21 Jun 2017 9:04 PM:

It's awful isn't it Chrissie and Gill,  life being on hold like this, We are like you really could not afford to lose this kind of money, which is why we did checks and were told it was all covered with a bank guarantee so we could never ever lose our money!!!! I do believe that the lawyers obviously are governed by the court system, however they could make this journey a bit easier for us.. but it's a job for them, not their life, they do not live it every day, I used equity in my home to pay for this I will never ever be able to have that kind of equity again, never ever be able to have the last decade of my life back either, that has been dominated by this nightmare..I can't have a holiday home in the sun any more, or a pension fund or anything to fall back on, but it's just a job for them..

This is a journey we have been on... from A to B.. from starting this court process to actually getting money in our bank account,  and the inbetween part of this journey is really important... we need information in a manner that we can understand as we are not lawyers.. we need prompt replies that are sincere and personal rather than generic "we will reply in ......days" etc.. then the standard... "as soon as we hear from the court we will inform you", we need to be treated like people not numbers... as you say there are so many inconsistencies there is no formula no one size fits all that all lawyers and clients are following so how are we supposed to know what is happening..it seems like everyone is making it up as they go along,  the lawyers are getting a lot of money for this, and so they should.. there is a lot involved.. however this is our money, this was always our money.. it is money that we have earned ourselves over a long period of time and no builder or bank should ever have taken it from us in the first place without giving us anything in return, we have a right to get it back..i appreciate the help of my lawyer to get this back for us, but yes this does leave a bad taste in my mouth,  it's no lottery win, I have just received what is mine in the first place, but have had to give over 20% of it up in fees, so definately no jumping for joy going on in this household...my advice to lawyers is pretend that you care, even if you don't it might make it a little easier for us, don't we deserve that....

Community thread: Bank compensation

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05 Jun 2017 6:32 PM:

This forum is a place where we share our experiences to help each other out. As the actual development never happened all we can share are our experiences in trying to get our money back...I have obviously hit a nerve with my criticism. however all of the information i have stated is fact!!..  I appreciate that without you I would not have had any money back at all, but the journey has been horrendous and still is.. another baffling question is why I have to wait 7-10 days for a lawyer to reply to me via email (if not longer), yet I get a response from you on a forum within hours?? a retorical question. 

 

This message was last edited by craftyange on 05/06/2017.
Community thread: Bank compensation

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05 Jun 2017 3:45 PM:

Joandjez you are definatly not the only client unhappy with this law firm.. The horrible stress that this whole situation has caused us over the years is in my opinion made 100 times worse by having to deal with this firm..  In fact my husband asks if "i am up to" sending them an email if we have any questions, because their reply usually sends my blood pressure through the roof!!!!.... They seem to think they are replying to fellow lawyers as they put everything in ways that I have no idea what they are talking about and have then to send another email... I wish they would remember we are not lawyers, we are ordinary people caught up in a mess and this is our life, something that we live with daily.. I personally, lost my house in the UK over this and was in considerable debt. I am now renting and would like to buy a house for my retirement once this is over... I received the principal amount back in October 2016 after winning in Jan 2016 we are still awaiting our interest, which we were told would be 3-6 month then in another email was told 6-9 month. It has been 8 month, so still waiting.. i desperatly need this interest in order to move forward as the lawyers costs far exceeded what was originally told... we were told the same "bar association" rates were to blame.  This has made a massive difference to my future, thanks to them not sticking to the original agreement.. So my message to the lawyers is be open and honest to clients as a standard courtesy...... and for goodness sake tell the truth.. we were told we would have to say nothing in court, except identify ourselves. when in fact we were grilled with a million questions that our lawyers never prepared us for, it was shocking and very unprofessional on their part...  they need to up their game!!

Community thread: Bank compensation

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27 Oct 2016 3:32 PM:

Just to update people. Deposits totalling 91,000 euros given in December 2006. Started our fight to win it back in 2012. We were in court on 21st January 2016 in Orihuela against BBVA and SGR. On 28th January we found out we had won our case. (deposit + 4% interest since placing deposit (we did not win our costs) ) BBVA did not appeal, SGR did appeal. We received our deposit back on 10th October 2016. We are still awaiting our interest, which we have been told should be beginning of next year. 

Our fees so far before going to court were approx 3000 euros, We were told final fees altogether would be approx 18,000 euros minus the 3000 euros paid already so we were expecting 15,000 euros to be taken off our deposit before we were given it. They actually took 21,400 euros of our fees before giving it back to us. Apparantly this is due to the fact the bar association have changed the chart of fees??  Dissapointing but at least we have something back and many people do not. Not sure if there are more fees to be taken off the interest, probably will be..

Hope this timeline gives people an idea for their own journey....good luck everyone and keep fighting.... xx

 

Community thread: Success at Last

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15 Sep 2016 8:46 PM:

Not sure joandjez, the lawyers fees for this that and the other are a mystery to me, still.... will keep you updated tho....

 

Community thread: won our case

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