Countryside Land Holdings! CON! Can I get my money back?

maverick964uk

I got sucked into investing in land some years ago. I gave the £5000 but it looks like it was a con.

I see they were taken to court last year but is there a possibility of getting that money back??

thanks

dunstonh

When you invest in unregulated schemes using unregulated individuals or firms then you get no consumer protection beyond the law. (i.e. no FSCS protection, FOS protection etc). That is why the advice is to never use unregulated schemes unless it is money you can afford to lose in full. Plus, many unregulated schemes to end up being scams. Especially cold called ones.

A quick google read indicates the company has collapsed and the directors have fled the UK with the money and there is not enough to pay debts. You will likely end up being a creditor but it looks like you will be lucky to get back a few pence in the pound if reports are to go by.

"Insolvency practitioner Nedim Ailyan warned the investors might have lost everything to Countrywide: "We have no detail of any assets whatsoever.""

That looks pretty terminal and would mean you are not likely to see a penny back.

thenudeone

A solicitor is probably the best place to go. Presumably you now own a piece of land which was supposed to be highly valuable due to development, but is actually virtually worthless? Radio 4's moneybox discussed one case where land which had cost an investor £12k was actually valued by a local estate agent at ..... £75.00

Someone buying land is expected to do sufficient research and such a purchase has none of the usual consumer protection (cooling off periods, rejection rights, codes of conduct, complaints / ombudsman procedures, statutory remedies for breaches, etc.)

So unfortunately I wouldn't have high hopes.