REB Clients Reminded to Include Relevant Information When Making Payments

Clients making payments to the Real Estate Board (REB) and Commission of Strata Corporations (CSC) are being reminded to use their Consolidated Cash Plan (CCP) and serial numbers to ensure their lodgements can be properly identified.

This, as the organisation continues to experience challenges in validating payments without the requisite information.

A CCP number is a standard 16-digit figure that categorises dealers, salesmen, developers, and strata corporations.

The serial number is individually assigned and is the same as the four-digit licence or strata number.

Together they allow the organisation to identify individuals and professional groupings.

In a release from the organisation, Corporate Affairs Manager with responsibility for the Accounts Department, Gail Dandy-Newell, said the challenge arises when lodgements are made through third-party bank transfers and deposits.

“At present, there are millions of dollars in unidentified lodgements for both the Real Estate Board and the Commission of Strata Corporations. This has been the source of much frustration for the organisation, as the monies cannot be applied to the appropriate accounts and neither can they be accepted as receivables while they remain unidentified,” she explained.

This, the Manager added, “also adversely affects our ability to serve our clients who have duly made their payments”.

Mrs. Dandy-Newell pointed out that the client payment portal, which was launched in 2020, has helped to significantly lower the instances of unidentified payments.

Nonetheless, she said many deposits still cannot be applied to the relevant accounts.

Real estate dealers and salesmen can pay their licence or penalty fees through the portal, which has built-in verification and confirmation processes.

As such, the corporate affairs manager is encouraging more individuals to use the platform.

Strata corporations, on the other hand, are being advised to use other available payment methods since the portal is not available to them, while ensuring that the CCP and serial numbers are used.

The alternatives include paying by cheque, and online bill payment options via Scotiabank and NCB.

Account numbers and other payee information for Scotiabank and NCB Bill Payment may be found on the REB’s website at www.reb.gov.jm, by accessing the “How to Pay” tab in the upper right-hand corner of the homepage.

“We are counting on the cooperation and support of our clients to alleviate this anomaly and identify all payments made to us, going forward, even as we try to clear those in the past,” Mrs. Dandy-Newell said.