Property Investment Scam

SonOf

Can I just repeat, this was a fraudulent company, it wasn't a high risk investment that went wrong.

It doesn't matter. Banks can be liable in money transfer fraud but not general fraud that does not involve them. You made a conscious decision to pay the money and the correct details were used. There was no money transfer fraud.

. If anyone has constructive advice on how best I should proceed then please let me know.

Do you want the correct information or do you want us to make things up that make you feel better?

Constructive advice on how to approach Nationwide and the Financial Ombudsman or any other avenues would be appreciated.

Nationwide carry no liability and the FOS is not available to you as the firm was not FCA regulated.

As mentioned above, your only hope is if you used an FCA regulated company under the advice process. If not, then you are barking up the wrong tree.

dmelife

Whilst you keep claiming that this wasn’t a high risk investment, there isn’t really anything constructive we can say.

Brian65

If you put your cash in an envelope and addressed it to a scammer, would you blame the postman for delivering it and expect him to get it back?

tommyedinburgh

Brian65 wrote: »

If you put your cash in an envelope and addressed it to a scammer, would you blame the postman for delivering it and expect him to get it back?

Wonderful plenary!

green_man

How was this investment made?

As stated above, if it was somehow via a IFA then you should have a claim against them. If not, then really your only course of action is to keep on with action fraud in the event that the perpetrators are found and any funds recovered.

Whatever you do don’t be tempted to hand over any money to anyone claiming to be able to recover your assets.

Unfortunately it is very unlikely that you will be able to recover any money, the FCA is only interested if you are using FCA regulated products, and unless the Nationwide were somehow offering you stock advice I can’t see how they could be in any way liable.

Jeffers_the_Red

Thanks, I will try that route. Is the Financial Ombudsman any good for being able to recover investments?

bowlhead99

Jeffers_the_Red wrote: »

Thanks, I will try that route. Is the Financial Ombudsman any good for being able to recover investments?

The Financial Ombudsman allows you to escalate a complaint that has not been dealt with appropriately by the regulated investment firm receiving the complaint.

First of all you would complain to the regulated financial adviser who sold you the regulated financial advice - the advice being a recommendation to buy the investment.

If you give the regulated adviser 8 weeks to respond adequately to the complaint and you are not satisfied with the outcome, you can go to the ombudsman.

If the ombudsman finds in your favour rather than in favour of the adviser, they can recommend that the adviser who sold you the unsuitable advice, pay you compensation. If the advising firm has gone out of business (or goes out of business as a result of trying to pay you the compensation) you may have redress to the financial services compensation scheme.

So yes, the Ombudsman can in some circumstances be useful in obtaining compensation for the bad advice you received, which had led you to losing your money in a failed investment.

In this case, you are clutching at straws; Nationwide did not advise you to send money to a fraudulent firm, and you have not mentioned any other regulated financial adviser that you paid for advice, to decide whether the investment was suitable for you. So at the very first hurdle 'first of all, complain to the adviser that gave you the advice', you are stuck.

We know it wasn't suitable for you, because it was a fraud. But it appears to be a fraud you found for yourself. The Ombudsman will listen to, and try to mediate, complaints against regulated financial firms. You didn't engage a professionally regulated independent financial adviser to recommend investments for you to make. So, you can't get to step one, making a complaint to a regulated adviser about the advice they sold you, because you didn't buy advice from any regulated firm.

So as you can't even get to step one to make a complaint about bad advice, you can't escalate the complaint to the the ombudsman for them to judge that a firm has failed to judge correctly on your complaint. Because there isn't anyone to complain to, as you didn't buy any advice from any regulated firms.

The only regulated financial firm you have mentioned dealing with on this thread is Nationwide - who didn't sell you any financial advice, nor recommend you transfer any money to these people. It sounds like Nationwide did as you asked, and transferred the money to the bank details you gave them. The person receiving the money, spent the money or ran off with it. The lesson for the future is to be more careful to whom you're transferring money.

MTFII

I'm assuming this is the company referred to in this Pistonheads thread - Minerva Development Group which then changed its name back to Hex Options Limited before going into liquidation. There is an issuer of high risk bonds called Minerva Lending plc, but they're still in business and appear to be unrelated.

Came across this thread while researching Minerva / Exmount bonds following media inquiries and thought this might be of interest. I have found 2 different companies which used the Minerva Development Group Ltd name. Incidentally they have nothing to do with Minerva Lending plc as far as I can establish. Firstly Company No 09964685 which was incorporated as HXL Solutions Ltd and changed its name to Minerva Development Group Ltd on 9/5/2018. Then there is (was) a second company (Company Number 00964363) which was incorporated as Hex Options Limited, changed its name to Miverva Development Group on 24/4/2018 then back to Hex Options on 8/5/2018 - the day before the first company changed its name to Minerva.... The second / Hex Options company looks to have been running some sort of trading scam and is being liquidated by HMRC. Looks like some victims Exmount / Minerva have been chasing the wrong Minerva and think it has been liquidated. Whole thing stinks. Quite a few victims posting on another forum and reporting Minerva phones diverted to Action Fraud.

Exmount Commercial Developments Ltd victims have been reporting that the company has gone cold and is uncontactable. Exmount bonds were reportedly sold by Minerva and the infamous Asset Backed Management Ltd. Could be a coincidence but if you look at the 2018 accounts of Exmount about £3.4M of fixed assets and £3.4M of creditors > 1 year have vanished into thin air while very simlar amounts appeared in the 2018 accounts of Minerva Development Group Ltd (Company No 09964685) ...

Jono111

A private Facebook group, why do I feel like scam number two is starting.

MarkCarnage

I think that the above poster is clearly a banker or something very similar.