Spanish property investors granted legal lifeline
Thursday, 20 January 2011 3:11 PM
Amid increasing reports of Spanish property scams, in which foreign buyers are thought to have lost millions of pounds in deposits for non-existent holiday homes, a legal lifeline has emerged from the courts.
In a recent case, the judge deemed Caja Cantabria, the bank responsible for protecting a client's funds, as having failed in its duty and ordered it to issue a full refund of both deposit and stage payments.
Daren Wallbank, director of ReclaimYourDeposit.com, suggested that the decision could set a standard for future cases.
He commented: "Although bank guarantees were seen as the ultimate in security by Spanish property investors, we've uncovered many cases where the guarantee has been promised but not delivered."
Wallbank added that often in the past "everyone from the bank to the lawyer, notary to the developer has seen fit to relieve themselves of responsibility for the failure".
The expert continued: "This landmark ruling shows that the Spanish legal system is prepared to apportion blame and will not allow property scams to be brushed under the carpet.
"It gives us added confidence going forward, as ReclaimYourDeposit.com works on behalf of our desperately out-of-pocket clients."
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Tags:
- buying ,
- deposits ,
- finance ,
- holiday homes ,
- spain
