Milk and Honey Hair in Gosford has been hit with a $63,000 debt by the State Government for JobSaver overpayments and co-owner Belinda Beresford is worried other struggling small businesses on the Central Coast might also be in for a major shock.
Beresford, who co-owns the business with daughter Danielle Cohen, was advised last December by Revenue NSW a compliance review of successful applications for JobSaver payments was underway as part of a “standard” process.
She was asked to provide a swathe of documents and told she would be notified if she had an outstanding balance owing to Service NSW or if she was owed any money.
On January 29 this year, she was “gobsmacked” to receive notification that the review had shown she needed to repay a staggering $63,000 in what she said appeared to be a failure of the system.
“The stress has been unimaginable,” Beresford said.
“We applied for JobSaver at the end of July last year and the first payment came in August.
“We supplied all the documentation that was required as part of the application, along with a letter from our accountant confirming closure and business downturn.
“Service NSW staff then calculated the rebate.
“We received our last payment in October and didn’t apply for any further payments as it wasn’t necessary (with lockdown over).
“I had completed all the necessary paperwork and trusted the system to calculate the amount we were due.
“I can’t see how I am at fault if Service NSW miscalculated.
“I am trying to get to the bottom of where things went wrong because I don’t want this to happen to any other businesses.
“You take the good with the bad every day in small business but this has been very stressful.
“When we were closed down last year with five hours’ notice because of lockdown we decided to put our efforts into growing as a team and perfecting our products knowledge and skills.
“We gave our staff training and challenges and were still paying for our juniors to attend online TAFE courses.”
Beresford said even though the business was now open again, there were stresses around limited customer numbers due to social distancing requirements and appointment cancellations and staff absences due to COVID-19 isolations.
She said paying back the money wasn’t the biggest issue.
“It seems there could be a massive system problem which needs to be rectified,” she said.
“If this has happened to other business owners I hope they come forward so the system can be looked at.”
A spokesperson for Revenue NSW said audits had begun of the 2021 JobSaver payments and 2021 COVID-19 Business Support grant.
“These audits may identify customers who have received an over-payment of a grant from incorrect or misstated data being provided by customers,” the spokesperson said.
“The JobSaver payment was paid on the basis of the information provided by customers.
“Data matching by Revenue NSW has identified that some customers made errors or provided misleading information, such as including incorrect wages or having an insufficient decline in turnover.
“When it is found that a grant has been overpaid, Revenue NSW will work with customers to pay back the funds.
“Where a genuine mistake has been made and the customer is unable to return monies by the date of the invoice, an interest free payment plan can be arranged by contacting Revenue NSW on 1300 655 805.
“If a customer does not pay an invoice issued for the over payment of 2021 COVID-19 Job Saver payments or Business grants by the due date and has not made contact with Revenue NSW, a Debt Notice may be issued.
“If a 2021 COVID-19 Job Saver payment or Business grant invoice is not paid by the due date, a Fee Recovery Order will be issued and an additional cost of $65 is added to the fee.
“If the debt is not addressed by the due date on the Fee Recovery Order, Revenue NSW will start debt recovery action.
“There are options available to customers who are unable to pay their fees.
“For more information or call Revenue NSW on 1300 655 805 or go to https://www.revenue.nsw.gov.au/fines-and-fees/fees.
Terry Collins
A spokesperson for Revenue NSW said audits had begun of the 2021 JobSaver payments and 2021 COVID-19 Business Support grant.
“These audits may identify customers who have received an over-payment of a grant from incorrect or misstated data being provided by customers,” the spokesperson said.
“The JobSaver payment was paid on the basis of the information provided by customers.
“Data matching by Revenue NSW has identified that some customers made errors or provided misleading information, such as including incorrect wages or having an insufficient decline in turnover.
This statement above provided by Revenue NSW is false and misleading. The Revenue NSW staff member completing the compliance audit provided our business a calculation of the correct rebate using the exact May PAYG figures that were provided. Our salon was closed so 100% downturn. Revenue NSW need to take ownership and apologise for the calculation error not turn their mistake around to blame small business. owners.