GM Legal Experts schedule meetings with Trampolin Hills buyers in the UK and Ireland in November

MEETINGS UK (NORTH) DAY: NOVEMBER 19th, 2015 (THURSDAY) LOCATION: LIVERPOOL, HOTEL RADISSON BLU. 107 Old Hall Street, Liverpool. AVAILABLE TIMES: Evening. MEETINGS UK (MIDLANDS) DAY: NOVEMBER 20th, 2015 (FRIDAY) LOCATION: HILTON WARWICK HOTEL. A429 Stratford Road, Warwick CV34 6RE AVAILABLE TIMES: Evening MEETINGS UK (SOUTH) DAY: NOVEMBER 21th, 2015 (SATURDAY) LOCATION: PARK PLAZA WESTMINSTER BRIDGE LONDON. Westminster Bridge Road, London AVAILABLE TIMES: Evening MEETINGS IRELAND - DUBLIN DAY: JANUARY 24th (SUNDAY) LOCATION: RADISSON BLUE HOTEL DUBLIN AIRPORT. Dublin Airport, Cloghran, Irlanda AVAILABLE TIMES: Evening http://gmlegalexperts.blogspot.com.es/2015/11/guadalupes-meeting-schedules-in-uk-and.html

BANKRUPTCY COURT CALLS TRAMPOLIN HILLS FOR LIQUIDATION

According to GM Legal Experts, in May "the Bankruptcy Court nº 2 in Murcia has called Trampolin Hills for liquidation (finally!), because the payment proposal (creditors' agreement) filed by a group of creditors has been rejected. The liquidation involves that purchase contracts are automatically cancelled, which is an excellent new for those purchases who were considering to sue depositary banks under the provisions of the 57/68 Act but never requested to Trampolin or to Courts the purchase contract cancellation, given that some courts interpreted that contracts were still in force although properties weren't completed yet." http://gmlegalexperts.blogspot.com.es/2015/05/bankruptcy-court-calls-trampolin-hills.html Also, GM Legal Experts will be organizing meetings in Madrid and the UK about Trampolin Hills and the responsibility of the banks. http://gmlegalexperts.blogspot.com.es/2015/10/view-letter-for-buyers-grupo-trampolin.html

... and again

Some of you have been asking for news on Trampolin Hills, and as we have no news at the moment, we have added some new links to old articles, in the LINKS section, which still sum up the situation. The newest links are at the top of the list. HAPPY EASTER!

HAPPY EASTER .... again

Some of you have been asking for news on Trampolin Hills, and as we have no news at the moment, we have added some new links to old articles, in the LINKS section, which still sum up the situation. The newest links are at the top of the list. HAPPY EASTER!

