MYOB Secure Invoicing Upgrade: update and Summary 11/03

I am writing to express my extreme dissatisfaction and frankly, outrage, regarding the recent changes to your software that have effectively crippled my ability to perform a basic, essential business function: emailing invoices directly from the MYOB platform. I want to state upfront that I have never lodged a formal complaint, however the recent changes implemented by MYOB regarding invoice emailing have caused such significant disruption and frustration to my business operations that I feel absolutely compelled to voice my extreme dissatisfaction and outrage regarding these modifications.

The decision to inextricably link this fundamental feature to the mandatory setup of your online "Pay Now" facility is unacceptable, as it is a coercive tactic. Forcing users, who have absolutely no need or desire for your online payment processing, to go through a verification process involving highly sensitive personal identification (driver's license, passport) simply to restore basic emailing functionality is appalling.

Let me be unequivocally clear:

1. Emailing invoices is CORE functionality: This is not some premium add-on. It's a basic expectation of any modern accounting package, and it was a function available when I initially subscribed to MYOB. Its removal under these conditions constitutes a degradation of the service I pay for so I expect a reduction in the monthly subscription fee.
2. This is NOT "Opt-In": You have removed a key feature and are holding it hostage, demanding users adopt and verify for a separate, chargeable service (online payments) they may not want, simply to get the original feature back. This feels less like a service update and more like a blackmail tactic – comply with our new demands and potentially expose yourself to new fees or lose functionality you already paid for.
3. No Choice, No Consent: I do not consent to providing my sensitive personal identification to MYOB or its unnamed "third parties" for a payment service I will never use. Being forced into this verification process under duress to continue operating my business efficiently via your software is a gross overstep.
4. No Reduction in Subscription Fees: Despite removing this essential functionality for users unwilling to comply with the unnecessary verification for an unwanted service, there has been no corresponding reduction in the subscription fee. You have unilaterally diminished the value proposition of your software while continuing to charge the full price. This is fundamentally unfair and poor business practice.

I chose MYOB as an accounting package, not as a mandated payment processor. Your decision effectively forces the latter onto your customers under the threat of removing essential tools. This is a fundamental betrayal of the relationship I, as a small business owner, expected when choosing your platform.

This situation is untenable there needs to be an immediate decoupling of the invoice emailing function from the online payment setup. Basic emailing capability must be restored to all subscribers without forcing them to undergo verification for, or adoption of, the optional payment services.

Failure to address this critical issue promptly and satisfactorily will leave me with no alternative but to cease my subscription and migrate my business accounting to a competitor that respects customer choice and does not resort to such coercive strategies to push unwanted services while degrading core functionality. Furthermore, if this issue is not remedied ASAP, I will be lodging a formal complaint regarding these coercive and unfair business practices with the NSW Fair Trading and Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).