ATLAS INTERNATIONAL again

Dear Fly380:

 I understand your frustration but, at the same time, I am sure that with the help of a good lawyer you will end up getting licenses and compensation as you are entitled.

Do not lose hoped and keep fighting through the system against these unaccpetable behaviours. Of course, ask for compensation. Did not you have a Bank Guarantee in place?

Best,

Maria

Hi Mariadecastro - When I bought my offplan property in March 2003 ATLAS INTERNATIONAL assured us the money would go into a Bank Guarantee because it was Spanish Law. Well it didn't so Tecnologia basically misappropriated it. Aroca Seiquer were working hand in hand with ATLAS. I have no intention of spending more good money after bad. I wouldn't trust any lawyer in this area. It's no good reporting them to the ethical body - whatever that is called - as they are all lawyers and look after their own. Sorry to be so cynical. Fly

I know it's been a couple of weeks since Fly posted this but just thought I'd clarify as I was caught out with this as well.  No deeds, in this case, didn't just mean you didn't get the paper bit.  It meant the property was not registered correctly with the land registry.  TU were supposed to pay the mortgages on the land when they received the money but instead used it to buy other land which subsequently went to the wall due to the lack of building progress.  Although some properties which were bought with a bank mortgage were clear, those of us who paid cash (well, cheque but you know what I mean) were caught out.  Fly says he bought his 4 years ago and still doesn't have the deeds which means the property has not been registered correctly nor has a Habitation licence been granted (hence, no utilities).  In my case, it was 7 years ago.  We did have a habitation licence granted after 4 years of being on builders supply (water first then electrics a year later).  I only got the deeds to the propery last year (even then it was a farce as the solicitors, same ones Fly used, "forgot" to put my nationality on them so they had to go back twice which delayed it another 9 months).  Compensation?  You must be joking.  We all had to pay extra to TU to get them to finally present the deeds and no chance of even getting a reply from Atlas.  The solicitors said we were lucky not to have to pay extra???????  Plus, as black money was used (we were all told it was the norm) extra tax had to be paid as the deeds would not be released without the correct value on them and tax was charged on the difference.

So what did no deeds mean?  It means you cannot sell the property.  Finito.  No deeds, no sale.  In my case, I wanted to buy another property and use the money from the original purchase to do so.  Of course, I had to take a mortgage instead and now it is virtually impossible to sell in the current climate.  So what about the notary?  Well, it was all in Spanish and, although I do speak it quite well, the legalese was rather above me.  Atlas assured us we were signing for the deeds and all was above board.  What we didn't know was that all we were doing was handing over power of attorney to the solicitors and the notary was not authorising the deeds as there was a discrepancy with the payment of land mortgages.  Not what we were told, at all. 

Moral of the story?  Don't use these companies. I am fortunate in that my new builders have been above board and excellent and I just wish I knew then what I know now.  To my mind, Atlas, TU and the Aroca have all colluded in this.  They say they are not connected with each other but it gets a bit suspicious when bills to Aroca have the payment details as Atlastaxinternacional.

Fly's area is even worse as Iberdrola and Aguagest won't allow them to have their own meters fitted until TU pays them the money they owe which is like peeing into the wind.  There are some tragic stories of elderly people having electric and water cut off at no notice and food spoiling in freezers etc let alone the heartache it has caused.  Once these companies go out of business the better the property market in Spain will be.  Maybe when this lot do head off into the sunset then the trust in the Spanish property market may make an appearance, but don't hold your breath.  I was also quoted a fee of nearly 10,000 euros by another solicitor just to try and get Aroca to chase up the deeds but I didn't feel like throwing good money after bad at the time.

Wow what a minefield!

I have just joined this website where I thought we were the only ones having problems.

Ours is a slightly different case where my cousin sadly died during Oct 2005 where he kindly [well that's what we thought] left his Bosque De Las Lomas II townhouse in his Will to my sister & myself.

His Spanish solicitor [now ours] who is independent has since been trying to communicate with Tecnologia to get the deeds signed over from them. Atlas/Tecn were fully paid up front on the basis of getting the deeds signed over. Our cousin however died before this was done.

We first had lots of issues trying to sort out other legal stuff as our cousin didn't have a Spanish will but eventually we thought we could see an end to it. However to our horror [no doubt no surprise to you all] we found out yesterday that Tecn had since 2002/03 taken out a mortgage on the property which we believe [waiting for translation] has for numerous years not been paid let alone paid off. 

Our solicitor is saying that the bank now want us to pay off the mortgage!.......................................is this the same for others?....................and how do you sleep with the worry that your homes might be repossessed?