FINCA PARCS - LANDMARK CASE COURT SENTENCES NOW FIRM

FINCA PARCS - NO SUPREME COURT APPEAL FROM CAM BANK – CASE CLOSED Disgraced CAM Bank once described by the Governor of the Bank of Spain as the ‘worst of the worst’ has not filed an Appeal to the Supreme Court in the Finca Parcs case. Therefore, the Sentence issued by the First Instance Court in Hellín on 8 June 2012 and confirmed by the Albacete Provincial Appeal Court on 11 April 2013 is now FIRM and FINAL against both CAM Bank (now SabadellCAM) & the property developer, Cleyton GES SL. The First Instance Sentence that was ratified by the Provincial Appeal Court concluded that both the developer and Bank failed to fulfil their legal obligations according to Spanish Law, LEY 57/1968 and that CAM Bank was guilty of malpractice and a complete dereliction of its duties. The Court convicted jointly and severally both defendants to return off-plan deposits paid by the 47 buyers totalling almost 1.5 million Euros for houses that were never built at the abandoned Las Higuericas, Finca Parcs development close to Agramón, Albacete. BUYER’S REFUNDS As the Sentence is now firm the Court has released the principal amount of the group member’s deposits which was paid by CAM Bank to the Court following the provisional enforcement of the First Instance Sentence in July 2012. In due course the 47 group members will each receive a refund of their off-plan deposits less costs. Interest and Costs will be calculated, agreed by the Court, and then paid to group members in approximately 2 to 3 months. Finca Parcs Action Group Co-ordinator, Keith Rule says: “This is a momentous day, one that many of the group members thought they would never see. We were elated in June 2012 when we won in the First Instance Court and again in April 2013 when we won in the Appeal Court. However, today is probably more significant as it marks the end of the case with a firm and final Sentence against both the Bank & Developer. We provisionally enforced the First Instance Sentence in July 2012 and this resulted in CAM Bank paying the principal amount of the deposits to the Court. As the decision is now final the Court has released the funds payment to each group member. Since paying my off-plan deposit in 2006 I always believed that the banks have liabilities and obligations according to Spanish Law, LEY 57/1968. One of my biggest hurdles in 2008 and 2009 was finding a Lawyer who also shared my view. The fact that we now have a firm and final decision in this case is evidence that there has always been substance to my views and opinions in cases such as this. The true measure of success in the legal process is to obtain the refund of the off-plan deposits. We have now achieved that. I would like to thank María de Castro, director of Costa Luz Lawyers, for trusting my views back in 2008 and having the confidence to support and assist me in building such a strong case against both the developer and bank. Also we are truly grateful to Jaime de Castro, our litigator who at all times worked in such a professional, efficient and determined manner on behalf of the whole group. Thanks also the group members for believing and joining me on this momentous journey. Final success has been a long time coming but all concerned can be rightfully very proud of what we have achieved. One thing is for sure, LEY 57/1968 may have been introduced 45 years ago but never before has it been the centre of so much public and legal attention” María de Castro, Director of Costa Luz Lawyers comments: “This case is an excellent example of how Judges in Spain are teaching Banks to treat people. It is a magnificent result in favour of the consumer” Group Lawyer, Jaime de Castro comments: “Spanish legislation protects off-plan house buyers with protective rules that do not exist in other European countries. LEY 57/1968 is an old Law that is still in force and makes the banks and developers jointly responsible for the amounts paid in advance by buyers when the housing is not delivered or is completed after the deadline agreed in the contract. The Spanish Courts are applying this Law strictly and categorically” LANDMARK CASE LAW Lawyers representing other buyers of off-plan property in Spain who were not issued with the legally required Bank Guarantees to protect their deposits can now use the Finca Parcs decision as Case Law to strengthen legal arguments in their own cases. Keith says; “The Finca Parcs case will no doubt help to strengthen the Lawsuits of other off-plan buyers who did not receive the legally required Bank Guarantees, many of whom still have their life savings at risk. Together with our legal team at Costa Luz / De Castro we have worked tirelessly since 2008 to highlight this issue in the media and to the Spanish & British Governments. That belief and hard work is now backed up by two very strong sentences from the Hellín First Instance Court and the Albacete Appeal Court that are now firm and final. To those off-plan buyers still affected by these issues I would say, never give up. Stay strong, keep believing and always focus on getting your money back. Much against the odds, we in the Finca Parcs Action Group have succeeded in winning against a big financial entity and I am sure others will now achieve similar success in the future. We have proved that it is possible” Kind regards Keith Finca Parcs Action Group (FPAG) Finca Parcs Grupo de Acción

What happened to the dream?

