:00:32. > :00:37.We asked you to tell us who has left you feeling ripped off? You
:00:37. > :00:42.contacted us in your thousands, by post, e-mail, even stopping us on
:00:42. > :00:47.the street. The message could not be clearer. They are in it for what
:00:48. > :00:53.they can get, not to provide a service. If it upset me so much I
:00:53. > :00:58.didn't sleep. You told us, with money tighter than ever, you need
:00:58. > :01:04.to be sure every pound you spend is worth it. How do I get my money
:01:04. > :01:09.back, I am entitled to it. Whether it is a simple mistake or a catch
:01:09. > :01:13.in the small print, we will find out why you are out of pocket and
:01:14. > :01:18.what you can do. He keeps asking the questions.
:01:18. > :01:25.do get results, that is the interesting thing. Your stories, if
:01:25. > :01:29.your money, this is Rip Off Britain. The Hello, a huge welcome. This
:01:29. > :01:39.series is definitely on your side, if you don't get what you are paid
:01:39. > :01:40.
:01:40. > :01:43.for. The people we have met have all
:01:43. > :01:47.made plans for the future and made sure they made the right decisions
:01:47. > :01:51.for themselves and their cash, but their investments have gone badly
:01:51. > :01:57.wrong. That has not been easy to sort out.
:01:57. > :02:02.As a result, some have ended up in dire straits what others after
:02:03. > :02:08.forking out thousands, have been left feeling fobbed off. But, we
:02:08. > :02:13.have some advice to stop the same thing happening to you.
:02:14. > :02:19.Coming up, the former nurse who thought she had taken out a �17,000
:02:19. > :02:24.mortgage. How come her bank now says she owes them �100,000.
:02:24. > :02:28.A I was shattered, I couldn't believe it was happening to me.
:02:28. > :02:32.After investing all their retirement money, this couple has
:02:32. > :02:36.been left reliant on their son to pay their bills.
:02:36. > :02:43.It left us in a position of having virtually nothing left in the bank
:02:44. > :02:48.and relying on others to live. Next, an investment that seemed to
:02:48. > :02:52.be a perfect opportunity. It certainly did turn out to be life-
:02:52. > :02:58.changing, but not at all in a way that was expected.
:02:58. > :03:04.At 84, Margaret should be enjoying her retirement in peace. Over the
:03:04. > :03:08.last five years, her quiet life has been disrupted by the effects of an
:03:08. > :03:13.investment her back recommended she take out.
:03:13. > :03:16.I am not money minded, I have no financial interest really, but when
:03:16. > :03:22.Barclays Bank said I should do something with his money, I thought
:03:22. > :03:28.it was a good idea. So I was happy to invest in this fund they
:03:28. > :03:34.recommended. It never occurred to me not to trust them. Her financial
:03:34. > :03:38.situation changed in 2007. Recently widowed in Spain, she made the
:03:38. > :03:43.decision to move back to a retirement village in the UK.
:03:43. > :03:48.I came here because I had come back from Spain, and by a son lives
:03:48. > :03:55.half-an-hour away. I thought this would be quite nice to be near him.
:03:55. > :04:01.If you live on your own, you are very isolated sometimes. I thought
:04:01. > :04:08.this was the best of both worlds. You have security, privacy, and to
:04:08. > :04:12.be with other people if you want. Which is good. Margarets new
:04:12. > :04:18.retirement plan would be funded from her life savings and the sale
:04:18. > :04:24.of her Spanish property. She invested �247,000 which she put
:04:24. > :04:29.into her account with Barclays Bank. I had the money transferred to my
:04:29. > :04:32.savings account in this country. When the banks thought I had that
:04:32. > :04:37.much, they said I should be doing something different with it, put in
:04:37. > :04:47.it somewhere else. It sent a financial adviser who recommended
:04:47. > :04:47.
:04:47. > :04:51.she invest in a scheme, and income fund. He told me it would bring in
:04:51. > :04:57.�5,000 a quarter. With my pension, that would be about enough to pay
:04:57. > :05:05.the rent. I told the adviser I didn't want a higher risk but
:05:05. > :05:11.moderate risk, in order to get a good return. But I don't know much
:05:12. > :05:16.about these things. On the advice of the man from Barclays Bank, she
:05:16. > :05:21.placed her entire life savings into their recommended fund. She did it
:05:21. > :05:25.because the bike had themselves classed the fund as unadventurous.
