HELP NEEDED URGENTLY

Hi Leema you dont say how late etc but I would say it is down to your lawyer and the estate agent to diplomatically deal with this problem with the developer. Of course if the lawyer is in the developers pocket then it might prove difficult to get him/her to act in your best interests, but then if that is the case do you want that lawyer acting for you. There are a couple of lawyers that contribute to the message boards and it might be worth sending them a PM.

Rgds

Sorry I should have mentioned the laywers are Spanish Inquisition and Maria de Castro. If you look at various threads on lawyers and taxes you will find them and so you can send a PM.

Rgds

HI sorry in the delay as I couldn't get back on this site,

We transfered our money with HIFX on 24th Nov and they said it would take 5 days, the money was due to be taken from our bank by the devolopers on 2nd Dec, HIFX did not put the money in our account until 13th Dec and then added an extra 1900 euros fine, I have contacted my lawyer who is now going to talk to MRI who we bought this apartment from.  will keep you informed as I think this is day light robbery,  HIFX have admited it was their fault but don't seem to want to know, althought I have to keep them informed of what is going on, so fingers crossed they might sort something out.

Hi Leema it appears your issue is with HIFX. They are registered with the UK Financial Services Authority and if they have caused you loss you have right of redress through the FSA. I understand from one of the other threads that they tape all conversations and presumably you have kept your transaction contracts so you can prove their error. Dont roll over and persevere with your cause.

RGds

Thanks Smiley, don't know what this site would do without you, I'll keep you informed of what happens, happy new year.

regards

Maureen

Hi Leema

I agree with Smiley. When you instructed HiFX you have entered a legally binding contract - which is binding to them as well as you. You will need a solicitor (a UK solicitor, as the contract was made in the UK) as their Terms and conditions are pretty watertight, e.g.:

5.8 HiFX shall not be liable to the Client for any delay or non-performance of its
obligations under this Agreement arising from any cause or causes beyond its
reasonable control including, without limitation, any of the following: Act of God,
governmental act, war, fire, flood, explosion, civil commotion, failure of computer
equipment or communications systems or industrial dispute of a third party.

However a badly managed systems upgrade is the responsibility of HiFX. In providing the service, it must do so with due skill, care and diligence. It will probably take a solicitor to argue this for you.

Good luck, and keep us posted.

To anyone that's interested, my experience with HiFX is under a thread called "HiFX problems, delays transferring money."
 

ASk that transfering company to pay that penalty for you, is that is under Spanish Jurisdiction ( maybe  under the UK´s is the same) you can pay and then act for reimbursement against the tarnsfering company.

Aslo it will be needed to see under what terms are developers charging you that amount, it may or may not be legal.

I still have not heard back from my Lawyer, I will give him another week then chase him again, as I have bombarded him with emails with no reply.

I am seriously thinking of a change of Lawyer, I only wish I had the advise given on this site as to not use the Lawyer recommended by developer and MRI.

I think we should have at least been warned there would be a fine if payments are not on time, ours was a total of 11 days late. Due to HIFX holding on to our money for nearly a month.

We are both a lot wiser than when we paid our deposit.

HIFX have said they will not help, even though it was their fault.

I too have had problems with HIFX.......nothing is said about this though when they promote themselves with with awards etc!!

I have learnt...too late, not to use solicitors recommended by agents. I have been paying 1% a month in France...where you pay in stages thru construction.

If I were to go to buy in Spain again (I don't think I will tho!) I would use a uk layer ie bennett and co or John Howell. UK laws then are applied to their services! 

To all,

As Marketing Director of HIFX may I take this opportunity to personally apologise for any poor customer service that users EyeonSpain may have experienced.  James and Warren who run our Back Office have also asked me to pass on their sincere apologies.

Every year, HIFX invests in new technology to further improve the levels of customer service we provide.  As part of this ongoing investment we recently implemented a new straight through processing solution to give our customers access to faster, more secure payments and receipts.  Unfortunately, as a result, a very small number of customers experienced substandard service.

As the UK’s leading independent currency specialist, we take all customer service issues very seriously.

I would therefore like to encourage users of this board who have experienced issues with our service to contact me immediately. I would also like to encourage any HIFX customer reading this post to again contact me personally with any specific feedback or comments relating to the service they received.

We are constantly sent letters from customers congratulating us on the courteous, simple and cost effective service we provide and the friendly nature of our staff. However as an organisation which is continually striving to improve customer satisfaction and the services we provide, we need to hear the negative comments too.

If you feel there are any aspects of our service which could be improved please let us know immediately and we will endeavour to address the issues as a matter of priority.

Yours sincerely.

Mark Bodega
Marketing Director
HIFX PLC
+44 (0)1753 751776
mark.bodega@hifx.co.uk

Have just received a reply from my Lawyer today,

They say it is not the developer who are charging us 1900 euros fine but the bank,  they are charging us 6% interest plus a fixed fee of 1570 euros plus 39euros postal fee.  They are the standard fee for the funds not beeing there.

I have passed this in a PM to Mark from HIFX and now await his reply.

Dear all

FYI I too have sent Mark Bodega an email, asking him to look at our situation. My experiences with HiFX are under "HiFX problems, delays transferring money." If you're feeling lazy, click here:

http://www.eyeonspain.com/Secure/ForumPosts.aspx?thread=250&dev=FB20&name=Transferring%20money%20to%20Spain

I'll keep that thread updated.

Kevin