The tiny village of Lliber nestles beneath the Sierra Bernia in the beautiful Jalon valley in the north Costa Blanca in Spain. To the average tourist it is an unexceptional Spanish village, typical of the region with its stone houses and narrow streets and spectacular mountain views, but behind its picture perfect façade lays one of the biggest property scams in Spain. A scam that has brought unrest and disharmony to the community, has set neighbour against neighbour, ruptured friendships and families and brought financial, emotional and medical hardship to a great number of people. Until the beginning of the 21st century this sleepy little village, with a population of less than 500, had not seen an influx of incomers since the early part of the 17th century, when Majorcans were offered low rent land and houses to come to the village to replace the manpower of the vanquished Moors. Most of the current inhabitants of Lliber – and of surrounding villages – are the direct descendants of these incomers as their names and dialect suggests, and has earned the village the name Llucmajor – from the Majorcan village of the same name. Before this Lliber was occupied only by Moors. The current invasion – which in just two or three years more than doubled the population - began around the beginning of 2000. It was at a time when many northern Europeans were being seduced by the Spanish sun. Its cheaper houses and its promise of a better and cheaper lifestyle than they could have back home in Britain or Germany. It seemed to many like the ideal place to retire, to relax and to reap the benefits of the long years of work. It was also the ideal climate for fraud and its unpleasant accomplice, greed, to flourish. The stage was set for the formation and planning of a major conspiracy – and the unsuspecting buyers fell right into their trap, seduced by the promise of beautiful houses set in a stunning location. At least one of the builders advertised in a major British newspaper. Most people who chose Lliber were intelligent, professional people. Not the sort of people who one would expect to be taken in. They all thought that they had bought prudently and cautiously, with due regard to the law. It wasn’t until several years later that they realized that they had been the victims of a massive fraud involving town hall officials, builders and legal representatives. The building licences that had been obtained to build their houses proved to be worthless pieces of paper, issued to the builders by the then mayor and architect, in exchange for allegedly large sums of money. 2m euros, found by the fraud squad in Andorra, is thought to form a small part of this. Unknown to the unsuspecting buyers who had put their trust in the hands of their legal representatives, the licences were issued for the rebuilding of warehouses (whether or not they existed), on rustic land. The law states now, as it did then, that houses cannot be built on rustic land on a plot less than 10,000 square metres – all were built on smaller plots, in many cases on land owned by third parties and some on protected land. In some cases, people paid for land, houses and swimming pools, which were either not built at all, or were left incomplete. An embargo by the local police meant that people either had to complete their properties at their own expense (and at the risk of prosecution), or find alternative accommodation. It is estimated that the fraud amounts to an astounding figure of between 90m and 130m euros with more than 300 houses deemed to be illegal. In 2009 the Guardia Judicial began a long and arduous investigation and in December of that year, they arrested eighteen conspirators, who still await trial. On the back of this, and in an attempt to minimize the possible infrastructure costs and danger of their houses being demolished, one hundred and forty one people affected by the property fraud, presented themselves to the Denia court as victims. These pensioners have waited over ten years for justice. The waiting has brought untold hardship. Some people have lived without mains electricity – dependent on expensive and unreliable generators, while others, without a mains water supply, have had to have water brought in by tanker. All have struggled to understand a system that could leave them in a no man’s land of uncertainty, trapped in a situation that could not have occurred in their homelands. At least six people have died with their problems unresolved leaving their partners or families to continue the battle. Many have suffered ill health and stress as a direct result of this; all have suffered in some way or another. In January 2009, prior to the police enquiry, and in an effort to bring about some sort of resolution, a group of victims formed an association – AULN (Abusos Urbanisticos Lliber No) under the wider umbrella of the national group AUN, to support each other and to put pressure on the authorities to help them by whatever means at their disposal. This in itself has divided the community, some people choosing to stoically support the perpetrators of the crime, victimizing and harassing those who have chosen a legal and peaceful solution. Many well-earned years of retirement have been spent worrying and actively trying to solve the problems of their illegal houses. Endless hours have been taken up in long and arduous and often fruitless meetings with town hall officials. Often the language is a barrier but more often the barrier is a lack of comprehension at the perplexities of Spanish law and bureaucracy and the corruption that lurks just below the surface. They have seen two different governments occupy the Town Hall, have tried to become actively involved in the administrative process, have heard conflicting reports and solutions from the opposing political parties and still feel no further forward. The former PSOE administration who were in office for eight years, advocated that the only way forward was through a General Plan that would redraw the boundaries of the village, encompassing the illegal houses, thereby allowing them to be legalized on smaller plots. For the past two years the PP party have been in power and brought their own, different criteria to the problem. Some house owners who have until now been without mains electricity have been granted group licences to install it. While others who do have electricity – albeit on the ‘temporary’ basis of builder’s supply, are being urged to either pay out large sums of money in order to update the infrastructure or to face being disconnected. This may sound like progress but to many people who have already sunk their life savings into their dream houses in Spain, it is the straw that could break the camel’s back. All have already paid for mains services in the cost of their houses. None expected to have to find large sums for infrastructure ten years down the line. Some people will not be able to finance this. Meanwhile Spain itself struggles to survive the economic crisis that has befallen it, with 27% of the population unemployed and the figure rising to 50% of those under the age of 25. Thousands of Spanish people, unable to repay their mortgages, have been evicted from their homes, yet still face a life time of debt to the banks as a result of this. At a time when the Spanish economy needs every cent it can get, in Lliber alone, an estimated 1m euros has already been lost in local taxes, with an annual loss of somewhere in the region of 100k euros.. Multiply this by the amount of revenue lost nationwide! Their European and international image has become tarnished as successive governments fail to see the bigger picture and millions of euros are lost in petty bureaucracy. The housing market is at rock bottom as northern Europeans, traditionally their biggest customers, have lost confidence in it. Well documented corruption in the housing sector, draconian land grab laws, coastal laws and the legislation affecting foreigner’s assets all contribute to this. The Spanish government is literally biting the hands that have fed them for many years. More to the point, the human rights of many people, including those trapped in the property scam in Lliber, have been compromised by the lack of justice. As court papers fail to move from judges’ desks, 141 people in Lliber wonder which will come first – death or justice.

