20 Dec 2013 3:35 PM:

Hi Maria,

You and your team won our money back, so, as far as I am concerned, you're worth every cent!

Have a great Christmas,

Chris

Thread: Another Costaluz victory!

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20 Dec 2013 9:45 AM:

Hi,

I agree with Maria, there was no inflation in the budget, other than the VAT and bar charges - which it did state in the original budget could go up. However, it would have been nice to have been told this when it occur - even a generic email to all clients would have been appreciated. As a client, and I admit I'm a bit of a control freak, transparency and communication is the difference between being extremely worried and anxious (to the point of near illness) about the case, and simply being worried but trusting your lawyer.

Fazarelli, to answer your questions; we paid an initial negotiation fee (3% of the deposit) to ask the bank to settle out of court, but when this failed we paid a litigation fee (5% of the deposit). These we paid up front, after this all other fees were retained from the money returned to us - so we never had to find the funds to pay this.

The fees did work out to be a lot, but if we hadn't taken the risk (unknowingly) we would be facing a bleak future; that deposit was everything we had, all our savings, everything. You have to talk with your potential lawyer, and make sure you choose one with a lot of experience - goods ones like Costaluz. They will be able to tell you what the chances are that the case can be won. As Maria and others continue to win cases, the chances of winning, or even settling out of court, are getting better and better. It's not an easy decision, but it is your money the banks are keeping.

Thread: Another Costaluz victory!

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19 Dec 2013 8:56 PM:

Hi,

Indeed the bank, in our case, paid everything, except for a fee for the interest - but given that we got some interest, I can't complain.

However, I would pick issue the clients know everything up front. In our case, we got a quote at the start, but we were never informed of any changes to the fees, or the additional fees for the appeal or the interest, or how much more the barrister would cost compared to what was originally stated in the quote, until we found out at the very end.  But as I said, we were very lucky to have had good lawyers that won our case and the bank had to pick up the tap.

Chris

Thread: Another Costaluz victory!

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19 Dec 2013 9:51 AM:

Fazarelli, I just did the calculation properly; total costs worked out to be 33% of the deposit, assuming the fee for the interest wouldn't have been made had we lost the appeal - otherwise it would have been 38%. However, as I said, I am so glad we only found this out at the end!

Chris

Thread: Another Costaluz victory!

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17 Dec 2013 9:36 PM:

We were extremely fortunate to have a BG, but even without it the law needs to be consistent, no matter what the circumstances where. It is a disgrace that buyers have been treated in this way and I imagine it will be a long time before people dare start buying again in Spain.

The fees were high; they went up a little from the original quote as VAT and bar charges also went up. Plus, the barrister fees worked out as basically the same as the lawyers. Overall, there were fees for the first instance, fees for the appeal, and fees for claiming the interest - adding up to about 20% of the deposit. However, everything but the interest fees were paid by the bank, so Costaluz and the barrister were welcome to charge as much as they liked. Fortunately, we were completely unaware of any of these charges, especially for the appeal and interest, until the end when the money was returned. I don't know how we would have coped worrying about finding the money for the fees in the event we lost; I’m not sure we could have paid. Whoever your lawyers are, I would really make sure you are completely clear what extra charges there are – and, for what its worth, get it in writing. But most importantly, get lawyers who are going to win your case.

ChrisW

Thread: Another Costaluz victory!

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