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Monday, 5 December 2011
Investors fear losses in MyATM

KEVIN NAUGHTON

A PORT Adelaide ex-footballer and serving and retired Liberal politicians are among the buyers of automatic teller machines left in the dark by MyATM’s trading halt.

The ATM-deployer, a sponsor of Port Adelaide Football Club until last week, froze its shares on the Australian Stock Exchange early on Friday morning and little has been heard since.

Some investors have much to lose.

MyATM sells ATMs to investors, deploys them into retail locations and promises returns of at least 20 per cent for 10 years. It’s estimated that MyATM has sold around 1800 ATMs to investors in the last three years.

The company’s phones went unanswered last Friday as MyATM staff were told to attend an afternoon meeting with “an external adviser”.

In a statement to the ASX, company chairman Kym Weir said MyATM “was not trading within terms with its suppliers”.

Indaily has spoken with ATM purchasers and former staff on the basis of anonymity.

Beth, a retired investor who lives in Sydney, paid around $80,000 for three machines from MyATM three years ago, on a promise of “minimum 20 per cent returns”.

“What has always amazed me is that not one of these three machines recorded enough transactions to make the 20 per cent, but they still paid us that amount,” he said.

“Then in September this year the cheques stopped coming. I can’t get an answer out of them as to why.”

On a visit to Adelaide, Beth’s partner decided to check the machines in the locations as listed in MyATM documentation.

“None of the serial numbers matched. Our machines weren’t in the so-called premium locations.

“We found one in a fish and chip shop and another that hadn’t recorded a single transaction for months.”

A retired Port Adelaide AFL footballer, who invested about $100,000 in the machines, told Indaily he had received regular payments until recently.

“I’ve been getting my money OK, had no problems on that side of things,” he said.

“I’m concerned about the money the company owes to Port. I’ve been told by officials it’s around $400,000.”

Two other MyATM sources have given Indaily the same figure.

“They’ve had huge amounts outstanding for ages,” a former My ATM staff member said.

“They’re on a slow payment plan at the moment but I can’t see how they’ll make the payments [to Port].”

Acting on advice, Indaily approached a senior State Liberal MP to ask if he was a purchaser of seven ATMs, which are not mentioned in his parliamentary register of pecuniary interests.

The MP responded in an email: “Neither I or my family have or have had shares in My ATM . The house of assembly clerk has advised I have no obligation to report under the Act.”

When Indaily repeated its query about his having purchased machines, not MyATM shares, the MP did not respond.

The company floated on the Stock Exchange in January, listing at 20 cents. Its shares have dipped below one cent and at the time of the trading halt were languishing at 3.5 cents.

Its directors and major shareholders include retired federal Liberal MP Grant Chapman, failed businessman Donald Fleming and former CEO and managing director Tim Scala, who stood down from that post last Tuesday,

The company has not responded to Indaily calls.
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Best of luck, aug27 and all. Maybe Customers or another company will act as a white knight here. Customers has said they are involved in making a takeover offer somewhere, but there's no details. I hope it's a takeover of myATM. Even if it isn't, maybe the machines can be flogged off, and owners can get some return.