:05:25. > :05:32.On that advice, it seemed the sort of investment she needed, unlikely
:05:32. > :05:37.to throw up nasty surprises, or so she thought. Right from the start,
:05:37. > :05:42.the fund did not perform in the way she expected. I took this
:05:42. > :05:49.Investment out, it started to fall. Each month, it had fallen by
:05:49. > :05:56.�10,000, �20,000. December, it had fallen so much, it was only worth
:05:56. > :06:00.half what I had invested in. Half the money I had put in. I could see
:06:00. > :06:10.it I wasn't going to be able to stay here. I wouldn't have enough
:06:10. > :06:14.for the rent. I was worried about Margaret was far from being the
:06:14. > :06:21.only Barclays Bank customer in this predicament. The bank had this
:06:21. > :06:25.classified the risk on this fund and on another. In total, 12,000
:06:25. > :06:29.customers, most of them retired or approaching retirement, were
:06:29. > :06:37.finding their investments was a lot riskier than they had been led to
:06:37. > :06:42.believe. They had invested a total of �692 million, much of which,
:06:42. > :06:47.with the funds underperforming, now appeared to be lost. Barclays Bank
:06:47. > :06:54.faces the biggest fine levied on a bank for its dealing with high
:06:54. > :06:59.street customers. In 2011, but his back was fined by the FSA for miss
:06:59. > :07:03.selling funds. It said they should always have been described as high
:07:04. > :07:08.risk and should not have been sold to older customers who could ill
:07:08. > :07:12.afford the heavy losses. For Margaret, this seemed good news,
:07:12. > :07:19.she hoped to reclaim some of the money she had lost. When I realised
:07:19. > :07:22.how much I had lost, I contacted Barclays Bank. I asked if there
:07:22. > :07:27.could be compensation because I didn't have enough. I received a
:07:27. > :07:33.letter from them, saying they admitted they had wrongly advised
:07:33. > :07:38.me, but I wasn't entitled to any compensation. I don't get angry
:07:38. > :07:46.about these things, but I was very upset because I wouldn't be able to
:07:46. > :07:51.stay here. I was worried about the money situation. The then, Margaret
:07:51. > :07:57.heard of someone who could help. daughter then told me she had heard
:07:57. > :08:02.of a firm. This company had already advised others stuck in the same
:08:02. > :08:08.situation, and when they contacted the bank about Margaret, the bank
:08:08. > :08:12.changed its tune. They offered �44,000. I was very surprised
:08:12. > :08:21.because they had said nothing was due to me. It did not cover the
:08:21. > :08:26.amount I had lost. It would have put me up on an even keel. Claims
:08:26. > :08:31.did not think but his dad was offering enough and an adjudicator
:08:31. > :08:36.at the ombudsman agreed. The bike was told that in generate this year
:08:36. > :08:40.but it disputed the decision. So Margaret will have to wait for the
:08:40. > :08:47.ombudsman to make a final ruling, meaning further months of
:08:47. > :08:53.uncertainty. I had always been with Barclays Bank, 60 years at least, I
:08:53. > :08:57.trusted them. We contacted Barclays Bank about
:08:57. > :09:01.Margaret. They say they are sympathetic to her situation, and
:09:01. > :09:06.after a recent review, agreed the funds she was sold was not suitable
:09:06. > :09:10.for her needs. They are sorry this is causing Margaret ongoing
:09:10. > :09:15.distress, and say they will continue to treat her case as a
:09:15. > :09:19.priority, to ensure they put things right for their customer.
:09:19. > :09:24.For Margaret and thousands of other pensioners affected in the same way,
:09:24. > :09:29.this continues to cause unwelcome stress because, until it is
:09:29. > :09:33.resolved, she is worried she cannot afford to stay in her home. All I
:09:33. > :09:43.am concerned about is having enough money to stay here. I wouldn't
:09:43. > :09:44.
:09:44. > :09:51.trust them again. Now, someone who has lost their
:09:51. > :09:59.money, he doesn't want the same thing to happen to anyone else.
:09:59. > :10:05.I thought I was leaving a really good nest egg. They are burdened
:10:05. > :10:08.with �100,000 to pay back to the Bank of Scotland when I die.
:10:08. > :10:15.situation Penny Cooper has found herself in is the opposite of
:10:15. > :10:19.everything she had planned. Last year, she retired from her job as a
:10:19. > :10:23.nurse at the Royal Berkshire Hospital. She goes back to
:10:23. > :10:30.volunteer. Through her 30 years of service she was careful with her
:10:30. > :10:35.money, hoping the value of her home would safeguard the family's future.
:10:35. > :10:40.Throughout my life, never had a lot of money, I spent what I could
:10:40. > :10:46.afford. They really did plan for my children's future. For me to know I
:10:46. > :10:52.could feed them half this property, they would get a nice little lump
:10:52. > :10:58.sum, was such a wonderful feeling for me. It made me feel very
:10:58. > :11:04.content. Her problem began 15 years ago when after the sale of the
:11:04. > :11:12.family home she wanted to buy some I knew. I bought this house in 1997,
:11:12. > :11:16.fell in love with it, liked the area. It was just what I wanted.