What we can't understand is why the solicitor didn't check to see if there were any outstanding debts before we accepted the inheritance..................................we asked the question!

It also seems that quite a few of you still do not have the deeds & have mortgages taken out that you didn't know about. Has any group been formed to fight what I see is an illegal system?

Any comments please.

Good luck to everyone.

Paul

how nice of your cousin to remember you in his will,what a shame something good is being such a nightmare.

hope it all gets sorted.

Hi pkvenus - sorry to hear about your cousin. There are many of us in the same position as you will know if you have looked through the threads. Basically we think Atlas were working hand in hand with the lawyers who did not do their job but won't admit it. They both blame each other but I think it is deeper than that. Tecnologia - the developer - are just a bunch of bandits and I'm sure Atlas and Aroca knew that. Now add The Townhall into the mix and it's getting very toxic. Now the builder has no money - owes a fortune - won't finish our urb or pay water and electric. Never were any bank guarantees. As for losing sleep. Naah - what's the point. The buider's mortgage on my house is more than the place is worth. I hope the bank don't  try to repossess it. There isn't much point in them doing that as it is unsaleable with no deeds and no certificate of habitation. Fingers crossed. Keep us informed.

Hi Lindamay & Fly380,

Many thanks for your replies.

I've never felt so out of control & not know what's the best to do!

Good point Fly380 about no advantage in the bank repossessing....................makes me feel slightly better. However just had an email this morning from our solicitor saying he might be able to do a deal with the bank to get the deeds. He is awaiting details of what the deal is..............................no doubt an expensive one on our part. I'll let you know!

I checked out a forum last night where 'Suzie' had organised a petition for Gordon Brown to hopefully present to the G-20 Summit......have you heard about it or even been part of it? 

I also heard something about the EU taking Spain to the EU Courts about the housing scandal..........do you know anything about this? 

Lunch over.....................back to work!!

Hi pkvenus - yep on the petition to Downing Street. Other members dealing with EU. The problem is that the corruption starts very high up and now I suppose the money has gone. When it comes to purchasing property in Spain, the system is VERY VERY THIRD WORLD. I don't trust any lawyers, Agents, Townhalls, Developers in Spain. Some Developers are clearly criminal, lawyers and agents negligent, Townhalls corrupt. I trust you have a good Spanish lawyer. They are hard to find in this area!!  We tried to get Atlas through Surrey Trading Standards but they are toothless. Atlas were required to write an explanation to us which consisted of a letter explaining the role of a lawyer - ie blaming Aroca. Basically "Not our fault" but if you had read their brochure they guaranteed to take all the hassle out of buying in Spain. Haha. Anyway it's a lovely day and I've resigned myself to never getting my Escatura - so less to worry about. Good luck. Fly ps yes Spain has been taken to the EU courts and been threatened with losing millions of euros if they don't sort the mess out but don't hold your breath.

Hi Fly380

I like your attitude & suppose after over 3 years of manana we have slowly realised the cultural difference between us Brits & the Spanish.........................but it's still frustrating!

However we are a fighting nation & again suppose some of the 'stiff upper lip' has rubbed off from my parents. So as you maybe we will have to resign ourselves to not getting what we need but will fight like hell until we get to that point!

Wall.........head..........bang!

Just heard from someone on a visit from spain that tecnologia was last year put in prison for tax evasion ,does anyone know if this is true??? we  also know that T.U. have put morgages on properties that or now bigger than the value of their homes and if they want their deeds the banks are saying they will have to pay of the morgage them selfs this cannot be right lets hope not.

Hi Meldrew,

Our solicitor informed us last week that the builder [TU] had done a runner & cannot be found leaving his family & company to pick up the pieces...........................it is only a rumour though.

Regarding the banks/deeds/mortgage.................this is fact where again last week our solicitor advised us of this issue. We are waiting for actual figures from the bank confirming what they want as they say they will do 'a deal'..........whatever that means!!!

You say this cannot be right.........................I presume any Lawyers who are members of this forum would know that or could explain in more detail.

Our solicitor speaks English but we find it very hard to understand at times what he's saying or writing.....................this is one of those times where we have asked him to explain again.

the quicker the eec set up there own version of the taliban.

find, and publicly hang spanish builders, crooked lawyers and policians in spanish streets the better for everyone.

then maybe the corrupt country would think again

Is it really true. Atlas International are broke and filing for bankruptcy?

  https://www.endole.co.uk/company/03608869/atlas-international-property-services-limited

Oh, I certainly hope so. With a bit of luck Aroca (also known as Atlastax) will rapidly follow suit.

