Millennium 3 ARs banned after charging fees-for-no-service
Millennium 3 authorised representative (AR), North Coast Financial Services’ (NCFS) director and officer have been banned by the corporate watchdog for six years after they were found to have breached their duties and charged fees-for-no-service.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) banned Timothy William Parry and Damian Garnet Price from controlling a financial services business or performing any function as an officer of an entity that carries on a financial services business for six years.
NCFS had been a Millennium 3 AR since 5 February, 2004, and Parry was sole director and secretary of NCFS between 4 September, 2008, and 15 October, 2020, while Price was an officer of NCFS at all relevant times. While they controlled the business, neither of them were financial advisers at NCFS.
“On or around 28 May, 2015, NCFS took on board new clients. ASIC found neither Mr Parry nor Mr Price took sufficient steps to identify the services NCFS was required to provide to these new clients, resulting in 58 clients being charged over $1500 each in fees for services that were not provided,” ASIC said.
ASIC found the pair failed to take sufficient steps to ensure that:
- They fulfilled their responsibilities by implementing effective supervision and monitoring arrangements at NCFS;
- A satisfactory due diligence process was undertaken when purchasing NCFS’s client book;
- NCFS complied with financial services laws; and
- NCFS and its representatives complied with the compliance manual of its licensee, performed the obligations in the licensee compliance manual in a diligent and faithful manner, and complied with obligations under the law.
ASIC said it investigated the pair followed a breach report lodged by Millennium 3 concerning fees-for-no-service.
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