:11:16. > :11:20.Penny could have used her savings have to buy the house up right but,
:11:20. > :11:24.wondering if it was better to keep that money back for a rainy day,
:11:24. > :11:29.she arranged a visit with an independent financial adviser.
:11:30. > :11:33.I saw the adviser, we decided it was easier for me to have a small
:11:33. > :11:41.mortgage. It would give me the opportunity to have money in the
:11:41. > :11:46.bank. Penny went ahead and bought the house. �69,000. Taking out what
:11:46. > :11:56.she thought was a standard mortgage with the Bank of Scotland.
:11:56. > :11:58.
:11:58. > :12:03.mortgage was sorted out for a relatively small amount of money.
:12:03. > :12:10.Last year, after she retired, she decided the time was right to re-
:12:10. > :12:15.evaluate her finances. She went to a new financial adviser who
:12:15. > :12:21.delivered penny some earth- shattering news. He said, I have
:12:21. > :12:25.some devastating news. The mortgage you had was called a shared
:12:25. > :12:30.appreciation mortgage, it means, when you die, your children will
:12:30. > :12:36.have to pay back to the Bank of Scotland �100,000. I first reaction
:12:36. > :12:45.was to vomit. I rushed off to the loo. I was shattered, they couldn't
:12:45. > :12:53.believe this was happening to me. My thought was, how can �17,000
:12:53. > :12:59.suddenly changed to �100,000 that I owed them. Effectively that is an
:12:59. > :13:04.increase of nearly 500%. Penny couldn't understand how her loan
:13:04. > :13:08.suddenly got much bigger. It is the worst thing ever. I didn't know
:13:08. > :13:13.what to do. Unfortunately for penny and the thousands of others who
:13:13. > :13:22.took out a shared depreciations mortgage, it is not a typical
:13:22. > :13:26.mortgage at all. Sold between 1996 and 1998 by tool banks, it was a
:13:26. > :13:33.unique financial product. The bank offered a loan which was interest
:13:33. > :13:38.free, in return for a percentage of any increase in the property value.
:13:38. > :13:44.As this solicitor explains. This kind of mortgage is an arrangement
:13:44. > :13:50.where a home owner can borrow up to 25% of the value of their home.
:13:50. > :13:54.When they come to repay that borrowing, they also have to pay up
:13:54. > :13:59.to 75% of the increase in value of their home as well as the original
:13:59. > :14:05.loan. The loan itself is on a 0% fixed interest rate. What no one
:14:05. > :14:08.had predicted was the property boom at the turn of the century. House
:14:08. > :14:12.values have shot up and the amount of money anyone with this product
:14:12. > :14:16.would find themselves owing the bank.
:14:16. > :14:21.The problems associated with a product come as a result of the
:14:21. > :14:26.exponential rise in property prices. When people come to repay their
:14:26. > :14:30.loan, paying back a share of the appreciation, the end up with less
:14:30. > :14:38.than half the value of their home. Which is exactly what has happened
:14:38. > :14:45.to penny. It means when I die, or I need money, if I have to sell this
:14:45. > :14:50.property, I have to pay back �100,000 before I get any return.
:14:50. > :14:55.The financial adviser and gave me advice, I took her advice, I was
:14:55. > :15:02.happy with that advice, I trusted her. What has happened now? It was
:15:02. > :15:06.the wrong advice. I feel badly about that. If the property market
:15:06. > :15:10.had gone down, penny would have paid no more than the value of her
:15:11. > :15:16.initial loan. So she isn't the victim of bad advice, simply bad
:15:16. > :15:21.timing. Especially as, if she had bought her house a few months later,
:15:21. > :15:25.those mortgages were no longer being sold. The banks that did sell
:15:25. > :15:29.them at set for many people it resulted in considerable hardship,
:15:29. > :15:39.but they are satisfied the terms and conditions as were made very
:15:39. > :15:41.
:15:41. > :15:45.a very sympathetic approach to anyone in difficulty because of
:15:45. > :15:48.their shared appreciation mortgage, but stresses that customers were
:15:48. > :15:53.strongly recommended to take financial and legal advice to
:15:53. > :15:58.explain how the product worked. If Penny feels that it was mis-sold or
:15:58. > :16:02.that she was given unsuitable advice, they suggest she takes that
:16:02. > :16:05.up with the financial adviser who sold it to her. They are saying she
:16:05. > :16:06.is suffering with financial hardship she should contact them
:16:07. > :16:11.hardship she should contact them directly to see if they can assist
:16:11. > :16:17.in any other way. What she is going through is a harsh reminder that
:16:17. > :16:20.even when you do the right thing and take expert advice, you still
:16:20. > :16:26.need to understand exactly what you're getting yourself into. And
:16:26. > :16:31.the risks. I thought I had done everything right. I had gone to a
:16:31. > :16:36.proper person that would sort out mortgages that I did not understand.
