This is not the official ABN site, even though it poses as the official site to obtain an ABN. It pops up as the first review on Google. Go to the official Australian Government website to register an ABN. Petty revenge idea to get your money back: Have a morning tea/coffee and click on their add every morning. In a year you might cost them more money than they swindled from you.
On August 23, 2025, I tried to register a business name through a website I thought was ASIC’s official portal. Instead, Honcho.com.au and/or Businessname.com.au charged me $297 for a service that costs $102 for three years directly through ASIC. The website’s design and official-sounding language misled me into believing I was dealing with ASIC. … Read more
I emailed for a full refund on August 24, 2025, but they ignored me for two days. On August 26, 2025, I called, and they offered only $253.15, citing a $43.85 “admin fee” and told me now i will have to wait 15-days delay for registration due to “ASIC’s policy.” This was an attempt to keep me paying them to expidite the business name. I disputed the fee verbally, insisting it be added to my complaint, which they confirmed. Their follow-up email required me to reply to process the refund, which I also disputed as unnecessary.
This costs people $193 overcharge. Hundreds of similar complaints on ProductReview.com.au, Trustpilot, Reddit, Whirlpool, and Twitter/X describe overcharges and deceptive practices. I have reported this to ASIC and ACCC’s Scamwatch to warn others. Avoid these companies—register directly with A
If I could give zero stars, I would. Honcho appears to deliberately mislead consumers by advertising in a way that causes confusion with the official business registry website. I entered what I believed was the correct government site, only to… Read more
later realise I had unknowingly landed on Honcho’s website. The pricing presented was also misleading—I assumed the discounted rate would be applied at checkout, but it was not.
I recognised the issue within minutes and immediately paid the correct fee to the official registry. I then contacted Honcho to request a refund. Despite acting promptly (within 6 minutes), they attempted to charge me an administrative fee and, over two weeks later, I still have not received my refund.
I have now lodged a complaint with the ACCC for misleading conduct and initiated a dispute with my bank.
I strongly urge others to avoid this company. In my experience, their practices are deceptive and deeply concerning.
Follow-up · Honcho were very disappointing when I first contacted them about my refund. They originally asked if I still wanted to do business with them despite my email being very clear that I requested a refund. They refused a refund several times and I only got a full refund when I disputed the transaction with my bank. ACCC took the information I had… Read more
Reviews with attachments
SCAM HONCHO – requested an ABN in 2023 from a company known as HONCHO, I did not know ABNs were free at the time and I thought it was a government agency as thats how they portrayed themselves, they falsely took from me $464 for a bit of Admin work in seeking an ABN, they did not advise at any time during any correspondence that ABNs were actually free from… Read more
reputable agents.
After I paid the $464, I literally sent an email 17 minutes later asking them to refund my $464 and cancel my ABN request as I decided not to proceed, (some apparently cancelled the request after 2 minutes) they refused point blank citing a nonsense reason. I sent approximately 35 + emails to them receiving an untold amount of generated reference numbers? This company has no ethics, no values or principles. I have complained to Fair Trading and I am about to complain to the Ombudsman, the ATO, ACCC and I have also been in touch the NSWNCAT. They also allocated an ABN without asking did I have an appropriate licence ie a (repairers licence) but still assigned the ABN, Its all about money to them, with no care for the Individual
MY ADVICE IS, LEARN FROM PEOPLE LIKE ME WHO HAVE MADE MISTAKES AND BEEN RIPPED OFF, STAY AWAY FROM HONCHO and any links they have to other companies, apparently HONCHO is a DIVISON of BUSINESS SWITCH PTY LTD.
I feel government agencies should take action against this company, they manipulate and deceive customers into thinking they are a government Agency better still perhaps current affair may even like the story, HONCHO are misleading and in my view they contravene section 18 of the Australian consumer law which states: "the ACL provides: (1) a person must not, in trade or commerce, engage in conduct that is misleading or deceptive or likely to mislead or deceive. 2. The conduct must be misleading or deceptive or likely to mislead or deceive.(misconduct and misleading)" I don’t think you can award a 0-star rating, if I could I WOULD. I can only assume and speculate that this sort of behaviour is endorsed by BUSINESS SWITCH PTY LTD? happy to be corrected by them although I think its one of the same ie, Trading as but registered as, and recently I recieved an email wherby they attempted to intimidate me and bully me? Its beyond me how anyone can work for this mob?