In response to Bobol & Fly380's posts - UPDATE

I have to admit I got excited by what I read!  I followed the link, and it as you will be aware says Atlas Internation are in liquidation.

I then went to their website and rang Call us 0800 261 6770 and was then automatically transferred to a number which was obviously not in the UK.

A woman answered (English) and I asked if it was Atlas International and she said yes.  I asked if they were still selling properties, as I had seen on a website they are in liquidation.  She said they are still selling, but have relocated their business to La Zenia in Spain. I have seen the shop when over on holiday as I am sure many on this forum have.

She asked if she could help me and I said " no thanks you have already stitched me up once and you are not doing it again".  I then put the phone down which gave me a degree of satisfaction!

Unfortunately it is not as good a news story as I/we had hoped, but they have obviously got out of the UK as things were too hot and their reputation was shot.

Best Wishes to all.

What ever they want to call themselves Atlas must be, in the least trying to sell properties, I have just come back from Spain and must have seen at least 10 Atlas sign written vehicles (Possibly the same one) going about all over with what looked like would be buyers, the drivers were pointing out various properties as they slowed down.

 baz1946

I said as much  in my post today. They are no longer in the UK but operating only in Spain.

Would have preferred them to be out of business by now - but I can wait!

LEY 57/1968 Won Case in First Instance Court against BANCO SABADELL for our client who purchased an off-plan property from the developer Tecnologia Urbanistica at Colinas De La Zenia Elite Fase III in Orihuela Costa

We were pleased to inform our client recently that we had won their case against Banco Sabadell (formerly Banco CAM) in the First Instance Court.

The client paid their off-plan deposit according to the Purchase Contract to the developer’s bank account at Banco CAM (now Banco Sabadell).  The client did not receive an individual Guarantee for their off-plan deposit from the developer, Tecnologia Urbanistica or from Banco CAM.

The First Instance Court has now found the Bank guilty according to its legal obligations under Article 1.2 of LEY 57/1968.  The bank must refund the amount paid to the developer’s account plus interest at the legal rate from the date the money was paid into the account.  Legal costs were not imposed on the Bank due to the fact that the Judge is of the opinion there was conflicting jurisprudence regarding banks liabilities according to LEY 57/1968 at the time the Lawsuit was filed and the Bank submitted its written defence.

Re: YOUR CASE AGAINST BANCO DE SABADELL S.A.
PO xxxx/2015

Please find attached Sentence No. xxx/2016 from the First Instance Court No.1 in Orihuela.

Your case against BANCO SABADELL has been won.

The final paragraph of the First Instance Sentence delivered on 5 September 2016 and notified on 5 September 2016 states:

“Upholding the Lawsuit filed by xxxxxx against BANCO DE SABADELL S.A. with the following pronouncements:

1. I declare the legal responsibility of the entity BANCO DE SABADELL S.A. pursuant to Article 1.2 of LEY 57/1968 and therefore condemn the financial entity to refund the sum of xx,xxx Euro, being the amount deposited in the account opened by the developer in the said bank.

2. The amount indicated will accrue interest at the legal rate from the date of payment, or in this case, the date the funds were deposited in the account opened by the developer in Banco de Sabadell S.A.  The interest rate will be increased by 2 points from the date of this Sentence according to Article 576 of the Civil Procedure Act.

3. Without the express imposition of costs of the proceedings”


So BANCO SABADELL is sentenced to refund the amount of xx,xxx€ plus interest at the legal rate from the date the funds were paid into the developer’s account opened at Banco Sabadell.

The Judge did not impose costs on the bank; therefore each party will pay its own costs.

Interesting statements from the Judge in the Sentence were:


“On 12 November 2015 the plaintiffs filed a Lawsuit against Banco Sabadell, requesting the conviction of the bank according to its responsibility under Article 1.2 of LEY 57/1968.  The plaintiff requested the refund of the total amount paid to the developer under the Purchase Contract plus interest & costs, alternatively, the amount actually credited to the Banco Sabadell account opened by the developer, which was 3,000€ less than the total amount.

Banco Sabadell opposed the Lawsuit and said that it had not guaranteed the funds and that the funds were paid to an ordinary current account opened by the developer, over which the bank had no control or monitoring. 

The Preliminary Hearing was held on 8 March 2016 & the Trial was held on 23 May 2016.

