anyone heard of investment property group they say they have a buyer for my house

Oldcynic

inforeq wrote: »

our dilema being also no crime has been committed, infact they have done nothing wrong in the eyes of the law. We have not handed any money over and wont be until the exchange of contracts. If they are trying to cash in quickly and then sod off then they wont be getting anything from us as money only changes hands at the end of the deal. I thought the idea behind this scam was get people to part with their cash at the beginning, they have agreed to hold off in our case.

This is probably a deliberate strategy - if they can keep the more savvy people quiet for a few weeks by making it look as though they are acting as a genuine company would, it delays the exposure of their scam and gives them more time to con the less savvy, who are paying up-front.

Contacting the Mail is a great idea - the Anne Diamond programme was clearly talking about this company, but was only on a local radio station. The Mail would reach a much wider audience.

not_loaded

inforeq wrote: »

yeah, they have two landline numbers, which are both answered. Mr Brown is the guy that is apparantly wanting to buy the homes

If I remember rightly the mailbox company offer mail holding/forwarding and telephone answering in your company name for £12 per week?

carole37 wrote: »

Well my money should be coming back although it will be within 14 days I am told (yeah right). Having originally said they wanted to sell on another property for me (the house where I live right now) they now saying they wouldn't want to do any further business with me as I am too suspicious (and presumably vociferous) of their business dealings and not considered a viable customer. They also took great offence when I said phone call being recorded that as I hadn't stated that at the beginning of the call it wouldn't hold up in any court.
Read all this carefully folks.

If they’re 100% straight, why would they take this snotty attitude? Why even mention court to you when in theory they should be more interested in resolving the problem amicably, in order to have a happy customer? It doesn’t sound right.

inforeq wrote: »

Our revised "contract" arrived today - has been taken straight to the Solcitior.
As expected it did state that the fees would be taken at the exchange of contract (the end) , although there is no date on the document to indicate when they wished this to happen.
Just wondering now if they are going to drag this out until we get sick and then we have to pull out, hence they get their money that way.
When Solcitior rings with the verdict, if that is all that is wrong with the document then I am going to try and get her to add a clause with a completion date, bearing in mind "Mr Brown" is wanting the property a.s.a.p.

It’s a small point, but fees are usually paid, not taken. Possibly, taken means they require a card number and authorisation to take money. That was the tactic used by SYH4FREE and they apparently took when they shouldn’t have, and also took incorrect amounts. According to that thread, at times it was nigh on impossible to get the dosh back.

neas wrote: »

I shudder to think how much cash they've conned out of peoople.
If you house is worth the price you ask for it.. will be snapped up… …Just realistically price your house through an agent.. and go directly through them. And if something seems too good to be true where you are paying a finders fee upfront... it usually is.
Also this scam is stupid the people ruinning it had no imagination... using the same 'mr brown' every time... they could've varied the name to stir things up a bit... but keeping buyer same for every person was silly as people can see the pattern and suspect fraudulent activity.

You make excellent points there! I agree they have no imagination but it’s easy to see how it works a lot of the time. MSEers will likely not fall for it now, but put yourself in the desperate seller seat without the assistance of MSE. £1200 is actually not a lot IF the deal all holds together. When it doesn’t it IS a lot to throw away.

I stand by my assertion that the web business is not put together in a rational way. I run a business like that, and their online presence is weak in many ways business wise. Add to that the EU conformance mistakes, and the atrocious spelling and grammar displayed within correlated pages, and you have a dog’s dinner. To me that signifies a ‘fly by night’ insubstantial company.

I still have some doubts about inforeq. There are a lot of coincidences in one poster disappearing and an immediate reincarnation of a similar individual with related posting traits. There’s been a high degree of backpedalling in his/her posts. I could well be wrong though…

GDB2222

Oldcynic wrote: »

Believe me I have considered that, but we have lost no money so no crime has been committed in our case. It's a different matter for those whose money has been taken though.

But you still have your suspicions. The Police keep saying that they want people to tell them about suspicious activities. Let them decide if there's a crime taking place. The more people who contact the Police about this, the more they have to go on. Well, that's my 2p worth.

poppysarah

See them in court if that's what they're saying!

AbbieCadabra

carole, if i've understood you correctly, you're getting hassled in pm's? have you reported this?

redwood66

Sounds like SYH4 Free have just started back up under another name after they flit from their St James Park address or should I say after they were thrown out after reports to the owner of the offices about there unscrupulous practices. Definitely a steer clear and someone needs to inform trading standards that this lot may be SYH 4 free as they are making a case against this company and they disappeared, maybe they are back. These need to be investigated also. Have given up on my money as no one will get any back. They are absolute B *****ds

Oldcynic

inforeq wrote: »

our dilema being also no crime has been committed, infact they have done nothing wrong in the eyes of the law. We have not handed any money over and wont be until the exchange of contracts. If they are trying to cash in quickly and then sod off then they wont be getting anything from us as money only changes hands at the end of the deal. I thought the idea behind this scam was get people to part with their cash at the beginning, they have agreed to hold off in our case.

Just noticed your choice of words here. Maybe just a slip, but in case you missed the point I made earlier - if you pay on exchange of contracts you could still be waving goodbye to your money. The deal must be payment on completion or not at all.

bettyboooop

its on completion as i have the same contracts

ILW

Check that this does not tie you into paying them a fee even if you find a buyer elsewhere at some time in the future.

mrsearle

bettyboooop wrote: »

its on completion as i have the same contracts

I have all the paperwork and they had agreed to take payment on completion . I have spoke to another company today and the way they operate is to make you believe it is all going through right to exchange of contracts, and then drop the offer on your house when you have a day or so to go. Can you afford to drop 30 per cent i have pulled out of the deal today. they are not doing anything illeagal just preying on people desperate to sell and pick up some bargains . I hope this helps as i have been worried for days the offer was to good to be true. you have seven days to cancel any signed paperwork by english law.