:16:36. > :16:41.I feel very much that I have let my kids down. By and still very
:16:41. > :16:49.emotional about it and very upset that this situation has come to
:16:49. > :16:57.pass. I would take that to happen to anyone else. You are my best boy.
:16:57. > :17:02.-- I would hate that. A rip-off Britain has opened up a pot up shop.
:17:02. > :17:09.It is our opportunity to meet many of you face-to-face and hear all
:17:10. > :17:14.about your consumer gripes and problems. Inside, our team of
:17:14. > :17:21.experts is ready and waiting to help people with their complaints.
:17:21. > :17:24.Almost certainly, your case will be upheld. What the first to see
:17:24. > :17:30.Sylvia was Aisha, who needs steering in the right direction
:17:30. > :17:34.after being ripped off by her driving school. I paid for 10
:17:34. > :17:41.lessons and I only got seven of those and then the driving school
:17:41. > :17:44.closed down. I did not get my money back. How much did you pay? �180.
:17:44. > :17:48.What is the situation? Unfortunately, the company has been
:17:48. > :17:53.bought out by a different company and as soon as a company takes over
:17:53. > :17:56.another one, the liabilities of the previous company go. Unfortunately,
:17:56. > :18:01.although the previous company said they would give you a refund and
:18:01. > :18:05.did not, the existing company are under no obligation to give you a
:18:05. > :18:09.refund. And he did not pay on credit cards? If you paid by credit
:18:09. > :18:14.card, there would be some way of getting your money back. You pay by
:18:14. > :18:19.cash? I have got no receipts or anything. She has to write that off
:18:19. > :18:23.to experience? I am afraid that is the only thing I can say. Not the
:18:23. > :18:28.answer she was so before but the good news is that she has now
:18:28. > :18:31.passed her test. So many of you have written to us with your
:18:31. > :18:36.complaints about consumer affairs that we thought the best thing was
:18:36. > :18:46.to construct this old thing, aptly called a gripe box. You can go in
:18:46. > :18:50.there and get things off your chest. The supermarkets seem to be taking
:18:51. > :18:54.over and they pretend that they are cheap but they are not. I would
:18:54. > :19:01.like to complain about student bus fares. I would like to complain
:19:01. > :19:06.about PPI. We are told paying bills by direct debit says its money but
:19:06. > :19:12.Sarah Pennells' next case is being penalised for being unable to do so.
:19:12. > :19:16.All of the companies that I have my bills with, one in particular
:19:17. > :19:23.charges me �5 every month if I do not pay by direct debit. Is there
:19:23. > :19:27.any particular reason why you do not want to? I get paid every 28
:19:27. > :19:32.days and a direct debit being on a set day does not fall within a
:19:32. > :19:36.suitable site will. Companies love direct debits because they are much
:19:36. > :19:40.cheaper to process, but the real reason they like them is that once
:19:40. > :19:46.you pay by direct debit, you are less likely to check the belt and
:19:46. > :19:52.switch away. It is an anchor for you to stay with that company. Have
:19:52. > :19:58.you had any luck trying to get the direct debit date changed? I have
:19:58. > :20:04.not. You have a couple of choices. You could try to escalated, to say,
:20:04. > :20:08.is the way I could pay regularly without getting penalised? Secondly,
:20:08. > :20:11.vote with your feet and switch to another company that will not
:20:11. > :20:16.penalise you. I think you make a valid point which is that if you
:20:16. > :20:21.are prepared to pay, why she should be penalised?
:20:21. > :20:25.Still to come: How this man's dream of city-centre living went
:20:25. > :20:31.disastrously wrong until we started looking into what had happened to
:20:31. > :20:38.his money. That �10,000, if I cannot get it back I have lost it
:20:38. > :20:40.and I cannot buy a flat. It is always a big decision but choosing
:20:40. > :20:44.bricks-and-mortar over a pension when it comes to planning for
:20:44. > :20:50.retirement can be a popular choice. Although the profit from property
:20:50. > :20:53.has levelled out -- has levelled out, the prospect of something
:20:53. > :20:57.tangible to pass on to your children means that investing in
:20:57. > :21:02.houses is still very appealing, exactly the reason our next viewers
:21:02. > :21:05.chose to put their life savings into an of plan development in the
:21:05. > :21:09.Caribbean. Five years on, far from making any money, their investment
:21:09. > :21:19.has cost them dearly while the company that sold it to them seems
:21:19. > :21:22.
