Sr. José Blanco the Spanish Development Minister (El Ministro de Fomento) has announced that the Spanish Government Official Property 'Road Show' will commence in London on 4 May 2011.

In the official press release issued on 14 April 2011 in Madrid by the Ministerio de Fomento Sr. Blanco said:

"The Road Show will highlight the strengths of our economy, transparency and legal certainty of our planning legislation.

It is a good time to carry out this pioneering initiative because the markets that have the potential to invest in second homes are recovering and we must revive the holiday housing market ‘to speed up the digestion of stock’

In selecting the countries to be visited in this first round of Road Shows we have taken into account variables such as the volume of house purchases in Spain that its citizens have made in recent years, its investment in general in our country, the situation of their respective economies and the potential for increased investment in our second homes market.

The United Kingdom is the first international destination for this first round of Road Shows because, according to the latest data available, its citizens and investors in 2009 accounted for 31.5% of foreign buyers of property in Spain.

In subsequent weeks we will also visit France, Germany, Holland and Sweden.  In addition we will visit also Russia.

The Road Show is designed in two phases: in the first phase the Ministry of Development will transmit confidence to large investors and brokers, offering all the information regarding our market, ongoing policy reforms and greater transparency regarding the evolution of prices and stock.Subsequently we will develop a second phase, open to private sector participation, with a selection of real estate products that meet minimum standards of legality, planning and quality through an evaluation process in which agents and companies interested in participating in this round may voluntarily submit their properties and products”.



Speaking to Onda Cero radio station Sr Blanco defended the need for the Road Show by stating that "The fact is that there is a 'stock' of residential housing and it is necessary to speed up sales because it is weighing heavily on the sector financially".

He said "It seems that I have become a real estate agent but my role is to ensure greater legal certainty to potential investors following many campaigns against the Spanish property sector"

In February 2011, when previewing the upcoming Road Shows the Spanish Housing Minister, Sra. Beatriz Corredor said: “Come here calmly and trust in the system that we have and the transparency we provide”

Sr. Blanco and Sra. Corredor need to understand that for thousands of victims of the Spanish Property Sector there was and still is no ‘transparency or legal certainty’.

Despite many empty words by Spanish Government officials there still remains little evidence of any ‘ongoing policy reforms’.

Lawyers and Banks have been negligent, the court system is overloaded, judges are inconsistent and real justice is still an expensive dream for many victims.

There remains a basic lack of understanding of LEY 57/68 and in many cases the law is not applied properly.

The Supervisor of the Spanish Banking System – the Banco de España is totally ineffective and has no real power.  The result is that the Banks have been allowed to ignore their obligations according to LEY 57/68 and work together with the corrupt developers to blatantly steal purchaser’s off-plan deposit funds.

It is a serious mess and Sr. Blanco and the Spanish Government have NOTHING to put on a show about.  Before making more empty promises and embarking on a Road Show designed to entice other unsuspecting ‘victims’ into the shambles that is the Spanish Property Sector Sr. Blanco must, together with his government colleagues, rectify the serious injustices that have taken place over the past decade in their country.

Anyone going to protest ?

 “Come here calmly and trust in the system that we have and the transparency we provide”

What a complete joke !!

In my opinion I believe Spain does not deserve a single penny of overseas investors money until all those wronged have been fully compensated. I believe that likely will  never happen as things stand.

Perhaps this is where our national press should be getting involved ? Surely if part of  the press's role is to keep the public informed and protected then perhaps if  a national newspaper reporter was there warning people what they could be letting themselved in for if they were to try purchase in Spain AND making sure they were aware of this website and the various petitions then this could be an effective means of democratic protest at this event ? I would like to think we would have an MP involved as well but do not have much hope or faith in them.

Does anyone know who the organisers are of this event and where it is being held ?

By rights there really ought to be a stand at that event warning people how bad the situation is in  Spain and that they have little realistic protection at all once they have parted with their money. 

This message was last edited by johnmfranci5 on 19/04/2011.

This message was last edited by johnmfranci5 on 19/04/2011.

