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14th July, 2019
The Prime Minister of Australia
Hon. Scott Morrison MP
Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, P.O. Box 6500 Canberra ACT 2600
Dear Mr Morrison
The Sterling Group Collapse
It is with distress that we right to inform you of how we lost $280,000 in 7 short months
ASIC who were supposed to be protecting us from White collar criminals has let us down.
In September, 2018 we bought a life lease through Sterling New Life. This was part of our financial plan for retirement. It was supposed to give us a roof over our heads for the next 40 years.
ASIC was holding meetings with this company in June, 2018, 3 months before we bought our life lease) and had been wandering around the Sterling Group since 2011, but they did not warn the older Australian about investing in this company.
Then on 28th June, after we all had a meeting in Mandurah and heaps of publicity to this scandal involving more that $20 million stolen from retirees and pensioners, ASIC admits it will now start an investigation.
Sterling was not seen to be a get rich quick scheme but one which was supposed to look after our housing needs in retirement for up to 40 years! Yet ASIC knew of the problems for 6 years and warned no-one. ASIC failed us all.
On the 3rd May,2019 the company became insolvent, and we were told after having invested $280,000 7 months prior to this that they had run out of money and we could not get one cent repayment on this “rent for life” scheme which we had invested in.
Mr Morrison, in 7 months the following has happened:
1. We have lost our life savings
2. Wife is now under two specialists – Rheumatologist and Dermatologist, and is on a lot of medications, one which is not on the PBS
This is how it has affected us:
1. Rent for rest of life (We will not be able to afford $1,400 rent a month in retirement).
2. Rent increases by 2% per year.
3. We will have to use our super to buy a home to live in.
4. This means that we will have to draw from the Aged Pension for the rest of our lives
This puts us in a precarious situation of having a financial future which is uncertain.
If we had been warned of the Sterling New Life product by ASIC, we would still have our life savings and have a really good future not having to rely on the aged pension
Please instruct ASIC or the Department of Treasury to pay back $36 million to the victims so that we can continue our lives without being under such financial pressures.
Yours faithfully