:21:22. > :21:25.to be doing very nicely. When landscape gardener James
:21:25. > :21:30.McBride started planning his guitar meant, he and his wife were keen to
:21:30. > :21:34.make sure they would be financially secure. -- planning his retirement.
:21:34. > :21:39.I had a car accident which injured my neck and I decided that I would
:21:39. > :21:43.not be able to work for much longer. The idea was to look towards my
:21:44. > :21:49.retirement because it was not far away. My son and I got together and
:21:49. > :21:55.decided to buy a little property somewhere. Offaly a short-term
:21:55. > :22:01.investment for me and a long-term investment for him. -- hopefully.
:22:01. > :22:06.James, his wife and son signed up to a number of newsletters to find
:22:06. > :22:14.a company. We looked through papers, magazines and things that would be
:22:15. > :22:17.sent through the post. We came across Harlequin. Harlequin's
:22:17. > :22:23.luxury resorts in spectacular locations look like the perfect
:22:23. > :22:29.place for the family to invest. brochures we were looking at, if
:22:29. > :22:33.they were to become real, were good. We thought it was a good
:22:33. > :22:39.opportunity. And you can see why they were tempted to invest with
:22:39. > :22:43.these kind of promises. Properties are sold off-plan at up to 50%
:22:43. > :22:50.below market value and have excellent potential for high
:22:50. > :22:53.capital appreciation. It all seemed to be the perfect solution, a brand
:22:53. > :22:58.new home in the Caribbean, off-plan at a reduced rate, with the
:22:58. > :23:05.potential to sell it on for a tidy profit. Convinced this was a good
:23:05. > :23:11.investment, the family pooled their hard-earned savings. I put �10,000
:23:11. > :23:17.in and my son would then raise the �65,000 mortgage on his property.
:23:17. > :23:26.And they would put the deposit down on the island of St Vincent in the
:23:26. > :23:30.Caribbean. The deal was that Greg Wood put down the majority of the
:23:30. > :23:34.deposit but once the building was built, they would get the deposit
:23:34. > :23:38.back so at the very least, �75,000 and perhaps even more if by then
:23:38. > :23:43.the building had increased by in -- the building had increased in value.
:23:43. > :23:48.Greg Wood then owned the building, rented out and sell it off at a
:23:48. > :23:56.later date. After all, the company was buying a 50% below market a
:23:56. > :23:59.year in an area very much in demand. I was excited. It looked good, it
:23:59. > :24:05.was a place we had never been to before or so it gives us the
:24:05. > :24:12.opportunity to visit, it was ours, and yes, I was really excited that
:24:12. > :24:15.we don't something so nice. Greggs signed up in February 2007 and was
:24:15. > :24:18.told he would only have to wait until December the next year to get
:24:18. > :24:23.the keys, but when he read in the magazine that completion on the
:24:23. > :24:27.resort had been delayed, Greg decided to find out what was going
:24:27. > :24:34.on for a start by contacted Harlequin and ask them what the
:24:34. > :24:37.situation was. I had heard from a third party that the resort had not
:24:37. > :24:42.been completed and they had not informed us. He said that yes,
:24:42. > :24:46.actually it was going to be delayed by two years. The family was told
:24:46. > :24:50.that the company had struggled to finance investment during the
:24:50. > :24:58.recession, causing building delays and a frustrating hold up on any
:24:58. > :25:03.return for investors. Not having an income from its, and the worry
:25:03. > :25:07.about where it had gone, it all started to kick in. I was
:25:07. > :25:15.frightened that we had invested in something that was going to go down
:25:15. > :25:19.the drain. From that moment on, things have all got worse.
:25:19. > :25:26.extra years added meant that I was continually spending money for
:25:26. > :25:31.which we had saved. It left us in the position of having virtually
:25:31. > :25:39.nothing left in the bank. And we had to rely on others to continue
:25:39. > :25:43.to live. Not a good position to be in. By the time the two years to
:25:43. > :25:47.come and gone, the property seem no closer to completion and with the
:25:47. > :25:54.return coming to nothing, James was getting into debt. He had to ask
:25:54. > :25:59.his son to help him out financially. From my perspective, I could not
:25:59. > :26:04.stand by idly and watch their situation spiral. For the last two
:26:04. > :26:09.years, I have been helping pay for some of the larger bills on an
:26:09. > :26:13.ongoing basis, to help them out. Frustrated by lack of information
:26:14. > :26:20.from a Harlequin, Greg at his partner decided to fly out to get
:26:20. > :26:23.answers. When we got there, we had a tour of the site, and the site
:26:23. > :26:28.manager showed us what was being built. He convinced us that
:26:28. > :26:31.actually, the location was very close to completion. When I
:26:32. > :26:36.returned I sat down with my parents and convince them that the site did
:26:36. > :26:42.exist and it was real and that it was very, very close to completion.
