Was conned - need to clear £14,000 ASAP!!

Millionare

number25 wrote:

He said he wanted to buy a car that he would then sell...

I took out the loan and transferred the whole amount into his cousins Abbey account from where he withdrew all of it as cash asap - he must be on their cctv as he went with the cousin.... so i do have some proof of actually giving him the money. I have consulted a solicitor and their might be a good case here BUT solicitors charge £100's/ hour in fees and I CAN'T afford that at all as this is not a small claims court case either. I am considering going to the police but I feel all they will say is that this is a civil matter...

Bottom line still is that it was ME who took out this loan for him and hence it's me who is liable, please correct me if i'm wrong and advise of the best method forward from here.

Thanks in advance for all the help.

The Good:

That makes it abit easier. If you transferred it to an a/c then there will be a record of the transaction from your a/c to abbey a/c and withdrawals made from the abbey a/c.

you will need to go and see the police or Citzens Advice Bureau for advice on what action to take.

Unfortuanlty if you cannot recover the money from the person through the advice/action given by the police/cab/solicotor etc then you are liable because you willingly took out the loan and gave him/them the money. bank will have nothing to do with it regarding fraud.

vicki_1981

Hi sorry to hear of the situation.

Have you tried contacting the CAB? I'm not sure what they can do in this case but I know they have been great to people I know in the past.

Millionare

oscar52 wrote:

You say you have consulted a Solicitor, who says there could be grounds for a good case, if so, why not consult another Solicitor, as a second opinion - but go to a NO WIN NO FEE, that way, they have to be really honest about your chances otherwise they get no money. I wouldnt pay a solicitor on the off chance you may get some back.

correct me if im wrong, but im sure NO WIN, NO FEE is for only Accident claims only?

r.mac_2

If you can't afford a solicitor why not contact the CAB to see if they can help you?

are you able to contact this persons cousin? Does your friend not have a bank account in this country if he chose to conduct business through his cousins?

Have you exhausted all possibilities of finding this person?

have you contacted the police? It would be worth at least asking the question.

In Scotland i think this would be considered a civil case of unjustified enrichment - not sure of the english equivalent though sorry!

Sorry if any of my points are daft - just thinking out loud.

Hope that it works out

oscar52

Nope, they will take on other cases, including civil ones (I know this borders onto criminal) but its not all accident claims.

I used a no win no fee solicitor against a bank when in Uni, they wouldnt listen to me, but i t only took one letter from the solicitor.

Millionare

oscar52 wrote:

Nope, they will take on other cases, including civil ones (I know this borders onto criminal) but its not all accident claims.

I used a no win no fee solicitor against a bank when in Uni, they wouldnt listen to me, but i t only took one letter from the solicitor.

Learn something new everyday!;)

number25

I don't know of any solicitors that work on no win no fee basis for commercial litigation cases, does anyone?

Furthermore it's not a route I'm able to consider because at the moment I have a debt of £14,000 which i need to clear irrespective of any action I take against him and my repayments have already began.

By-the-way there is NO WAY i'm going to let him get away with it but I have to be realistic (alittle atleast) and my priority at the moment is clearing this debt.

GettingThingsDone

You have effectively been mugged of £14K + interest

1) Go to the police
2) Explain all to the Abbey - tell them you have been to the police, as it may involve money laundering/drugs/terrorism

There is a good chance that the transaction will have been flagged for the reasons in 2). Clear your name on the trail.

People get conned all the time - these guys are good at it, so don't blame yourself too much.

jellyang

I really feel for you & hope you can get something sorted in your favour.
Try not to beat yourself too much, as other posters have said it happens more than you would think.
I had a chap work for me with similar moral standards. I actually felt sorry for him & gave him money to buy his kids a coat, gave him my kids second hand bikes etc. He stole more than 5k from my business before I rumbled him.
Con artists take advantage of good natured people. They get very good at sussing out the right people to con.
Try not to let it make you too bitter. Although I have to confess my experience has made me a little cynical and to adopt a 'trust no one' attitude.

The way I dealt with mine was to make the 'I'll get him if it kills me' more of a personal challenge , like a project where you know the end goal is finding him & being released of your finacial burden ,always with a positive attitude other wise the anger will eat you up.

Good Luck with your challenge

sheraz2

so a mate you know nd trusted (must have known him a long long time) has done a houdini.

YOu can't just pick up and leave, has he took his cousin with him? his family? he's just picked up and left his job? what about his home? come on man, trusted friends don't disappear.