Yes, it is a complete joke and an insult to those of us who stand to lose so much as a result of the negligence and corruption in the Spanish Property & Financial Sector.

I think the first phase of the tour will be behind closed doors with specially invited 'investment' companies.  I have contacted Sr. Blanco to request more information - but based on my experience with the Banco de España and other Spanish authorities I do not expect a reply!

The second phase of the tour in June, will I think, be open to the general public and should therefore be promoted more heavily by Sr. Blanco, Sra. Corredor and the Spanish Government.

Kind regards

Keith 

Hi,

Could the Telegraph Newspaper be interested in backing our campaign, since they are already involved with the below scheme

I think it is purely for illegal property in Spain, however they may be interested in our plight aswell?????? 

Taken from this new section of the Telegraph online. Not very good news for Spain.

Telegraph Expat is launching a campaign in support of the hundreds of thousands of British and other expats who have fallen victim to urban corruption and the confused state of property law in Spain. If you have beeen affected by the problem, please add a pin documenting your story to our Expat Directory (telegraph.co.uk/expatdirectory) under the pin category 'Illegal Spanish Property'. Over time, this will generate an interactive map which will document and expose the full extent of the problem.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/expat/campai ... ngscandal/

Hi Belucky

Yes, the Telegraph are interested in the Spanish Property Road Shows.  I have been in contact with them today.  They will be covering the Road Shows and think it is a cheek for the Spanish Government to organise such a campaign when many of us are still at risk of losing our hard earned money.

Kind regards

Keith

Johnmfranci5

"By rights there really ought to be a stand at that event warning people how bad the situation is in  Spain and that they have little realistic protection at all once they have parted with their money."

Good idea, probably more effective than a demo. 

If people think this is negative or misinformed, then to me this implies just how much ignorance exists out there to the realities of the last decade.

The realities are sadly exceptionally stark for many innocent purchasers, as they have been subjected to all manner of abusive activity, now deemed illegal:
· Developers significantly breaching contracts and /or building developments that fell far short of the required standards of workmanship or failed to meet specification as per the contract.
· Agents in league with developers, providing false promises through their marketing literature (this literature is deemed part of the contract).
· Lawyers failure to demonstrate due diligence, providing contracts with abusive clauses.
· Lawyers developers and banks failure to deliver legal Bank Guarantees and contract details as per Law 57/68, to provide consumer protection for offplan purchase.
· Lack of supervision and control of the Spanish banks to ensure Law 57/68 was adhered to.
· Lawyers in league with developers placing undue stress on clients to complete without LFO’s in place, under threat of contract cancellation.

And if that wasn’t enough, when purchasers subsequently fought for their legal rights, many were further exposed to abusive practice.
· Significant court delays, with no timescale constraints in place to ensure that successful judgements were implemented in a reasonable timeframe..
· Developers asset stripping prior to declaring insolvency.
· Justice departments failure to respond adequately to complaints.
· Inconsistent legal judgements.
· Negligent Lawyers obstructing the course of justice by failing to identify banking information relating to where purchasers deposits were placed.
· Banks reneging on bank guarantees.
· Major delays to appeal resolutions further compromising the purchaser.
· Failure to provide timely enforcements or embargoes of developer assets.

And alongside this scenario, we had yet more innocent purchasers subjected to abusive practice (those who had completed on their properties).
· Town halls issuing licences for properties subsequently (retrospectively) deemed illegal by the Junta
· Purchasers subjected to illegal demolition of properties whilst legal action remained outstanding, used as pawns in the fight between regional and local authorities.
· Spanish government’s failure to ensure compensation in place for those unfairly compromised by these internal political conflicts.

And these are just a few of the scenarios that innocent purchasers have been subjected to, as many still await recompense after several YEARS of delays, that continue to compromise the application of law as per successful legal judgements.

It’s heartbreaking stuff and certainly not misinformation.

If anyone requires further evidence then see MEP Roger Helmer’s plea to the petitions committee within the EU parliament. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTrBbZOaqGE

Superb summing up of the issues ads. you are a star !!!