:26:42. > :26:45.So we breathe a collective sigh of release -- sigh of relief,
:26:45. > :26:49.confident that we would see a return on our investment. If only
:26:49. > :26:59.that were true. Despite the promises, the family are still
:26:59. > :27:02.waiting for the four property to be completed. We have spoken to other
:27:02. > :27:08.customers still waiting for their keys as well. For the company
:27:08. > :27:12.itself, things seem to be going well. According to their accounts,
:27:12. > :27:22.Harlequin properties' business turnover grew by 18% last year and
:27:22. > :27:27.the reported profits of well over �1 million. The family is
:27:27. > :27:34.devastated that what should be a great Investment has left their son
:27:34. > :27:37.making huge sacrifices to bail them out. Supporting appearance has cost
:27:37. > :27:41.me �41,000 which, as you can appreciate, has left me in a
:27:41. > :27:44.difficult situation, such that I have had to put my own house on the
:27:44. > :27:51.market to clear my mortgage and my borrowings and concentrate on
:27:51. > :27:56.supporting them. It has caused a great deal of concern and anguish.
:27:56. > :28:01.My son is suffering even more or, if you like, financially, and I am.
:28:01. > :28:05.The guilt that we have roped him into something like this, and then
:28:05. > :28:11.we had to rope and then to help us survive because we had no money
:28:11. > :28:13.coming in, it has put the family under strain. We contacted the
:28:13. > :28:17.under strain. We contacted the company to find out what was going
:28:17. > :28:21.on. They say that delays in completing the property, while
:28:21. > :28:26.obviously regrettable, are down to circumstances beyond their control
:28:26. > :28:30.and largely caused by a contractor or misappropriating funds from the
:28:30. > :28:34.resort. This is situation has been addressed and the resort is now
:28:34. > :28:37.open with all but a few of the properties sold and the rest of the
:28:37. > :28:41.development underway. They insist they have kept investors informed
:28:41. > :28:45.at every stage and double their willing to return deposits if
:28:45. > :28:50.investors no longer wish to proceed, or only a tiny minority are taking
:28:50. > :28:55.that option. They have assured us that this facility is built and
:28:55. > :28:59.ready to be fitted out but if the family want to get their deposit
:28:59. > :29:03.back, they would be happy to arrange it. Alternatively, the
:29:03. > :29:07.company are confident that they can resell it and provide a substantial
:29:07. > :29:11.return. Greg has given us some good news. He said that he has now
:29:11. > :29:15.reached an agreement with the company and has received a refund
:29:15. > :29:19.for his deposit from them. He says any confusion between them has now
:29:19. > :29:24.been addressed and that the company is acting quickly to put things
:29:25. > :29:34.right. Let us hope that means that the family's finances and James
:29:35. > :29:40.
:29:40. > :29:44.retirement can now get back on Manchester City centre, a hotbed of
:29:44. > :29:49.flats and apartments, ideal for anyone wanting to live and work in
:29:49. > :29:53.the heart of town. Moving closer to the action was what Paul wanted
:29:53. > :30:00.when he decided to look around for a new pad in Manchester five years
:30:00. > :30:05.ago. I wanted to move to the city centre, thought about flax. Loads
:30:05. > :30:15.of developments. A after searching, Paul found the sort of place he
:30:15. > :30:15.
:30:15. > :30:21.wanted. I found an off Plan Investment, in Piccadilly,
:30:21. > :30:28.advertising a 30 storey building, glass, a beautiful building.
:30:28. > :30:33.property was being developed. would be moving in rather than
:30:33. > :30:43.renting it. I put down a deposit. I knew it wouldn't be built for a
:30:43. > :30:47.while. In 2000 m seven, Paul put down in non-refundable deposit of
:30:47. > :30:52.�10,847, and looked forward to his new life in the city centre. 18
:30:52. > :30:56.months later, along with the rest of the economy, the property market
:30:56. > :31:03.took a dramatic turn for the worse, and Paul began to worry about the
:31:03. > :31:08.lack of progress on the properties. I arrange a meeting with an
:31:08. > :31:13.executive who said they still owned the land, it was theirs. They would
:31:13. > :31:19.eventually build on it. It could be five years down the line before
:31:19. > :31:23.actual construction took place. top of the delay, Paul says he was
:31:23. > :31:28.told the apartment he signed up to wouldn't necessarily be the one he
:31:28. > :31:34.would get. They were looking at baby-changing the function of the
:31:34. > :31:40.flats, to a pub and hotel. That isn't what I wanted. With the
:31:40. > :31:45.company saying his deposit was non- refundable, Paul had to wait. The
:31:45. > :31:52.suggestions the company came up were not what he wanted. I could
:31:52. > :31:59.have put my money in property in Liverpool. I work in Manchester.