CON ARTISTS – Why is ASIC even allowing a scam like this to exist??? I mistook this mob for another (Registry) to renew my business registration number and paid $316 for a service that is free with ASIC if one runs under their own name or some small fee under a different name. When asked for a refund, they claim some admin fee ($43) and $19 for printing the… Read more
business name on an A4. The request refund was done within 1hr, no service with ASIC was provided, no print has been sent, and above all no notice was given about all these charges on the phone. On top of it all it was an indian voice on the phone, typical scammer. First of all regardless if this mob provides a service or not, once cannot charge for a service has not been provided such as if ASIC has not been contacted by them and register my business, there is no service therefore there is no charge. Secondly one cannot charge a fee when no notice had been given in regards such claimed clauses. Their so called admin fee is not even listen further making this fraudulent. Do yourself a favour and save ASIC's details in your browser and renew it yourself, it's a small fee and the same amount of work. I will take this complaint further with ACCC.
Scam-Beware – This company has been trying to get money from us for a business name registration. They are not affiliated with Australian Business Registry. They even sais in an email that ASIC contacted them telling them our business name was expiring.
Positive reviews
I had a very good experience. The team is professional and always replies fast to my questions. The online form was easy, and I got my ABN and website quickly. I highly recommend them. The price is fair for such great service and results!
i was a victim of scam – Sometime 3 weeks ago I dropped a review here about my ugly situation falling a victim of scam, but fortunately for me when I was reading down that same day I saw a positive comment about alex victim help at mail dt cm this is how i reached out to him and I'm very excited to announce to you all that he single handedly got back my funds.
Excellent Service – I have read a lot of reviews about this company being a scam, but I can tell you 100% they are not. Yes, they might charge you to do what you could do yourselves for nothing but like any business they also need to make money. I first dealt with the 3years ago without any issues. I was having all sorts of problems transferring ownership of a… Read more
business even my accountant was having issues, so I contacted them again and with 3days the transfer has been successful, I don’t work for these people, and I have not been paid to write my review, I was happy to pay them the extra fee for them to sort out the headache I was going through. I wouldn’t hesitate to use them again or recommend them.
Negative reviews
Honcho's business model is charging high prices for services that are free (e.g. ABN registration), or adding a massive markup for other companies services. After moving domain name registration and email from Honcho to a better value provider, and then requesting email be cancelled through an online agent chat, they have charged credit card… Read more
$299 for another annual Microsoft 365 business basic plan. Cost to buy direct from Microsoft is $108.
Of course, they have no record of the chat that cancelled the email. Save yourself time and money and have nothing to do with Honcho.
SCAM! I got stung for close to 450. Was able to refund the business registration fee, and the GST charge, so you can reduce the cost back to just over 100 if you fall for the same gimmick I did. paying 150 sucks but better than 450.
SCAM- AVOID THIS WESBITE AT ALL COSTS! If you're looking for an ABN registration for a new business. I suggest you don't spend $400 from Honcho to get it. You can get it for free at https://abr.business.gov.au/. I wish i knew this before paying, now they wont give me a refund. I hope this helps prevent others from making the same mistake i have.
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Recent reviews
Deceitful and overpriced. It costs $102 (May 25) to register an ABN for 3 years if you do it yourself. Honcho tries for $400+. The scam works this way: choose a 3 year option, then get invoiced for 1 year. Contact them about the error and they try to charge you more. Cancel and they keep ~$50 as a "fee". If you get scammed, dispute your card… Read more
charge immediately with your bank for false advertising, keep all chat transcripts, and be ready to file at Small Claims division of local court.
I would go with no stars. Their Google search was misleading and we accidentally paid for something that was free. We contacted them and asked for a refund. They noted that as they submitted the forms that we had filled in they had partially fulfilled their role. They the. Agreed to a partial refund which we have now been chasing since March. Need to pay lawyers now
Don't pay! Don't use their service to get an abn and gst registration. It should be free. Fell into their trap and thought they were linked to ATO. Zero value nor useful service added. No cooling period. No refund.
searched on google to register for ABN and the website popped up indicating that is the portal to register for abn number "abnregistrationonline.com.au" exactly. I am an executive and work for myself and don't get scammed so easily. They charged me $99 for the application and another $49 for GST which I clearly ticked I didn't want. My assistant… Read more
indicated that the ABN application is free. Then only I went back to their website and found out that they have extremely negative reviews about their service (not on their website) but look at product review for example. I called them and they were willing to cancel the application for an admin fee of $45. Not sure whether the customer service representative I spoke to is located in this country even.
