261 lines
6.6 KiB
Plaintext
Executable File
261 lines
6.6 KiB
Plaintext
Executable File
news
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worldnews
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europe
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spain
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8199979
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-----
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# Britons lose millions on the Costa homes that never existed
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## Nearly 400 people - including 300 Britons - have lost an estimated £34
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million after paying deposits for non-existent holiday homes in the Costa del
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Sol.
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![][1]
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A view of the Estepona Beach and Country Club. The complex the families paid
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out for was never built
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By Edward Owen and Caroline Gammell 9:03PM GMT 13 Dec 2010
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Investors bought off-the-plan apartments in a proposed development called
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Estepona Beach and Country Club, 30km west of Marbella.
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In some cases, the prospective owners - many of whom were from Northern
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Ireland - put down an £85,000 deposit for their [Spanish][2] homes
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However, the land still belonged to its original owner and the complex was
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never built.
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An investigation is now ongoing into Ocean View Properties, based in
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Birmingham, which was the British representative for Sun Golf Desarrollos
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Immobiliarios SL in Spain.
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The company was formally dissolved in March last year when investigators and
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liquidators were brought in to try and recoup some of the losses for its
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creditors.
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## Related Articles
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* [Expats sue Spanish councillor for alleged discrimination][3]
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04 Apr 2011
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* [Landmark ruling gives hope to victims of Spanish property scams][4]
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23 Dec 2010
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No charges have been brought, but the official receiver public interest unit
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in Manchester has until March 2011 to decide whether or not they will launch a
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civil case.
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It is understood a police investigation was also undertaken, but the decision
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over whether to pursue criminal charges has yet to be made.
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Ian Richardson, from chartered accountants Grant Thornton, was appointed
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liquidator in June last year and described the amount of money recovered so
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far as "negligible".
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Antonio Flores, from the Spanish law firm Lawbird in Marbella, is representing
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a group of victims from Belfast.
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Around 100 families, who made payments to Ocean View Properties totalling £6
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million, formed an action group to try and claw their money back.
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Mr Flores said it was time for other victims to join together in other parts
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of the UK.
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"It is going to be very difficult for them to recover their investment," he
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said.
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"It is now up to individuals who have lost their money to team up, put names
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and amounts on a piece of paper, get qualified legal representation and file a
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suit.
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"It is only then that national Governments, with their unlimited resources and
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power, will be forced to do something and find out where and with whom did
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each pound paid towards a dream homes end up."
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Mr Flores said the development site was owned by an elderly Spanish man who
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was promised €200,000 (£169,000) for agreeing to sell his land, without
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planning permission.
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The lawyer said the owner had not been paid.
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Mark Mackay is one of the investors who told how he lost his money: "I paid
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£85,000 advance for an apartment at Sun Beach but when it all started to go
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wrong, they offered me another in Morocco."
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Mr Flores said the investors should have used their own lawyers, rather than
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one affiliated to Ocean View Properties.
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"If you use the lawyer that represents the interests of the developer you are
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asking for trouble," he said.
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A group of 14 Britons, who lost an average of £70,000 each, said they were
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taking joint legal action and were in touch with "many others" also affected.
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"We are taking group action against a lawyer who was recommended to us by
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Ocean View Properties," said a spokesman.
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[X][5] Share & bookmark
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[What are these?][6]
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* Share: [Share][5] [ ][7] [ ][8]
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[Tweet][9]
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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/spain/8199979/Britons-lose-
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millions-on-the-Costa-homes-that-never-existed.html
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Telegraph
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## [Spain][2]
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* ### [News »][10]
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* ### [World News »][11]
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* ### [Europe »][12]
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* ### [Caroline Gammell »][13]
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* ### [Spanish Planning Scandal »][14]
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In news
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[![Truncheon-wielding police in Barcelona have clashed with protesters at a
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makeshift camp that is one of dozens erected in Spain to protest at high
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### [Spanish anti-crisis protests][16]
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[![Thousands of protesters occupy Puerta del Sol square in Madrid][17] ][18]
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[![Spanish reporter at earthquake scene][21] ][22]
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[![spanish quake][23] ][24]
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### [Spanish town hit by earthquake][24]
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[X][5] Share & bookmark
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Delicious Facebook Google Messenger Reddit Twitter
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Digg Fark LinkedIn Google Buzz StumbleUpon Y! Buzz
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[What are these?][6]
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Share:
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* [ ][5]
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* [ ][7]
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* [ ][8]
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* [Tweet][9]
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* Advertisement
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![][25]
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Advertisement
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var puffs_8120657 = new Array();
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