TRAMPOLIN HILLS: NO JUSTICE, NO NEWS

Round Town News summed up one of the criminal cases against Trampolin Hills on 2nd May in an article titled NO JUSTICE! We might add that similar unexplained delays have occurred in the court dealing the bankruptcy of Trampolin Hills. http://www.roundtownnews.com/rtn-newsflash/item/41897-no-justice.html FRUSTRATED AND angry at delays in a verdict in a fraud case has left property victim Andrew Wilford despairing over the Spanish justice system. Andrew and his wife Kate gave evidence before a Murcia Judge more than 10 weeks ago against the developer of the Trampolin Solera complex near the city. They maintained their life savings were effectively “stolen” and they were looking to the criminal courts to resolve the issue. However, despite being told Spanish law requires a judgement in a criminal case within five days – they have been told overworked courts in Murcia are running nine months late. And said it was even open to a criminal judge to give an indication as to his findings “without prejudice” to the full written version of the judgement. Justice delayed is justice denied according to the UK court system and Andrew said he was considering taking his “simple fraud case” to the European Court of human rights “since mine have been undeniably ‘assaulted’ by the courts in Spain.” He added: “Quite frankly, this situation is ridiculous. I assume that most ‘participants’ involved in Spain actually die before the cases are resolved – indeed, maybe this is the objective.” DEVELOPER Andrew and Kate were in the process of buying their Murcia home ‘off-plan’ when in 2008 discovered CAM Bank had granted developer Rafael Aguilera a builder’s mortgage based on an allegedly inflated valuation – despite the building being almost completed - and later sold the property to a third party. The couple, from Colwyn Bay, say they have lost 200,000€ in deposits and spent around another 100,000€ in legal fees. He believes they were “clearly defrauded” and the defendant should have been sentenced years ago. “He could have served a prison sentence and been released by now!” And Andrew asked: “What can be so complicated? I signed a contract to purchase a property, paid nearly 200,000€, the defendant then took out a huge mortgage with CAM Bank and then subsequently a sold my property to a third party. How can that be complicated? “In any normal civilised society, that would only take 30 seconds to decide. I fully appreciate that Spain and the banks are in ‘financial meltdown’ largely as a result of corrupt Spanish developers but does that really mean that citizens of other countries who are partners in Europe should be treated so badly?” And in a complaint to the Ministry of Justice, Andrew said: “My life savings were effectively stolen by a Spanish national in 2005 and yet here I am some eight years later still trying to achieve justice through your courts system – does this seem fair? I am sure we both know the answer – it is simply not fair!” He said he was finding it increasingly difficult to understand or appreciate the delay and was frustrated in his attempts to discover the reason. “I am really, after five years of waiting, becoming increasingly concerned as to just what is happening about this matter.”

Lawsuits passed on to national courts after five years

After handling the lawsuits regarding Trampolin Hills for five years, a judge has recently passed the case on to national courts, according to an article in local media (Las Provincias, Murcia/Alicante, 09.12.2012, in Spanish). Please see the links section for more information.

Spain's "bad bank"

