We normally associate scams with an overseas entity randomly targeting you when we think of scams. Still, Registry Australia is an Australian company mining real data from ASIC. The Registry Australia scam encourages you to pay twice as much to reregister your business name renewal.
Small Business Answers owns more than one business name, and one of those names came up for renewal. In the mail, we received an official-looking letter indicating our business name was expiring next month, which it was. This letter provided payment details for a 1-year renewal for $99 or 3 years for $189. Thentwo2 weeks later, an email arrived from ASIC, the official government body for business registrations, indicating the same but at the cost of $39 for one year or $82 for three years.
Registry Australia claims to be Australia’s leading and most reliable business registration service in their letter and offers you an online portal and automatic renewal notifications. ASIC provides an online portal and sends you automatic renewals. Registry Australia states they are independent of ASIC, and you are not required to pay any money. Still, as with all scams, youmust pay attention andy read this information in the letter.
Unfortunately, nothing stops Registry Australia from obtaining business renewal information from ASIC. Then contact you in the hope that you will pay them more money for them to pay ASIC the $37 or $88 on your behalf to reregister your business name.
Small Business Answers advise ignoring this correspondence from Registry Australia and only dealing with the official government channels. Besides that, overthree3 years, you will have an extra $111 in your pocket rather than funding a scam.
For more information on the official government method of registering a new business name, see Small Business Answers guide to Register a Business Name. ASIC also has a page on Scams
so…. I did pay them for 1-year registration – will this be still legit or do I have to pay ASIC as well?
Our assumption is it is legit you just paid them extra rather than going direct.
I receive a renewal notice from Registry Australia Pty Ltd every year – just prior to receiving my ASIC one. Every year I throw it in the bin but they never give up trying to rip me off.
I’ve just registered a business name with ASIC and two days later received a letter from Registry Australia offering to sell me the right to register my business name as a domain name for $99 for one year – is this also a scam?
I do not believe it is a scam however you would be much better of your to a Domain registry like GoDaddy and you would get your domain for far less.
Yay for the Australian Government for letting this kind of “legal” scam happen. Yay ASIC for selling them our data in the first place.
Yet if I was to get the list of leads from this “Registry Australia” fake business and sell it, I would be breaking the law.
What a Joke
Obviously they got access to AsIC registry for those business’ who are almost due to pay the fee. Can’t ASIC keep this info private? Just about as secure as Optus it seems.
I received a notice from them today. I got caught about six years ago, but no more. Crooks.
I was scammed by Registry Australia 3 years ago and pair $199,00 for their ‘service’, thinking the renewal fee must have gone up. Only because a business friend alerted me to their slick modus operandi did I become aware of the scam, but too late. I have tody renewed my registration for another 3 years with ASIC, paying only their regular fee of $92.00. Though the business doings of Australia Registry is probably legal, it is beyond me that they may still keep their license to operate in this manner. Regards, Jim Schultz, WA
Hi Angus, thank you for your work uncovering this. I’m frustrated that this has been allowed to continue.
I’ve spent a bit of time digging into the ownership of Registry and the court judgement against what could be considered its predecessor Domain Register Pty Ltd.
I’ve shared some of my findings on the Whirlpool website: https://forums.whirlpool.net.au/thread/3kwk1v83?p=8#r158
Thanks for sharing this article. I thought I’d share my experience and tell others they can get their money back! I have received Registry Australia letters over the years, but have never succumbed to their misleading ploy until this year, when I was getting over an illness, tired and busy when their letter came in, and silly me just went ahead and paid it without realising what it was!! Great news though, I just got off the phone from them, told them that I was not happy and that I felt like I’d been misled and I wanted to de-authorise them from acting as an agent for ASIC on my behalf. They didn’t hesitate to tell me I could have a full refund. This is the link they sent me to fill out my refund request https://registry.com.au/business-enquiry-online I hope that is helpful to others 🙂
Elly, great real advise to pass onto our readers. Thank You.
Thanks for this, I just fell for their dirty trap AGAIN!!!
Please note that in that refund form, you have to click the box that says there will be a cancellation FEE !
These dirty dogs!!! I’m so angry at them and myself!
I received one today and though it was strange that it didn’t come from ASIC. I hope people check the legitimacy of it before they pay. These scammers is out of control.
I also received my Registry Australia renewal as 3 years ago I paid them $199 thinking that I was going to loose my business name if I didn’t. I’m a very small business and do all my own paperwork. My business name is important so I paid. This year I had a little extra time and did some checking. I will not be paying my hard earned $199 to this so called company. Thanks for this info to put my mind at ease.
I had dealings with these guys today! I am gobsmacked that this is allowed to happen. I have been a wake up to it in the past but have been busy lately and just smashed out paying bills yesterday and later on realised I had been “had”. I called and spoke with Mary this morning, she was not HELPFUL at all, she said I should have read the letter and it clearly states I do not have to pay and it is not a bill – despite appearing to be 100% impersonating a bill!!!! I had asked if she was the business owner which she had said yes to and then later denied and said she is just customer service and there is no manager to speak to, I asked for her claims that she was making to be submitted to me in writing so I could take this further but she said she cannot she can only send automated emails and I would have to talk to the emails department – I asked to be transferred to them but then she said she was the only one in the office today and I would have to email in. This needs to be stopped. If this is legal what is stopping anyone impersonating another company ?electrical or phone company and sending out fake bills but then admitting they are fake and if they pay it then its just too bad – you should have read the small print??! A stop needs to be put to this. She had zero remorse and pretty well said we cant stop them and that there are at least 5 other business doing the same thing. URGH!!!!!! no morals
Why are these dills allowed to be in business? On the face of it, the renewal letter “looks” official enough, such that many people will fall victim to this blatant trickery, so it’s time for the Gov’t to earn their bloody keep and protect citizens. Put them out of business.
I have fallen for this trap! Can someone please advise if they have been able to get their money back without paying cancellation fees? Or can someone confirm if they actually re-register your business name? Thanks.
Can I ASK REGISTRY AUSTRALIA for a refund? Waht happens if they won’t return my money?
I just opened their letter today and I was about to pay them but got suspicious and found your website. I am so grateful to you because you just saved me paying money! I am puzzled though why the police do not or have not taken actions to stop them especially as they have an address – level 14/33 Collins St Melbourne. I imagine they might have made a lot of money from people who did not need to pay anything. Anyway, thanks again. That was a close call! Tearing up and binning letter now!