were relevant for the ACCC to investigate misleading conduct, unfair contract terms and unconscionable conduct. But he said the ACCC would need to unpick what the state requirements were doing. His comments follow calls from Labor, the Greens and former ACCC chairman Allan Fels to urgently review the retirement village sector. Consumer protection. Professor Fels described the retirement village scandal as the greatest untouched consumer protection issue of this century. The main profit driver of the industry is charging residents exit fees, a fee charged when a resident sells their apartment. According to the industrys peak lobby group, the Property Council, the exit fee was designed to ensure the entrance price into the village was more affordable. For that reason, it argues, retirement village units are often priced lower than comparable homes in the same area. However, some of the more recent contracts and units being sold in Aveo villages show unit prices are comparable to units in the same area. For example, a contract written in October 2. George village in Sandringham for 6. Capital gains are shared but the resident wears 1. In the same village, a resident, Gwyneth Jones, asked Aveo for a valuation on her one bedroom freehold unit and was told it was worth 2. Tim Kyng, an actuary and senior lecturer at Macquarie University in the department of applied finance and actuarial studies, was given a research grant to build a calculator to help people understand the true cost of living in a retirement village as well as compare different retirement village contracts against each other. Kyng estimates that if someone left Aveos Sandringham village after two years, based on the Freedom contract, it would be the equivalent rent of 1. But it isnt just the business model that has raised the attention of regulators. A 1. 45 million share buyback launched by Aveo on Tuesday also raised eyebrows. It prompted ASIC to launch an inquiry after it came to light that one of its directors along with Aveos major shareholder Mulpha had bought shares on Monday, the day before the buyback. Earlier in the week Aveos chief executive Geoff Grady had told the media the board had canvassed a buyback in weekend discussions in anticipation of a share price fall on Monday morning in the wake of the weekend Fairfax Media articles. Regulation questions. Aveo has ruled off its books for the financial year, with investors and analysts waiting for its earnings outlook statement when it releases its results in August. The question is whether the media expose and various regulatory investigations and inquiries will impact its earnings and business model. Octave Software For Windows 7. Tony Sherlock, an analyst at Morningstar, wrote a report Aveos Reputation King Hit, which said that the reputational damage would likely result in lower future demand for Aveos retirement village product. He cut its forecast exit fees by 6 per cent in the medium to long term. Morgans stockbrokers wrote These articles do not change our positive view on Aveo. We are cognisant that bad press can have an impact more on sentiment versus earnings, but also believe in the demand drivers behind the groups growth. Besides Aveo, other big listed retirement village operators include Lend Lease and Stockland, which would also be impacted if national laws were introduced and exit fees put under the blowtorch. A parliamentary report in 2. Older People and the Law, has recently resurfaced after being buried for a decade. It recommended the ACCC play a stronger role in monitoring consumer protection of retirement village residents. It said should there be insufficient improvement in the level of protection for consumers, the Australian government should consider regulating this industry using its powers under corporations legislation. It recommended the ACCC and state and territory fair trading offices review all aspects of exit fees and other fees, including whether they should be abolished. The industry is crying out for reform and hopefully it will happen. Former diplomat and former Aveo resident John Lander described it as a financial sinkhole. Its clearly designed to suck as much profit from the individual investors as it possibly can I think its extortionate.