Smart

I have had many calls to Smart Leasing regarding my lease in the last few months, trying to get my transfer completed. With each phone call I have been transferred to another department, promised resolve with no follow up or actual result, or advising me that it's just not within their ability to assist - forcing me many many hours in circles on… Read more

the phone trying to problem solve. If I had this amazing person take my call, days ago, I would have had someone who used active listening skills, empathy and understanding to find a resolve for my questions. Thank you for listening to my questions, and understanding my needs by simply spending a few minutes with me, rather than trying to quickly get me off the phone. I appreciate the extra time you took, to help me understand, a very complicated process. If I could request you every time, I will. Thank you Gayathri!!!

I would like to say Paula was and exceptional customer service person and in all of my phone calls regarding information across life I have never come across a exceptional outstanding person like Paula who went above and beyond to meet my required questions going forward. Paula should get highly recognised from her employer as an outstanding customer service person. I am 64 and have alot of life experience to say this.

Weaponised incompetence. Terrible experience from start to finish: was sent quotes for the wrong car. Extras added into the quote (at extra $) without my approval. And they fumbled the paperwork at the end - I reckon I signed the lease agreement five times before I finally got the car.

My experience has been excellent from start to finish (well, almost finish - I'm picking up my new car this afternoon). All correspondence has been answered quickly and my account manager has been very helpful be it via email or on the phone. I have no complaints whatsoever.

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

Anshu was very friendly and helpful. I explained my issue and she explained what had occurred and why and resolved it immediately. Thank you, Anshu! You have outstanding customer service skills :)

Sarbra actively listened to our queries and then found all the information for us. She was able to explain it to us in easy to understand terms. She was respectful and made us feel that we mattered as customers.

I called to speak with someone as I just was not understanding what I needed to do to resolve my situation. Jodie was very patient and understanding, explained clearly what was required and sent me emails to assist. In my opinion Jodie is a credit to the company.

LS:DR I super do not recommend, bad experience alround - and didn't even get the sign up bonus as promised! The only reason I signed up with them and not my previous company was because my boss said we'd both receive a sign up bonus gift card so why not? So much regret! Starting in November : The only reliable communication was to put the… Read more

pressure on, the paperwork was incorrect so many times but thank you to that thirdparty that caught they were going to send me an electric charger for a car that is only petrol. The car yard chosen was 800km away, when I objected and said I could use any of the 3 nearby (I live 20 minutes from a city centre) I'll visit 1 on Monday but no sign sign sign and receive an additional gift card, stupid me, fine I said just use xx nearest me, paperwork sent back again - I couldn't work out where it specified so signed it, but no, it was still at that original dealer - $600 to have it transported to me when I had 1 I could almost walk to and for 1k more than my local dealers - after all that got the car in January

Customer Service Failure, Administrative Roadblocks, and Withheld EV Funds - (not so) Smart Novated Lease Vehicle: 2025 XPENG G6 Delivery: Late January 2026 Dealing with Smart has been an exercise in administrative incompetence and post-sale indifference. What was sold as a seamless, all-inclusive packaging arrangement has devolved into months… Read more

of chasing basic deliverables, absorbing surprise fees, and navigating rigid policies designed to lock away pre-tax operating funds.

1. Onboarding Chaos, Disallowed Dealers, and Contract Shifts

The issues began immediately during vehicle onboarding in December 2025:

* Excluded Inclusions: Specific items requested during initial quoting (notably small damage repair/protection coverage) were left off the settlement contracts, while unrequested figures were quietly added.

* Dealer Rejection: After coordinating the specification of the XPENG G6 with a local dealership convenient to where I was moving, Smartleasing abruptly stated the dealer was not in their network. They attempted to force me to re-route the delivery through another dealership.

* Unexplained Contract Variations: Due to purchaser choice of dealer, this apparently triggered revised contracts with shifted financial figures. With vehicle delivery already delayed well past the promised late-December timeline into late January 2026, I was backed into signing revised paperwork just to secure the car.

2. The Fuel/Charging Card Delay and Hidden Monthly Fees

Sales representatives assured me that all charging expenses would be covered under pre-budgeted salary deductions. Months passed post-delivery without a fuel or EV charging card arriving. When I followed up to ask where the card was, customer service shifted the blame:

"Smartleasing has requested that you remove your vehicle's VIN from the Chargefox app to enable the activation and dispatch of your Chargefox card. If you wish to proceed with the card, you should remove the VIN from the application and notify them of your current postal address. Please note that a $5.50 monthly fee applies to the Chargefox card."

Rather than managing the integration seamlessly, Smartleasing demanded that I break my own app configuration to accommodate their system. On top of that, they introduced a mandatory $5.50 monthly fee for a Chargefox RFID card that consumers can obtain directly without ongoing monthly charges.

