Bank Guarantees

Purchased 2bed apartment off plan in May 2004 for completion in December 2005.
We have had no communication from developer in the meantime.  We were in spain on holiday in September 2006 and emailed developed to arrange visit to view show apartment and site and we did not get reply and could not visit site. In November 2006 we decided to ask developer for refund of deposit and yesterday received email from lawyer saying it is delayed because of bad weather and strikes.  Lawyer is now going to insurance company to get refund on bank guarantee and says they have 40 days to respond.   I would welcome any views as to the chances of getting our deposit refunded.  Anyone been there and what was the end result.  Just wondering is guarantee any use at this point but still keeping fingers crossed.

This message was last edited by Jerry on 5/24/2007.

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This message was last edited by JeansSis on 5/19/2007.

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Jerry,

Sorry to hear about your problem with recovering your deposit.

Unfortunately there are many people in your situation including meself! Very often the bank who issues the guarantee or bond will make it difficult for you to claim against it if the developer is claiming Force Majure conditions for strikes or bad weather etc,even though they are mostly used as a ploy to renage paying back deposits! If your solicitor is unsuccessful with your claim then you would need to seriously consider engaging an experienced and independent litigation lawyer who will obviously charge for their services. Its vital that you check that you received an original bank guarantee (not a copy) for the whole amount of the deposit you paid over! You can also ask your solicitor to send the developer a bureau fax letter requesting cancellation of your contract and to return your deposit has they are probably in Breach of Contract. If you have a copy of your purchase contract in English fine, if not try to obtain a translation to verify the conditions relating to Breach of Contract etc? If the BG route fails you can begin proceedings through the courts but this can be a lengthy and costly process.

I'm involved with others with a claim thats just reach the courts after many months of building the case against the developer.

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