As we are are well aware there are now numerous threads on EOS all about these realted topics and most do show up in google.

I am  pretty certain now that most "internet savy" investors and potential spanish purchasers have enough  info easily accessible to warn them never to go anywhere near Spain.  Of course that leaves the others who do not (many elderly) who are particularly at risk.  In which case someone somewhere  has a duty  to make sure to warn them ! If thats the Telegraph then great but really it ought to be some governmental body supposedly protecting our interests ! 

Quite frankly the case is now so strong against Spain on these issues that you have thought it well within the powers of  our government and indeed local authorities consumer protection and. trading standards deparments to step in and ban any public exhibitions whatsoever advertising Spanish property on grounds of public consumer protection  where the exhibitors are companies that are not under the jurisdiction of UK Law . ?  The evidence is there for all to see? I say say this because my understanding is that where the builder is uk based (Eg Someone like a perfectly respectable company I am led to believe say like Atlas) then buyers have the protection of uk consumer law.  I have no wish to see uk based respectable builders who have done nothing wrong tarred with the same brush. 

After all we are always complaing about too much bureacracy etc but surely in cases such as these the current laws ought to adequate to ban ALL advertising  of  Spanish proptery for sale throughout the EU where the Companies concerned are "hiding" behind completedly ineffective and useless Spaniish "justice"  ? I believe also the "hated" human rights laws could also well have provisons to support such a ban ?

I believe if a complaint was made to a local authority trading standards department about any such exhibitions the  they would have a duty to investigate a request to ban the exhibition OR at least have a member of the council present at such exhibition present at such events warning all vistiors of the dangers AND why not a indeed human rights representative ? Don't  council's employ many people with these qualifications to supposedly look after its citizens interests in these matters ? If this could happen then on these issues they would be doing a lot of good ?

If this upsets Spain then all the better. They have made it very clear they are quite happy to take our citizens money and offer no consumer protection whatsover in any meaningful way.

Perhaps it time we started using the existing laws to apply pressure in the correct manner ?

 Another method may well be to write directly to any UK based companies subject to uk laws planning to attend any such exhibitions to please not do so if other Spanish based builders are present ? 

Of course I am well aware there have been some pretty nasty uk builders and propery firms who have used Spanish "useless" consumer protection laws as well ! BUT where the Buyer has the complete protection under UK laws then I do not have a problem.

This message was last edited by johnmfranci5 on 20/04/2011.

This message was last edited by johnmfranci5 on 20/04/2011.

This message was last edited by johnmfranci5 on 20/04/2011.

This message was last edited by johnmfranci5 on 20/04/2011.

First stop on the 'Road Show' is:

Wednesday 4 May 2011 at The Spanish Embassy in London

José Blanco will attempt to convince foreign buyers of the "Strength of our economy, the transparency and legal guarantees of our town planning laws"

He says that his objective is to win back the confidence of investors "following campaigns waged against the Spanish Property Sector"

Before embarking on a promotional trip around Europe, Sr. Blanco and the Spanish Government should first address as a matter of urgency the many legitimate campaigns that are 'being waged' against the Spanish Property Sector.

                          "following campaigns waged against the Spanish Property Sector"

That's like the leaders of Libya and Syria labelling  as 'terrorists' those fighting for democracy and human rights. Would Syria and Libya be allowed to join the  EU?

Then why the **** was Spain allowed in with attitudes and  statements such as those of Snr Blanco?

As Roger Helmer so  forcefully put it on 14.04.11, ' They are bandits.'  So we can expect nothing more from  Spanish politicians like Blanco who are bashing the robbed and swindled purchasers as being no more than campaigning activists who are out to destroy Spains' property sector.

I sincerely hope that Spains' property sector and all those affiliated with it such as estate agents and lawyers 'See the Light' and soon. It might help if they removed their heads from  up their  the sand.

For anyone who feels strongly enough to 'phone,fax,email,write to, visit or otherwise contact the Consul or Sr Blanco then here are the details:-
 

Consul General:don José Ignacio Carbajal Gárate.

