Cancelled Contracts and Returned Deposits.

I was wondering if ANYONE has received a refund from either the Developer,the bank or their negligent lawyer.

We won our case for return of our deposits ( around 100K Euros) in November 2010 but so far have not had any money and it is almost four years since we first asked a solicitor to help us.

I know that a number of cases against Sol Mijas Developers were successful...........so has anyone actually got their money back?

If so , did you have a Bank Guarantee or not AND who was the lawyer who successfully got your money back?

A private message can be used to avoid naming names on the forum.

Thank you in advance for your replies.

 Hi Sandra,

Some of your questions might be answered on the thread http://www.eyeonspain.com/forums/postslong.aspx?thread=14876&pageno=0&orderby=n&orderbydir=d&keywords=

which has the title: Getting the money after judge finding in our favour.  

Personally, I have done the whole 3 appeals and won at each turn. Won everything but the money that is!  

But with the developers in administration, there is vastly reduced hope. My questions would now be - do I really dare leave my solicitor who has taken us successfully through 3 appeals but does not believe in now taking the bank to court, and take what might be a chance and change solicitors to try and get the money bank from the bank.   And the fact there was no bank guarantee hardly helps. 

Hi Sandra

 was an evaluator appionted by the court to evaluate the propery and the put it up for auction .We have the name of the one , but are still waiting for him  to ask for a fee, our solicitor has said he has no power to rush the court, we have been at this since 2005 and know how you feel,  you cannot rush these these  the word they use as you know is manyana,  my wife and i are both retired  and put most of our life savings into it ,have you got to the stage that we have,spanish solicitors are not  for rushing .I don't think changing would be good it would mean starting all over again.Hope things get better for you.

all the best regards

derek

My experience of solicitors in the UK is that they won't be rushed either.  And you certainly hear of it taking years for a case to come to court in the UK also.  Nothing different there!

If only we all knew if we would get our money back or not, then we could wait patiently I'm sure. But all this not knowing, it is a permanent presence in the mind.  We all know how others feel in this same situation, this feeling of shock and horror at what has happened, of actually being frightened and not knowing what we can do about it other than what we are already doing. 

Thank you Coleen for your reply. Did you buy on La Condesa and if so are you saying that SMD are now in administration?

I was asking specifically about the La Condesa development. I know that quite a number of purchasers won their cases against SMD, but was wondering if any of those 'won cases'  had lead to any actual repayment of funds.

Gondo, thank you for your input too. After three years of waiting, we cancelled our contract because of the long delay in completion. On doing so we found that the lawyer we had used had not obtained the Bank Guarantee, blaming the developer for not supplying one. I am not aware of any action by my new lawyer  to sieze  SMD assets and dispose of them at auction.

As Coleen says, 'it is a permanent presence on your mind' and it is also a huge amount of money to lose. I am just thankful we managed to stop the whole purchasing thing when we did, otherwise we might just have been left in an even worse mess. As it is we can no longer afford to buy in Spain without the funds held by SMD and quite honestly I cannot see how I would ever have the confidence in the Spanish Justice system or consumer protection laws to even attempt it again. Sad really when so many appear to have purchased without any problems.

Good luck to both of you.

I just wonder why only two of you rep[lied. Perhaps the other purchasers can afford to lose the money or are , for their health's sake, putting it down to experience and trying to forget the whole miserable experience.

 Hi Sandra,

No, we didn't buy at the development you mention and so I'm definitely not trying to say they are in administration.  I don't in fact know anything about them.

As to why people don't post as much as one might expect on the forum, I'm not sure why.  I was actually quite surprised at the number of replies to the thread I started about getting money back when there had already been a victory in the courts. I thought it might all be old hat to people, but no, there was still a lot of interest.

I know for a fact that on 'our' development, people signed with a solicitor to give up any rights to the property, thereby washing their hands of it. I think that's a shame but I can understand it as they were worried that the developer would come after them for money, forcing them to complete even though the development had been delayed by more than two years after the contractual date. 

Sometimes, I will haunt the forum searching for answers but most of the time I don't. To tell the truth, I don't think there are any more answers other than those I already know.  I think I have two choices - either ask our existing solicitor or Marie to take up a case against the bank (who didn't supply a bank guarantee) or wait and hope. 

I contacted our solicitor last week and asked him if there was any news as we haven't heard anything from him for 6 months. He told us that there is a creditor's meeting on 17th May. I think that most other posters on here would say there is no chance of us getting money back now.

 Hi All,

I  think many can't afford to loose it but have become so fed up with the situation their health has suffered. I myself live alone and the pressure I am under through paying my 30% deposit on La Condesa and paying a solicitor called Don Columbo over 20k euro to date (he billed me for over 40k euro to get under 80k beck) has seen me turn to MIND...I am presently existing but not living, no job, no car etc. I wish I never went to the Property Show in 2003 that led me down the present path I'm on.......I have tried to be so very very positive .....others have fleeced me and manipulated me along the way.....because of me loosing money via offplan investing...I believe I am known in criminal terms as a sucker......well I am fed up with it all.