Documentary evidence was provided to prove that xx,xxx€ was entered into the former Banco CAM (now Sabadell) account opened by the developer.  However, there is no evidence to confirm that the amount of £2,000 paid by cheque was entered into the developer’s account at Banco CAM.  This leads us to analyze the alternative claim for xx,xxx€ being the amount actually paid to the developer’s account at Banco CAM.

The former Deputy Director of the Banco CAM branch in which the account was held, gave evidence at the Trial.  She stated that the account was an ordinary account opened by the developer and that it was very difficult to control and monitor income in this type of account.

It is a completely reprehensible attitude of the bank knowing that it was an account opened by a developer which was funded largely by amounts paid by buyers to purchase off-plan homes.  However, this does not prevent this account to be considered as a Special Account according to the regulatory framework. 

Therefore, the bank has a legal duty to ensure these funds were guaranteed by an Insurance Certificate or Bank Guarantee.  Having failed in its legal duty, the bank then has a legal liability.

The bank should not allow the opening of accounts or the placing of deposits in those accounts, without first ensuring that the developer has assumed a legal obligation to guarantee the repayment of the funds. 

The bank was fully aware of the business of the developer and the fact that the account was being used to receive funds from off-plan buyers.  The fact that the account was opened as a normal current account, as alleged by the defendant bank, cannot prejudice the plaintiffs as the Supreme Court Sentence of 30 April 2015 confirms.

Banks that receive funds from off-plan buyers into developer’s accounts, although not called Special Accounts, must be responsible to the buyers for the total amounts paid to these accounts opened in its branches.  This doctrine, if there is any doubt, has again been reiterated and confirmed by the Sentences of the Supreme Court dated 9 & 17 March 2016.

As for costs, the plaintiff requested costs to be imposed on the bank.  Even though the Lawsuit has been upheld substantially in its alternative claim for the amount deposited in the developer’s account at the defendant bank, there is more or less uniform criteria in the Courts of this city (Orihuela) and in the Provincial Appeal Court of Alicante, to understand that the question before the prosecution regarding the liability of the Bank according to Article 1.2 of LEY 57/1968, has resulted in contradictory jurisprudence comparable to the existence of doubt.  So I plead the faculty contained in Article 394 of the Civil Procedure Act not to impose costs on the bank.  The Supreme Court Sentence of 21 December 2015 which clarifies the responsibility of financial institutions had not been published at the time the Lawsuit was filed (12 November 2015) or when the bank filed its written defence to the Court”


BANCO SABADELL has 20 working days from the date of notification of the Sentence, which was 5 September 2016, to comply with the Sentence or to file an Appeal to the Provincial Appeal Court of Alicante.

Although any appeal must be submitted strictly within the 20 working day deadline, we may not receive notification of an Appeal or of a firm sentence from the Court for a few weeks after the deadline due to the workload of the Court.

If an Appeal is filed by BANCO SABADELL it will be necessary for us to file an Opposition to the Appeal on your behalf.

It's a shame that the boffins, legal eagles and champions of the robbed weren't as high profile or prevalent back in 2005 when Atlas stitched me up.

They took a £38,000 50% deposit for a 2 bed apartment in a Benijofar complex called Triana(?), next to the Citroen garage.

With completion due for Dec 2004, we were happy to wait. But, guess what, the place was never built and despite promises and free flights to inspect the area and look at possible (dearer) alternatives, the builders never did more than cordon off the area with tape.

It took visits to exhibitions and threats of upstaging them at the Place In The Sun Exhibition to make any progress. After writing to every property programme on TV and outing them on every forum going, they eventually relented and returned the £38k - if we signed a gagging agreement.

The gagging agreement was a point of annoyance, but the lack of interest back on that money and the fact that decent properties were so much more expensive because of the ever-increasing property bubble just rubbed salt into the wound. I'd love to know about the 47 other families that would've also been ripped off.

Thinking back, I was a fool to fall for the patter. However, it's difficult to comprehend that so many people and so many companies were in on the ruse. When you're looking for advice and support from your fellow man, it's a shame on humanity.

Maria, is a gagging order as part of an agreement not an illegal activity and unenforceable in Spain?. Would this be legally perceived as a form of improper pressure and blackmail that acts as a disgraceful ploy by this company to cover up their illegal activities?

If Atlas did go into administration could a lawsuit be subsequently brought against the bank where monies were deposited if no BG was made available, in order to reclaim interest in the interim periods between deposit and return of monies (albeit this return of monies occured some time previously as described in the last posting) , given purchasers inalienable rights have now been reaffirmed by the SC with regard to article 1.2 of ley 57/68?

Or would some form of time constraint be applicable in this circumstance to prohibit any future claim of this nature?