Address: 20 Draycott Place. London SW3 2RZ.

Telephone from Spain: (44-207) 589 89 89
Telephone from the U.K: (0207) 589 89 89


Fax: 0207 581 78 88.
E-mail: cog.londres@maec.es

Here's a copy of my email to the Consul:-

This message was last edited by sandra on 26/04/2011.

Keith has kindly forwarded the following:

 Keith:

Did you send your petition to the Spanish embassy in London?

Send it every day from now till 4th of May!!

Cheers,

MAria

Keith also forwarded the following: (Talk about closing the door after the horse has bolted, this doesn't bear thinking about!)

Please tell us Sr Blanco, what about all those who have already been prejudiced??????????

None of this nonsense tackles the route cause of the problems or addresses recompense for those stuck within the justice system, or those innocents who have lost thier homes or living under the threat of injustice. Maria is right Keith you need to keep bringing attention to these abuses via your petition.

http://www.costa-news.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=7369&Itemid=1

'Legal' home charm offensive

Government moves to cleanse Spain's UK image

By Dave Jones
SPAIN'S public works minister José Blanco travels to London on May 4 to convince Britons that it is safe to buy property in Spain.

His trip is part of a European-wide tour to offer ‘guarantees' over property sales.

Sr Blanco said: "We want the property market to return to normal; we don't want to go back to the excesses of the past, but to get over the current depression in this sector."

The charm offensive comes as expat illegal home owners raised fears this week that there may be up to one million illegal properties in Spain. They took their message to Brussels to highlight their desperate situation which ended with one British couple having their home demolished (full story on page 11).

Sr Blanco said that during next month's tour - which also takes in France, Germany, Holland, Sweden and later Russia - he will outline the ‘judicial security of our town planning laws'.

However, in November last year Sr Blanco recognised that there was a problem with legal security for buyers.

At the time he stated: "Looking towards the international market, we will take measures to reinforce legal security for those who buy houses in our country.

"One of these measures will be that when proceedings are started against an illegal property, the buyer should not be prejudiced."

He continued: "With these measures, and with others which we are studying, we want to reduce the risk for those buying a property in our country."

This message was last edited by ads on 27/04/2011.

Our own Government should ensure that any prospective purchasers be forewarned of the realities that have significantly compromised many, until such time as the Spanish Government addresses the problems relating to the non implementation of justice and the abuse within the Banking sector. No way should our Government stand back idly and watch as others are compromised by a system that ignores the non implementation of justice and fails to protect consumer's rights in Spain......... they should be far more proactive in countering any false claims by Spanish officials in our own country, PRIOR TO these road shows.

We need a high level, respected press officer to co-ordinate this message.

This message was last edited by ads on 27/04/2011.

This message was last edited by ads on 27/04/2011.

"With these measures, and with others which we are studying, we want to reduce the risk for those buying a property in our country."

The arrogance of this statement is quite breathtaking.

Did I (and of course many hundreds of others ) imagine losing over 60,000GBP io this corrupt ineffictive useless country ?

Perhaps it was all a dream and I will wake up and find out our life savings were not stolen after all ?

Wasn't it the NAZIS  who realised the more big lies you tell the more people believe you ?

Perhaps I am misjudging the chap. Maybe he intends to be standing there handing out refund cheques to the many hundreds of people robbed to due to  his countries hopeless non application of its own laws ? Some hope.

Unfortunayley I have no confidence at all in our government doing anything to warn anyone about it; thats not to say we

whould not try and stop or hinder these revolting exhibtions of course !! 

they would be much too frightened of a smack on the bottom from europe and potentially jeapardsing their MEP gravy train jobs.

This message was last edited by johnmfranci5 on 27/04/2011.

This message was last edited by johnmfranci5 on 27/04/2011.

This message was last edited by johnmfranci5 on 27/04/2011.

Hello everyone, I have not written on the forum for quite a while, but I feel so so angry just reading some of the messages I feel I need to write a few words down, just to relieve the anger and tension I am feeling today and I am drawn in again by our present situation and the 'Spanish Road Show' mentioned in these forums. 

