Smart

Total lack of communication. I have an existing account with them and my finance company sent them the Novated Lease Agreement to be signed on behalf of my employer 10 days back. They don't even reply or acknowledge let alone doing what they need to.

I recently applied for a novated lease through Smartleasing for a new EV. What should have been a straightforward application for someone with a strong financial position took over four weeks with no finance decision reached. Throughout the process I was asked to provide multiple documents including bank statements, credit card transaction… Read more

history, and my spouse's payslip. All were provided promptly. Despite this, I was never proactively kept informed of progress. The only updates I received when I chased were variations of "I'm not sure what's happening but I've escalated it", followed by complete silence for days at a time.

When I finally called to escalate to a manager, I was promised a supervisor callback that never came. A second call resulted in being told no one could access my account and that a note would be left on my consultant's desk. I also lodged a formal complaint through their website, which to date has received no acknowledgement or response whatsoever.

I withdrew my application on a Friday afternoon. It was confirmed cancelled first thing Monday morning in a single sentence reply. This was the most responsive communication I received throughout the entire four week process.

What makes this particularly frustrating is that I have no choice of provider, meaning there is no competitive pressure on Smartleasing to improve their service. I have previously leased two vehicles through Smart without major issues, which makes this experience all the more disappointing.

I would not recommend this company to anyone who has the freedom to choose an alternative provider.

Very happy dealing with Smartleasing. From the first conversation with Jason I was eager to get things rolling. Extremely knowledgeable, easy to understand my options, and looked after everything for me. Wish I’d done this years ago.

Worst salary packaging company I’ve had to deal with; there seems to be no proper security with transactions, dodgy outfit! Today… nothing in my acc that should have been there yesterday; IT problem, they said… I have zero confidence with this company, I really wish work would change our packaging company

Another rubbish Leasing Company - exceptionally poor communication, inaccurate quoting methods and lacks the ability to lodge documents for on time processing. It takes a week to get an email back from them, I was quoted $433 weekly payments but as… Read more

they lodged incorrect paper work - or failed to lodge at all (they have not made this clear) my weekly payments have gone to $600+ so they can make up for missing payments, now I have had to create a whole new budget. The kicker is I raised this concern from the outset as I had the same issue with the last leasing Agent and it appears all leasing companies are incompetent! They are also not providing my reimbursement until there are ‘funds available’ - so I am now down $1000+ for selecting and paying for my own insurance. DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY

Agents have been very supportive and helpful, but certainly took a lot of being proactive on my part. First agent was a bit difficult to contact and get things out of. Second agent was a lot more communicative and worked closely with me to get the job done. Don’t assume everything is as you asked, as we still had to go change details several times till we got it right.

From start to finish everything was seamless. The representative was friendly, informative and knowledgeable. Quick & efficient with applications etc. Everything ready to go within a week just waiting for the car to be delivered.

I had a great experience using Smart Salary for my car purchase. The entire salary packaging process was smooth, transparent, and well-managed from start to finish. The team was very responsive and took the time to explain all aspects of the novated lease, including the financial benefits and tax savings. What really stood out was how easy they… Read more

made everything—from vehicle selection to approval and delivery. The online tools and updates kept me well informed, and I never felt unsure about what was happening next. The cost breakdown was clear, with no hidden surprises. Overall, it was a convenient and cost-effective way to purchase a car, and I would definitely recommend Smart Salary to anyone considering salary packaging for their next vehicle.

Completely incompetent totally disengaged. Missed my vehicle delivery date because they never respond… or seemingly even LOOK AT emails! Then when I phoned to complain they kept claiming delays due to my employer’s processing times, none of which turned out to be true. Now they’re advising conditions and restrictions that they haven’t raised in the weeks that I’ve been trying to deal with them. Absolute nightmare

I have been sent mutiple emails to set my smartleasing account. And have download thd app, but the sms or email authectication process is not working, it has been this way for two weeks

Do not use Smart Salary… they are hopeless. They say they fix things and it does not get done. They embarrass you in your community by not paying servicing bills etc. Ridiculous.