3. Domestic Electricity:

The "Dedicated Meter" Mandate During sales consultations, home charging was pitched as simple: track your utility usage, provide your bill, and claim back the electricity portion from your pre-tax budget. In writing, however, their stance turned uncompromising:

"You can use a separate, dedicated meter at home to substantiate your electric vehicle fuel expenses. While the installation cost of the meter is not claimable, the electricity expenses shown on the meter's bill can be used for your fuel budget claim. Please note that you may only choose one method (actual charging costs or the cents per kilometer method) to claim per FBT year."

Demanding a dedicated sub-meter (and refusing to cover the cost of installation) renders actual-cost domestic utility claiming completely unviable for regular households.

4. Rigid Claiming Policies and Immediate Rejection Threats

Attempting to use the fallback ATO Cents per Kilometre method (5.47 cents/km) revealed an aggressive administrative hurdle. Instead of offering practical assistance to release accumulated pre-tax funds, Smartleasing's correspondence focused on grounds for immediate refusal:

"Electric Vehicle Homecharging Expense Claim Forms may be rejected if any fields are not fully completed. Additionally, claims spanning across different rate periods (specifically before and after the April 1, 2026, ATO rate change) cannot be accepted on a single form and must be submitted separately."

"Claims must not span across the 1 April rate change; if your period crosses this date, you must submit two separate forms, one ending 31/03/2026 and another starting 01/04/2026."

There is zero administrative leeway or customer support. Any minor layout or date overlap results in an outright rejection rather than guidance:

"Smartleasing has noted that zero administrative leeway applies to claims with omissions, warning customers that any incomplete form will simply be rejected rather than queried."

Conclusion:

Smartleasing aggressively sells ease of use, but once the contract is executed, the burden of proof, administrative friction, and hidden fees fall entirely on the customer. Thousands of dollars in budgeted running costs have sat inaccessible in their trust account because their claiming framework is deliberately hostile. If given the choice again, the smart thing would be to avoid Smart entirely.

Stay away. Unprofessional service. They cancelled our brand new lease for no reason and with no warning. 2 weeks in. First we knew was a fuel card declined, then an email, then we were told this also means the car is suddenly not insured. Can't drive to work in the country. Nobody will reply to emails. The customer "service" line is not… Read more

helpful. Nobody will phone us to remedy. They are impossible to contact and do not care. This has been an insanely stressful process and remains unresolved. Do not use this company.

I cannot recommend Paula highly enough! From start to finish, the service was exceptional. She was incredibly knowledgeable and communicated everything with absolute clarity, taking the time to explain things without ever making me feel rushed or dumb. What stood out the most was their proactive approach. By asking thoughtful, probing questions,… Read more

they uncovered vital details I hadn’t even considered. That expert guidance ended up saving me heaps of money! I am so grateful for their help and genuinely positive attitude throughout the process. Truly top-tier service!

Excellent customer service, short wait times and very clear information provided by staff. I spoke to Nicole and Brianna today and both were really helpful and highly knowledgeable.

Ayesha was very helpful and understood my query and what was needed. Unfortunately it was not able to be resolved even after a second call. She was professional and courteous and I thank her for emailing me what I needed to do.

Shirley was incredibly helpful with my questions and enquiry regarding my fuel card. She was polite, friendly and professional throughout the entire interaction, and took the time to make sure all of my questions were answered clearly. I really appreciated her patience and willingness to help. Excellent customer service — thank you, Shirley!

The customer service lady was very helpful, clear with her explanation, it's just the volume of her voice is a little quiet, maybe if she can speak a little louder would be great.

David was polite, patient and helpful during our call. David empathised with my situation and did everything possible to resolve my concerns. David went above and beyond to resolve my issue, and even though a resolution was not possible tonight, I am happy with the service I have received from David.

I had a wonderful experience with Shirley. She was friendly, professional and incredibly helpful on the phone. Shirley made sure everything was taken care of and made the experience easy and stress-free. Her communication was excellent and she was happy to answer any questions. Thank you, Shirley!

5 STAR support ! - Shirley was AMAZING - so patient and helpful as I wasn't sure how to navigate things - issue sorted quickly and easily and in a way I could understand !!! :-) SMART...please employ more people like Shirley...your customers will be so well looked after !

This company has no idea how statements work. Reconciling every day spending on the salary card against a ledger is impossible. No running balances, transactions just don't show up in statements, no ability to download more than a month's worth of transactions. The product they offer functions exactly as expected - it's salary sacrifice, seek financial advice before using it. But the the account portal and app support are dreadful.

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.

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