I don't know how they dare to even think of promoting Spanish properties in England with so many people presently being punished by the Spanish, developers, estate agents, builders, Councils, Courts and last but not least the BANKS who seem to be even more powerful than even the Courts and the legal system. We didn't want a house as an investment to make a fast buck, we simply wanted a home in the sun for our retirement, a small bungalow in the sun in what we were told in all the promotional material was the most healthiest place in Europe.

We have trusted, agents, builders, lawyers, courts and now finally after 5 years we are being held to ransom by a bank.  We have gone through the Courts, who passed sentence in our favour, for a full refund plus interest.  We have been given permission by the courts to seize the money owed us by the developer from their bank account.  But now we are told the Bank won't give us the money as the developer also owes them money.  How can a bank who made 4.6 billion euros profit last year tell the courts and the Spanish legal system - No you can't have it - maybe because they are all just as corrupt, from the developers right up to the courts, the legal system and the Government, they are all hand in hand, making more and more money.  Then they have the gaul to come to England to promote their corrupt country to us.  They don't need to sell us the sun, the scenery, the buildings, the life style, but they do need to sell us confidence in their JUSTICE systems, at all levels so that we can TRUST THEM again. Until they can turn things around in Spain they will never get people to return.

I hope we will be able to visit one of the road shows and confront these people, I will tell them about the heart ache they have caused us in the past 5 years and how the dream of a healthy retirement in the sun has not improved our health but has caused us so many many problems with the worry and stress of fighting the injustice that is on the increase and spreading more and more.

Forgive me for the rant but each email I receive from my lawyers takes us further and further away from the money we are owed.

Distressed and Disillusioned.

    I've sent the Spanish Consul General another email, a copy of which I've pasted below. I've requested a receipt this time!! I think Maria's suggestion of an email per day is good.Seven more days to go so please keep contributing to this thread as it gives me fodder for the content of the emails. Is anyone else writing to the Consul?

Dear Consul General,

  Last week the following article was printed in ‘elalmeria.es’  in response to   news of  Snr Blancos’ visit to London. Reading it will give you some feel for the mood of those thousands of Europeans still awaiting the ‘Certainty of Justice’ that  Snr Blanco has so arrogantly announced he is coming to promote.

    His visit to London will not silence the thousands of us awaiting justice from the Spanish courts. And not only justice but real action in the way of compensation and/or   the prompt return of the thousands of euros  of   life savings to those of us affected. Snr Blanco cannot bury his head in the sand and hope we will all go away. Spain has stolen millions of euros from European citizens and we are damned if we will let others fall into the same trap . We have no intention of going away. Please tell Snr Blanco that until Spain puts its’ hand in its’ pocket and pays back everyone it has robbed and swindled we will make as much noise as we can muster.

Hi Sandra,

Yes I've written to the Consul General and to MP's and MEP's.

Just received the following reply from MEP Brian Simpson :

Brian Simpson MEP

                  Chairman of the Transport & Tourism Committee

For the North West of England

Lakeside, Alexandra Park, Prescot Road, St. Helens, WA10 3TT, Lancashire, UK

Tel (01744) 451609 Fax (01744) 29832 Email briansimpson.labour@virgin.net

Web page www.briansimpsonmep.co.uk

28^th April 2011

The Rt Hon Dr Vince Cable MP

Minister for B.I.S.

Ministerial Correspondence Unit

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

1 Victoria Street

London  SW1H 0ET

Dear Minister,

I have been sent the following email by one of some of my constituents who inform me of the following:

“You may not be aware that the Spanish Government, in particular, the development minister Sr. Jose Blanco are putting on a series of Road Shows around Europe promoting the ‘transparency and legal security’ associated with buying a property in Spain. The first stop on the first phase of their tour is London on 4 May 2011. This first phase is aimed at institutional/corporate investors. The second phase planned for June will be for the general public and according to the press release;
agents and companies endorsed by the Spanish Government will be promoting their properties at the show.