Overall I think communication could improve especially answering emails most of the time they would not get a response. I understand it's busy time of year. But every time I called the person was very professional. And it took a little longer than expected. But I will take some of the blame for not reading emails properly. But Overall I'm glad it's Done thank you

I have rarely had a more frustrating and demoralising experience with a company. From the outset, my application process was mis-handled. I received notification that my vehicle had been ordered *before* I was approved for credit. Communication was haphazard. I could rarely speak to the same person twice. Emails from myself requesting information… Read more

went unanswered and calls to the company took anywhere upto and hour before I was able to speak to an actual person.

The company mishandled my quote. They quoted me for the vehicle I ordered but then the dealer contacted me to say Smart Leasing had quoted for the wrong variant. I asked the dealer why he was contacting me and I was told that he couldn't reach Smart Leasing. When I contacted Smart Leasing, they asked me (angrily) why the dealer was contacting me. I told them because he was unable to reach them. When Smart Leasing realised they had quoted for the wrong variant, they said I would have to pay for their mistake (after they amended their quote). When I argued that I shouldn't be penalised for their mistake, Smart Leasing ignored me.

Smart Leasing ordered aftermarket packages for me that I never asked for and I had to repeatedly contact them to advise that I didn't order the aftermarket packages as I didn't order them.

Once my (correct) vehicle was delivered, I contacted Smart Leasing to provide details of my vehicle insurance and a receipt for the payment of that instance policy - as requested by Smart Leasing - but was told I didn't need to provide those details. Then, when I asked about the progress of my 3rd party EV charging provider, I was told no order had been placed for the 3rd party charging card. This was despite my placing an order *as requested* prior to the delivery of my vehicle.

I asked to speak to a line manager about these two instances and was fobbed off until, eventually, I was transferred through to a customer service lead. It turned out that I *was* required to submit my insurance documents, as I was originally advised. It seems evident that there is broken communication between departments in the same organisation - in addition to broken communication with customers.

My experience with Smart Leasing has been terrible. I would recommend against them as a provider of novated leasing services. They have caused me nothing but misery.

Writing this review as an employee. It's a very bad tool. 90% of the time it's in maintenance mode. I couldn't even register because the UI kept crashing. I had to call and just get them to register me over the phone. Next, I couldn't proceed because it kept loading after login.

I'd give fewer stars if I could. I have been left with no faith in their knowledge of their own product. They must have sent me over 6 quotes for my novated lease before they apparently got it right...which they didn't. I'm now out of pocket but have to use their service because it's contracted by my agency. They are very slow and unresponsive to queries and the app seems ok but doesn't have all relevant information.

Without a doubt the most useless and incompetent organisation I’ve ever dealt with. Took over 4 months to set up my salary deductions and spent the whole time blaming me despite being provided all the information. Then when they finally set them up, managed to royally stuff it up by setting up the lease as a fortnightly payment rather than monthly… Read more

and again blamed me saying I was wrong. Numerous emails, phone calls and complaints escalated to no avail as they really don’t care. So now I’m stuck with having to make lease payments without the tax benefits to allow me to get another car. They’re the only salary packing company provided by my employer so I’m stuck with their incompetency

Ridiculous customer service. Could they make it more difficult to contact somebody, even through a live chat option. Do not enter into a lease arrangement using this group. Had nothing but issues with their online service, when trying to pay things, they want more fees to do what they would have normally been paid to do 5 years ago. Dissatisfied… Read more

much? Yes Also I found out after checking my insurance that I’m paying $100 per month more than somewhere else. Last time I checked they said you get better tax advantage if you have the insurance packages. I’m not sure I’m getting $1200 extra tax advantages by paying this much insurance though Zero insurance!