If Mr Cortes wants a battle I will go to the press with my story, and as a recent widow his company and the bank will come out looking pretty shoddy.  

 Hello there Gill,

I am not going to comment on the legal aspect particularly - although 20k does seem high for the 80k involved. There is a scale of charges so I wonder if this is excessive (or even allowed). Hopefully someone with more knowledge than me will comment.

But I just wanted to say something about the emotional trauma you are under. 

I can assure you that you are not alone in this, although you may feel it. Everybody here understands just how you feel.  It is a particular kind of hurt and it can feel as if you are living at the edge - or in - a vast black hole. Sometimes, it literally stops you in your tracks.where you feel that to take on step further is impossible. 

Not only is there the shock of loosing the money but also the feeling of 'What have I done!' and a feeling of almost shame that we could be such an idiot. 

But let's also remember that buying off-plan is essentially a sound financial idea. Let's not punish ourselves day after day.  

Whilst we need to consider our next legal steps, I think it is also important not to obsess over it. So I do hope you can give yourself a break from the worry. 

If you ever want to PM me, you are welcome. 

 http://propertymarbellaapartments.com/blog/2012/05/18/operacion-majestic-swells-huge-money-been-white-companies-costa-del-sol/

Hi All,

I am wondering if the above link regarding Majestic and Sol Mijas Developers could make getting our deposits harder to get...as the Russian mafia were using Majestic....an ex-employee mentioned that the company were selling the same off plan unit to several buyers...maybe this connection also brought down Banco Pastor??? Any thoughts on this out there?? I was told that my bank guarantee claim was sent to Malaga Courts on the 26th of March and I don't have any idea about how long the queue is either for a judgment to be made....I AM NOT GIVING UP...if I do I have nothing to live for, just a dreary existence!

 Hi All,

My private contract was cancelled back in 2007 and it's taken me a further 5 years to win my bank guarantee claim (18th December) using Costaluz lawyers (thanks Maria and team). I am expecting next year to be a year when I can breath easier and (hopefully) close the chapter on La Condesa!

We will see what materialises!

Happy New Year folks. 

 Just to update everyone if they still look on this forum...Banco Pastor has not paid the court judgment yet...almost three months after the court decision...and i'm told I may have to wait a further three or four months. I AM SO BLOODY SICK OF THIS!!!!

If Spanish banks behave this way they will never recover...ie court costs, interest charges etc....if banks don't behave in a decent fashion they won't be able to gain decent customers...or is my attitude all wrong?  Spain as a country will not be trusted ever again if the banks don't pull their finger out......only those hiding from justice will be customers ie criminals...perhaps this is a form of natural justice? 

 Hi Gill,

I think we all know that feeling of frustration and anger. 

It seems to me though that 3 months is less than a drop in the ocean when it comes to courts. It seems to me that on average we get some movement about every 4 months - usually a sideways step. 

In our case, the developers are in liquidation and have been for more than a year so despite us winning our case and two appeals by the developers, there is still no money in sight after 5 years.

I hope and think that you will get a poisitive outcome but the courts won't push it if the banks are low on money because then there is a dangerous collapse and you definitely won't get your money back. I have faith in Maria and wished we had gone to her first. 

 Thanks Coleen,

I know Maria and her team have my interests at heart, unlike my original claim solicitor...but after 7 years of waiting I thought that once the court judgment was given things would start moving! It's almost three months after the court decision and I've been told it's likely to take a further three to four months...at my age I need to do things sooner rather than later. What's the good of getting the cash back if I can't get on with my life asap.....I also have another claim similar to yours..Casares del Sol....Maria and co are also sorting that one out but I think that one will prove a nightmare!

I hope that I can soon report that I have my funds and things are finally moving forward.   

Can anyone tell  me if there is any truth that the judicuary and the courts are at loggerheads over job losses, our solicitor has said this is the reason  are being held up regarding the auction of the propery we have won the rights to auction.

 Hi Gondo,

No, I don't know anything about this...but it could explain why I'm waiting for funds from Banco Pastor after Costaluz won my court case on the 17th of December (decision was issued on the 18th). I got too excited I think after waiting 7 yrs and enduring the developers court cases (I won the first instance and developers appeal). I just want to have my life back now...especially as my husband passed on in November 2010...it makes me think how fragile our lives are!

 Hi,

I know of several purchasers on this site who were not provided with a bank guarantee...if you are still in the legal process I can provide you with a copy of my bank guarantee (legally if one person is given one the whole site is viewed as having one). Send me a private message if you want help!