It is a scan alright but my god, it is so deceptive and some people who used the service might not even realise that they paid $149 for an application that they would have been able to do in the same time they filled the application on their website. The ATO should do something about it.
Here is the e mail I recieved from them (copy and paste)
Hi, it’s [Name Removed] here. Welcome to Honcho!
I promise to keep things simple, so let’s get straight down to business:
Business Registration Status
Our team will update you ASAP on your application status via email and SMS.
Our systems synch in real time with the ATO and ASIC’s so we usually process business registration and/or business name applications immediately. Delays occasionally occur, mainly when Federal government servers are offline or if we need to cross check details in your application.
If you have any questions simply reply to this email and we will respond ASAP (Monday to Friday from 9am to 8pm).
Honcho Access
As a valued client you now have full access to Honcho.com.au.
We use a secure ‘magic link’ on the website to make it safe and easy to log in. However, below is your Honcho username and password. Monthly Business Update
Tomorrow I will send another email about our monthly business updates. It’s an important one so please look out for it.
Kind regards,
[Name Removed] Client Communications Team
Sydney
Suite 703, Level 7 The Trust Building 155 King Street Sydney NSW 2000 02 7202 6083 Melbourne
Suite 609, 1 Queens Road Melbourne VIC 3004 03 9917 3421 1300 587 203
support@honcho.com
Monday - Friday 9AM to 8PM AEST
I got this reply back soon after the phone call:
This is to confirm that we have cancelled your remaining application through us as requested over the phone today.
Your total refund amount as discussed will be for the ABN and GST registration less our admin fee ($43.85) as per the Terms of our service.
https://abnregistration.com.au/terms-conditions
Total refund: $ 104.15
Kindly reply to this email as our acknowledgement for the request and your request will be forwarded to our billing team for processing.
Should you change your mind and wish to continue anyway or avail other services from Honcho, we're here to help.
Best regards,
[Name Removed] | Client Service Professional
02 84168075
support@honcho.com Monday - Friday 9AM - 8PM AEST
Suite 703, Level 7 The Trust Building 155 King Street, Sydney NSW 2000 Trusted by over 650,000 businesses
Google 4.7 1,482 verified reviews
Honcho is a registered trading name of Business Switch Pty Ltd (ACN 134 235 304), an Australian business specialising in helping Australians to start, manage and grow their business.
© 2025 Business Switch Pty Ltd
Here is the reply to my acceptance of their refund. I am not sure whether the company will still be… Read more
So I was on govt website thinking I was getting my ABN for free, then I end up on Honcho (AKA Switch) and a fee of $347 was charged. -made up of $99 to get an ABN, then Admin fees etc. Note I cancelled the very minute (5 mins later) I realised it was a scam and then I had admin charges!!!! It is a month later 5/4/25 no refund!. Also justifying… Read more
admin fee.How? Will take this further!Had so many scam callers thereafter too. Please DO NOT USE THEM, DONT GIVE OUT ANY DETAILS.
Scammers!! Googled ABN and they show up with no identification as Honcho, so u think you're applying on the government website. The only time they identify as Honcho is after u paid on an email with the receipt. Called to cancel 2 minutes later, and they still charged a $50 cancellation fee for a service they never provided. Applying through AU… Read more
website is free, and intentionally hiding their company name to pass by a government website is a crime!!!
Don’t fall for the scam, I was stupid enough to believe that they are part of registering for an ABN, absolutely scammed me! I want to rate zero but it doesn’t let me, terrible experience
I got charged $484 to register for business name and abn only to find out that abn is free to get and business is a lot cheaper to register! I don't know what to do, I've asked for a refund but I don't like my chances of getting it back.
These guys are scamers.. Setting up my first business thought i would use "professionals" After my first 3 months i am now officially bankrupt. Apparently i did not tick a box!!! What Freaking Box? U are professionals looking after me setting up my first business right? Thank-you Honcho for helping small businesses already struggling.