Use a different lease company! Very very poor communication. Your business is not important to them. They cancelled a car I had on order with them, no communication. Continuously chasing them up. Avoid at all costs.

Undoubtedly the worst experience we’ve ever had with a novated lease company. My wife signed up with Smartleasing through her employer and the entire process has been incredibly disappointing from the very beginning. Communication is poor, paperwork took months to process and we were given little to no updates unless we chased them ourselves.… Read more

Even then, we were constantly promised callbacks and timeframes that never eventuated.

A few months later, my wife went on maternity leave and needed to pause the lease. When it came time to restart it, we provided everything requested straight away. Four months later, we are still waiting.

Despite calling weekly, we continue to be told it will be resolved “within two days” … yet nothing changes. The lack of communication, accountability and follow-through has been beyond frustrating, especially while trying to navigate this as new parents.

Completely unprofessional and incompetent. Save yourself the stress and steer clear.

I have to use this service for salary packaging as I work in the public sector and do not have alternative options. I contacted them regarding a car novated lease and received a quote that was approximately $10,000 higher than a quote from another finance company for the same vehicle model. Notably, the price provided by Smart, which was stated as… Read more

excluding GST, was even higher than the dealer’s drive-away price.

When I questioned the discrepancy, the consultant simply responded that this is “how novated leasing works,” without offering a meaningful explanation. I also asked whether a novated lease would affect my existing salary packaging cap and whether I should discontinue my current packaging (groceries and entertainment) to accommodate the lease. The consultant advised that I should. However, I later discovered that novated leasing is separate from standard salary packaging and does not impact the cap in that way.

Very disappointed with both the pricing transparency and the incorrect advice provided. It feels as though there was an attempt to maximise costs without proper clarification.

P.S. The app is very poor too.

Pathetic experience with Smartleasing. We do not recommend them at all. Despite providing excessive documentation, the process was inefficient and frustrating. Even after we clearly asked for the application to be discontinued, there was no acknowledgement or apology, which speaks volumes about their customer service. The vehicle sales consultant,… Read more

Craig McIntyre, was difficult to deal with throughout the process. Simple requests—such as providing two quotes for different vehicles for comparison—were met with reluctance every time, making what should have been a straightforward exercise unnecessarily challenging. Overall, the lack of support, poor communication, and unprofessional handling made this an extremely disappointing experience.

My experience with SmartSalary/Smartleasing has been extremely disappointing. I have had an unresolved novated lease complaint for more than six months, despite repeated follow-up. The concerns include incorrect or incomplete information before the lease began, additional costs that were not clearly explained, changes to deduction amounts… Read more

without clear communication, and ongoing difficulty obtaining a full written reconciliation of how the figures were calculated.

I have repeatedly requested a clear breakdown of the original quote, payroll deductions, finance amount, lease costs, running-cost budget, adjustments, fees, and any amount owing or refundable. Including a full months wage payment they can not account for. To date, I still do not have a proper resolution.

Smart’s own customer feedback charter refers to complaint acknowledgement, resolution timeframes and escalation processes, but my experience has gone well beyond any reasonable complaint timeframe.

I would strongly recommend that anyone considering a novated lease request every calculation in writing before signing, including the finance amount, residual, FBT assumptions, running-cost budget, fees, payroll deductions, insurance, fuel/service estimates, and what happens if the lease is transferred, ended early or disputed.

SmartSalary/Smartleasing, please provide a full written reconciliation and final complaint response.

They'll set you up fast to get your money. Contactless payments fail at the critical moment. Worst phone options will infuriate you when you really NEED assistance as they just keep taking you in circles.

Worst customer service ever! I needed to amend my salary packaging - I was unable to do this online or in the app due to the nature of the change, ‘chat’ function was useless, called Smart Salary & was 41st caller in a queue, emailed and it took >2 weeks to get a reply that was totally useless (totally misunderstood the request and was full of typos - strange).