The realities of purchasing property in Spain however have sadly proved exceptionally stark for many UK citizens, innocent purchasers, as they have been subjected to all manner of abusive activity in Spain, now deemed illegal:
· Developers significantly breaching contracts and /or building developments that fell far short of the required standards of workmanship or failed to meet specification as per the contract.
· Agents in league with developers, providing false promises through their marketing literature (this literature is deemed part of the contract).
· Lawyers failure to demonstrate due diligence, providing contracts with abusive clauses.
· Lawyers developers and banks failure to deliver legal Bank Guarantees and contract details as per Law 57/68, to provide consumer protection for off plan purchase. (For further details please see the petition
www.bankguaranteesinspain.com)
· Lack of supervision and control of the Spanish banks to ensure Law 57/68 was adhered to.
· Lawyers in league with developers placing undue stress on clients to complete without LFO’s in place, under threat of contract cancellation.

As if that wasn’t enough, when purchasers subsequently fought for their legal rights, many have been further exposed to abusive practice.
· Significant court delays, with no timescale constraints in place to ensure that successful judgements were implemented in a reasonable timeframe..
· Developers asset stripping prior to declaring insolvency.
· Justice department’s failure to respond adequately to complaints.
· Inconsistent legal judgements.
· Negligent Lawyers obstructing the course of justice by failing to identify banking information relating to where purchasers deposits were placed.
· Banks reneging on bank guarantees.
· Major delays to appeal resolutions further compromising the purchaser.
· Failure to provide timely enforcements or embargoes of developer
assets.

And alongside this scenario, yet more innocent purchasers have been subjected to abusive practice (those who had completed on their properties).
· Town halls issuing licences for properties subsequently (retrospectively) deemed illegal by the Junta
· Purchasers subjected to illegal demolition of properties whilst legal action remained outstanding, used as pawns in the fight between regional and local authorities.
· Spanish government’s failure to ensure compensation in place for those unfairly compromised by these internal political conflicts.

And these are just a few of the scenarios that innocent purchasers have been subjected to, as many still await recompense after several YEARS of delays, that continue to compromise the implementation of Spanish law as per successful legal judgements.

Indeed, if you require further evidence please see MEP Roger Helmer’s
plea to the petitions committee within the EU parliament.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTrBbZOaqGE

With this in mind, we wondered therefore if you could please stress to the present UK Government, the urgent need to ensure that other prospective purchasers be spared these significant injustices, and do all that is possible to counter any false claims (see below) by Spanish officials in our own country during these road shows.    Until such time as the Spanish Government address the major problems relating to the non implementation of justice, the abuse within the Banking sector in Spain, and the failure to protect consumer rights, then it is essential to relay the message of BUYER BEWARE in Spain.  Here is some information from Keith Rule on the Road shows, together with some comments at the bottom (Note Keith is the author of the Bank Guarantee petition www.bankguaranteesinspain.com):


Sr. José Blanco the Spanish Development Minister (El Ministro de Fomento) has announced that the Spanish Government Official Property 'Road Show' will commence in London on 4 May 2011.  In the official press release issued on 14 April 2011 in Madrid by the Ministerio de Fomento Sr. Blanco said: "The Road Show will highlight the strengths of our economy, transparency and legal certainty of our planning legislation.

It is a good time to carry out this pioneering initiative because the markets that have the potential to invest in second homes are recovering and we must revive the holiday housing market ‘to speed up
the digestion of stock’

In selecting the countries to be visited in this first round of Road Shows we have taken into account variables such as the volume of house purchases in Spain that its citizens have made in recent years, its investment in general in our country, the situation of their respective economies and the potential for increased investment in our second homes market.

The United Kingdom is the first international destination for this first round of Road Shows because, according to the latest data available, its citizens and investors in 2009 accounted for 31.5% of
foreign buyers of property in Spain.  In subsequent weeks we will also visit France, Germany, Holland and Sweden. In addition we will visit also Russia.