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Scammers – I got scammed too. Appears like a government website. Tricks people who don’t know anything about ABN’s to pay for them. I didn’t realise I had been scammed until it went through, and sent me to the, Honcho homepage I rang them to cancel, and got stung $45 in the admin fees, to get out of it. I don’t understand how they are getting away with it.
Honcho deceitful.practices of imposing hidden fees $43.85 – Is this fraudulent behaviour? I thought i was paying ASIC because of the deceptive format of their refernce to ASIC services on their site which is prioritized in the google search for ASIC. I contacted Honcho business immediately (within 5 minutes) after an incorrect $297.00 payment transaction, this afternoon. I requested a full refund of the… Read more
$297.00
Honcho hadn't processed the application nor the payment so at the time they have not incurred costs or damage at the time of the refund request.
Please refund the $297.00 as requested and I was told that I have to pay $43.85 for the refund, even though that had not processed the payment nor the registration at the time of my refund request.
I cancelled my credit card and I have reported Honchos alleged fraudulent charge of $43.85 for this simple payment error to the Honcho business.
Honcho is disguised as BusinessName.com.au which is prioritized in the google search for ASIC.
Scammers – Hi everyone, I got done yesterday, and paid $405 for 3 years business name registration, can anyone help me for how I can get my money back from these scammers. I don’t get it! so many people have being through this. Why their still here and keep doing this, and the (ACCC) they haven’t done anything yet.
Beware, not a reputable company – I actually received a full refund today, I applied for an ABN this morning, was charged $99 and rang to cancel I was advised of the administration fee via email. I rang the landline on the website and was eventually put through to a supervisor after asking them why a completely different business shared the same suite in the Sydney office… Read more
building, I advised I would take this to ASIC to be investigated and I had the money back in the bank by this evening. Our card has now had a hold placed on it so they can’t take more
Honcho ABN Scam - avoid at all cost – Scammers! I had an extremely frustrating and disappointing experience with Honcho Business Services. I was charged a shocking $396 for an ABN and business name registration, which I later discovered is actually provided for FREE by the Australian government. To make matters worse, the website I used to apply for my ABN was a deceptive imitation of… Read more
a government website, so I was unknowingly tricked into paying for something I could have gotten directly from the government at no cost. After realizing the situation 10 days later, I immediately tried to cancel my request and get my money back, but by that point, it was too late as they had actually provided me with an ABN and business name. The company flat-out refused to refund me, despite the misleading nature of their service. They also don't disclose who you're dealing with until after you've paid, which feels incredibly dishonest and unethical. I strongly advise anyone to stay well clear of this company. They prey on unsuspecting people, overcharge exhorbitant amounts for their services and their business practices are dodgy. They operate under several different websites including ABNregistration.com BusinessName.com.au and also have another business name Business Switch.
Charge you for things they don’t provide, or claim it’s no longer available or things that are free elsewhere – Awful, do not use. Whilst they might be a legit company and do offer some services it is so over priced, the communication/support is so slow. They say they have a 48hour turn around for communication but I’m still waiting 2 weeks later after sending multiple requests. They tell you your business name is available at purchase (even if it isn’t),… Read more
then when you purchase you get an email saying that it’s not available and that "this happens from time to time", but if you carefully read reviews you can see it’s happening more often than not. I also paid for a domain that I still have absolutely no access to a month later. Just so disappointed that I didn’t realise what was going on sooner. Do not make the same mistake as me.
DO NOT USE their services! – They're a scam! I applied ABN through them not realising that we could apply for ABN for free. Then they took 4 working days to give mw my ABN, that is after I contacted them.
Be careful when registering an ABN – The ATO provides this service for FREE. Do not get tricked like I (and many others) have. Even as a previous user of the free government ABN registration website, I was still tricked into using this website to register a new ABN for my daughter, and ridiculously tricked into paying for it. I applied for this on my phone and as it was a sole… Read more
trader application I did not recognise there to be anything suspicious or untoward about it looking different or having to pay for it.
This website charges you for a service that they add no value to, but take a fee for. It’s ludicrous, underhanded and deceptive.
When I realised the deception and wanted to cancel and get a refund this was not allowed.
The way the website comes up when you search for ‘register an ABN’ is really sneaky and underhanded, so be vigilant!
Not happy
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Lets hope the Australian Competion and Consumer Commission take action and start an Investigation, I urge you all to lodge a complaint