:31:59. > :32:02.The other option was a land deal. They sold it to meet on the fact
:32:02. > :32:08.once planning permission was obtained I could double my money.
:32:08. > :32:12.The as it sounded plausible, Paul agreed to switch his money to land
:32:12. > :32:17.deal. That meant his investment was transferred to a different company
:32:17. > :32:25.within the group. In one sense, that was no bad thing as at this
:32:25. > :32:31.time, the original company went into liquidation. From June to 1010,
:32:31. > :32:39.Paul dealt with a second company who, a few months Messer, centre
:32:39. > :32:44.more bad news. -- a few months later. In October 2010, a letter
:32:44. > :32:50.said there was a problem with the land scheme. Paul looked more
:32:50. > :32:56.closely at what he had signed up to, and contacted the company to make
:32:56. > :33:04.clear his concerns. They sent me information with regards to
:33:04. > :33:14.different options, office spaces, flats in the rubble. Orate credit
:33:14. > :33:15.
:33:15. > :33:22.note, saying they recognised they didn't have enough money. It was an
:33:22. > :33:26.acceptance they had my money. Indeed, that is all it was, he is
:33:26. > :33:31.�10,000 seems to have become simply figures on a piece of paper. The
:33:31. > :33:37.only way for him to cash in on his credit note was to bite into
:33:37. > :33:43.another investment. There was a time limit, his credit note came
:33:43. > :33:49.with a catch, and expiry date of January 2013, something Paul was
:33:49. > :33:55.furious about. Looking at the details on a credit note, it says
:33:55. > :34:02.it is non-refundable. In 2013, this money will disappear. How can that
:34:02. > :34:08.happen? Is It Legal? With the expiry date drawing closer, Paul
:34:08. > :34:14.feared he would never see his money again. That �10,000, if I can't get
:34:14. > :34:23.it back, I have lost it. That means I can't buy a flat, I have no
:34:23. > :34:29.deposit. I should be living there. The best flat in Manchester. It was
:34:29. > :34:35.at that point, Paul came to us. When we got in touch with the
:34:35. > :34:39.company, the story took an unusual twist. The company came back to was
:34:39. > :34:44.disputing much of what Paul had said, saying he must be confused
:34:44. > :34:47.about the details. They believe they have acted very fair lick and
:34:47. > :34:52.honourably, saying the contract was with a subsidiary company, and his
:34:52. > :34:56.deposit was clearly stated to be non-returnable. When that company
:34:56. > :35:00.was driven out of business as a result of the financial crisis, the
:35:00. > :35:05.company say they had no legal obligation to help him recover his
:35:05. > :35:11.money. As for the expiring credit note, they say they would have been
:35:11. > :35:15.happy to extend it if asked. Even so, our intervention has prompted a
:35:15. > :35:19.positive result for Paul. The company told us they have resolved
:35:19. > :35:25.their differences with him and he has his money back. The company
:35:25. > :35:30.sent us a piece of paper signed by Paul say he doesn't consider there
:35:30. > :35:38.to have been any wrong doing, simply a misunderstanding. Claims
:35:38. > :35:45.he would be pleased to consider investing with them again. We
:35:45. > :35:51.thought the story from Paul was still worth telling. We remember
:35:51. > :35:57.how angry Paul had been when he first contacted us. I gave them
:35:57. > :36:00.�10,000 for a flat, which they have not built. All I want is my
:36:00. > :36:10.original money back. We are delighted to have helped make that
:36:10. > :36:11.
:36:11. > :36:16.When you feel if you have had a raw deal, it is hard to know what to do.
:36:16. > :36:24.To help you, we have put together a new booklet with practical tips.
:36:24. > :36:32.You can download a free guide from our website. Or receive a copy in
:36:32. > :36:38.the post. We will give you the address at the end of the programme.
:36:38. > :36:43.We all want to make the most of our money. If we invest it, we probably
:36:43. > :36:49.hope we can watch it grow. If an investment goes wrong, but only may
:36:49. > :36:53.not get a return you expected, you could end up losing the lot.