The Road Show is designed in two phases: in the first phase the Ministry of Development will transmit confidence to large investors and brokers, offering all the information regarding our market, ongoing policy reforms and greater transparency regarding the evolution of prices and stock. Subsequently we will develop a second phase, open to private sector participation, with a selection of real estate products that meet minimum standards of legality, planning and quality through
an evaluation process in which agents and companies interested in participating in this round may voluntarily submit their properties and products”.

Speaking to Onda Cero radio station Sr. Blanco defended the need for the Road Show by stating that "The fact is that there is a 'stock' of residential housing and it is necessary to speed up sales because it is weighing heavily on the sector financially".  He said "It seems that I have become a real estate agent but my role is to ensure greater legal certainty to potential investors following many
campaigns against the Spanish property sector" Is Sr. Blanco really serious? “Highlight the strengths of our economy, transparency and legal certainty of our planning legislation”

This is an insult to all those of us who stand to lose so much due to the corruption and negligence in the Spanish Property Sector. The Spanish Property Sector certainly does not have any transparency or legal certainty!!

Sr. Blanco said "It seems that I have become a real estate agent but my role is to ensure greater legal certainty to potential investors following many campaigns against the Spanish property sector"

Does Sr. Blanco not think that those campaigns against the Spanish property sector are fully justified? (See www.bankguaranteesinspain.com as just one example). What has Sr. Blanco and the Spanish Government done to address those campaigns? Nothing! It is an embarrassment to the
country of Spain.  It seems Sr. Blanco is trying to blame the campaigns for the lack of legal certainty in the Spanish Property Sector!! Just like the rest of them he is passing the buck. These are the actions and words of a desperate man hoping that a miracle will happen and that all the
campaigners will just ‘go away’.

Sr. Zapatero is leading a weak government who is failing to tackle the problems. Instead they are trying to ignore the victims and move forward with a Road Show to promote transparency and legal certainty which are elements of the Spanish Property Sector that simply do not exist. On 6 July 2010 Sr. Zapatero said in the European Parliament “We stand shoulder to shoulder with those people, who maybe have had the wool pulled over their eyes in the property sector”. More empty words I am afraid.

In February 2011, when previewing the upcoming Road Shows the Spanish Housing Minister, Sra. Beatriz Corredor Sierra said: “Come here calmly and trust in the system that we have and the transparency we provide”  Sr. Blanco and Sra. Corredor need to understand that for thousands of victims of the Spanish Property Sector there was and still is no ‘transparency or legal certainty’.  Despite many empty words by Spanish Government officials there still remains little evidence of any ‘ongoing policy reforms’.  Lawyers and Banks have been negligent, the court system is overloaded, judges are inconsistent and real justice is still an expensive dream for many victims. There remains a basic lack of understanding of LEY 57/68 (the law relating to Bank Guarantees) and in many cases the law is not applied properly.  The Supervisor of the Spanish Banking System – the Banco de España is totally ineffective and has no real power. The result is that the Banks have been allowed to ignore their obligations according to LEY 57/68 and work together with the corrupt developers to blatantly steal purchaser’s off-plan deposit funds.

It is a serious mess and Sr. Blanco and the Spanish Government have NOTHING to put on a show about. Before making more empty promises and embarking on a Road Show designed to entice other unsuspecting ‘victims’ into the shambles that is the Spanish Property Sector Sr. Blanco must, together with his government colleagues, rectify the serious injustices that have taken place over the past decade in their country. 

Apologies for the length of this communication, but as you can see the problems affecting UK citizens are complex, but cannot and should not be ignored. We feel duty bound to bring this to your attention in order to spare others similar injustice.”

I must say, that I fully agree with the contents of the above as I have many constituents who have been ‘duped’ by these malpractices of the Spanish authorities and indeed, many have lost their life savings through being miss-sold properties in Spain.

I would be extremely grateful for your intervention in this instance.

I look forward to hearing from you soon and thank you in anticipation.

Best wishes,

Brian Simpson MEP

Chairman of the Transport & Tourism Committee in the European Parliament

Labours Team in Europe

Brian Simpson MEP 01744 451609 ~ Arlene McCarthy MEP 0161 906 0801