:36:53. > :36:59.People really want to make their money work for them and are finding
:36:59. > :37:03.if it is in the back, it may only be earning half a % interest, less,
:37:03. > :37:07.sometimes. Naturally, they think it isn't worth having. They are
:37:07. > :37:15.looking for a way to make their money work harder. They can be
:37:15. > :37:19.tempted easily into investing in to land, gold, shares. These things
:37:19. > :37:25.are highly speculative, but they are sold by Snoop sales people who
:37:25. > :37:28.earn a great deal of money by persuading people to invest.
:37:28. > :37:34.you're thinking of investing your money, there are several key things
:37:34. > :37:39.to consider. Check with the FSA if the company you are talking to his
:37:39. > :37:43.authorised, or if it is on their list of unauthorised companies. He
:37:43. > :37:49.even mind if you don't deal with an authorised firm or investing abroad,
:37:49. > :37:54.you will not be covered by the ombudsman or compensation scheme.
:37:54. > :37:59.Remember, if you have already been scanned by fraudsters, they are
:37:59. > :38:06.likely to target you again. Make sure you have reported any problems
:38:06. > :38:13.to the FSA. In vestment is always a risk. People should understand that.
:38:13. > :38:17.You are told you need to take a risk to get bored. But you have to
:38:18. > :38:23.realise if you invest rather than say, your money could go down in
:38:23. > :38:28.value. In rare cases, it could disappear. As soon as anyone tries
:38:28. > :38:33.to sell you an investment, you should say, what is the downside?
:38:33. > :38:43.The worst that could happen. If they are not honest about that,
:38:43. > :38:43.
:38:43. > :38:49.walk away. I am joined now by mark, the chief
:38:49. > :38:54.executive of the compensation scheme. It is a mouthful, what is
:38:54. > :38:59.this compensation scheme and why was it set up? It has a simple
:38:59. > :39:04.purpose, we are the people who will protect your money if a financial
:39:04. > :39:09.services firm goes bust and takes your money with it. It makes it
:39:09. > :39:15.seem as if it means, everyone's money is protected, regardless of
:39:15. > :39:21.the company? Not quite, we protect all financial services firms
:39:21. > :39:27.regulated by the FISA, it covers deposits at a bank or building
:39:27. > :39:32.society, your insurance policies. It covers your investments, it
:39:32. > :39:37.covers mortgages and pensions. Importantly, it also covers bad
:39:37. > :39:42.advice that you may get from a regulated independent financial
:39:43. > :39:47.adviser. If you get bad advice on your investments and have a claim
:39:47. > :39:54.against that financial adviser, who cannot meet your claim, we will
:39:54. > :40:00.step in and protect you. In what circumstances would your
:40:00. > :40:05.organisation step in and pay compensation? We will step in where
:40:05. > :40:11.a financial services business has gone bust. If you have a complaint
:40:11. > :40:15.about a solvent financial services business still trading, you should
:40:15. > :40:21.go to the ombudsman. But we step in when his business has gone bust and
:40:21. > :40:26.has either taken your money with it, or cannot meet claims you may have
:40:26. > :40:30.against it because you received bad advice. A do people get all the
:40:30. > :40:38.money they invested? There are limits on compensation we can pay.
:40:38. > :40:46.For example, if a bank or building society or credit union fails, our
:40:46. > :40:53.limit on compensating savers is �85,000. For investments, the limit
:40:53. > :40:59.is �50,000. For most insurance policies, we will cover 90% of what
:40:59. > :41:04.you were entitled to. One exception, compulsory insurance policies like
:41:04. > :41:08.car insurance where we will cover 100%. A what would be your final
:41:08. > :41:14.line of advice to people before they undertake any kind of
:41:14. > :41:19.financial transaction? My advice would always be, always, always
:41:19. > :41:26.check whether the firm you are buying a financial product form --
:41:26. > :41:30.from, is authorised, or whether the adviser is authorised by the FSA.
:41:30. > :41:36.If they are up and something goes wrong, we will be there to protect
:41:36. > :41:41.you. Confused over your bills? Trying to
:41:41. > :41:51.wade through a never ending small print? You can write to us at this
:41:51. > :41:57.
:41:57. > :42:01.You can also send us an e-mail. Do not forget, our team is ready
:42:02. > :42:06.and waiting to investigate your stories.
:42:06. > :42:11.As you can see, it is all too clear from our stories today, trying to
:42:11. > :42:15.find a safe place to invest in always easy. Any investment
:42:15. > :42:19.involves risk, so you need to take care on what those risks are from
:42:19. > :42:25.the beginning. It may take work but it is worth it
:42:25. > :42:29.in the end. However convincing the sales pitch may sound, nothing is
:42:29. > :42:34.ever guaranteed. The more so what makes you think an investment is a
:42:34. > :42:39.sure thing, the more important it is you get some sort of independent
:42:39. > :42:44.advice before you sign up. That way, you can minimise any