Reuters By Tom Bill | Reuters – Thu, 1 Nov, 2012 Reuters - Thu, 1 Nov, 2012 LONDON (Reuters) - Spain's "bad bank" will struggle to find buyers for swathes of empty land, unfinished housing projects and doubtful loans left over from a property crash, hindering Madrid's attempts to overcome the wider economic crisis. Real estate consultants predict that almost two-thirds of assets that the government's newly-created bad bank is due to take over from commercial banks will fail to attract investors, at least in the short term and possibly ever. Spain is setting up the bad bank, known by the acronym SAREB, under a plan to cleanse the banking system of toxic property assets. SAREB aims eventually to buy up to 90 billion euros ($117 billion) of the assets at deep discounts and then sell them to investors over 15 years. Buyers are likely to snap up the likes of prime holiday homes and completed properties, commercial and residential, which already have tenants. But that leaves a majority of assets that will be much harder to shift. Between 60 and 65 percent of the foreclosed property and bad loans to be hived off by the banks will relate to undeveloped land and half-built projects, according to forecasts compiled for Reuters by real estate consultants Jones Lang LaSalle and CBRE . CBRE gave the higher figure for this category which investors will probably shun, put off by high risks and costs such as having to rip down abandoned shells of buildings that no one would ever want to occupy. Together with Ireland, Spain has suffered Europe's biggest property crash, leaving the banks with 184 billion euros of bad real estate debt and incomplete developments around the country. This has brought much of Spain's property market to a halt. "In the last five years there has been virtually no value for land," said Rafael Powley, a Madrid-based director of strategic consulting at JLL. "There are no buyers and if you want to sell it right now, there is no price for it." CBRE and JLL are the world's biggest property advisers and helped consultant Oliver Wyman prepare a report this year that examined how exposed Spain's banks were to souring property loans after the bubble burst. The crash has put Spain center-stage in the euro zone debt crisis, now in its third year, as investors believe a high budget deficit, soaring state debts, and a deepening economic contraction will force Madrid to seek more external help. Spain has already secured up to 100 billion euros of European aid to rescue the banks worst hit by the property collapse. Madrid may now have to take a full sovereign bailout, with the state assuming the bad real estate assets unless it can find private sector investors to buy stakes in SAREB itself. HOPING FOR INVESTORS On Monday the Bank of Spain said property loans would be moved into the bad bank at an average discount of 45.6 percent in the hope of attracting investors. The figure would be 63.1 percent for foreclosed assets and 79.5 percent for empty land. The central bank declined to comment on the CBRE and JLL forecasts. Madrid hopes private investors will own at least 55 percent of SAREB, which was created as a condition of the European aid for the banks and is due to start operating by the end of November. About two-thirds of the assets transferred in an initial wave of 44 billion euros will be loans and the rest foreclosed properties. Investing in land or half-built developments means spending money to start, demolish or complete schemes without any guarantee of selling them or finding tenants. Investors are reluctant to do this due to the Spanish recession and excessive supplies of property built up during the boom years. "The money you need to spend upfront takes you backwards," said Justin O'Connor, chief executive of property fund manager Cordea Savills, which has about 7 billion euros of assets under management in Europe. "With land you need to take a long-term view beyond the five to seven year horizon of most institutional investors," said O'Connor. However, his fund will look at shops and offices in Madrid and Barcelona which have already been rented out. "The only assets of value in Spain are ones with an income stream attached," he said. DEMOLITION COSTS Investors are particularly wary of sites where incomplete developments will have to be torn down and rebuilt from scratch. "Land and unfinished developments are about the same thing right now," said Joe Valente, a managing director at JP Morgan Asset Management , who helps manage 7 billion euros of real estate in Europe. "Land is probably more valuable as it doesn't have any demolition costs." Buying loans secured against land or unfinished schemes is as unattractive as buying the assets themselves in the short-term, particularly given the lower discounts offered by the bad bank, Powley said. "A large majority will be bad loans and a discount closer to the foreclosed asset price would have been more realistic. I wouldn't expect more than 20 percent of the loans to survive." Like Cordea Savills, JP Morgan is looking for income-producing bargains in the bigger Spanish cities. Valente is raising equity to buy assets outside of safe markets such as London and Paris, which he believes to be overpriced, but the CBRE and JLL figures show there will be slim pickings. Only 10 percent of SAREB's assets will relate to commercial property while housing will account for the rest, both real estate advisers said. The commercial property that goes in will be "medium to poor quality" and not what investors are looking for, Powley said. Morgan Stanley and private equity groups Lone Star, Cerberus and Apollo are also hunting for Spanish bargains. They will be attracted to large portfolios of completed housing in areas such as Malaga and Alicante, boosted by Russian, British and German tourists and their proximity to major airports, Powley said. Areas to avoid due to "a huge oversupply" of housing include Valencia, Murcia and Almeria in southeast Spain, said Patricio Palomar, head of research at CBRE in Spain, who made the bad bank forecast for Reuters. Loans backed by rented-out commercial real estate will be the other bright spot but the fact that the good is so outweighed by the bad renders the 15-year disposal time meaningless, property experts said. "About 40 percent of the land that goes into the bad bank will never come out," Powley said. "They may have to eventually get rid of it for a tenth of the price as farmland."

OPEN LETTER TO SR. MARIANO RAJOY

Dear Sr. Rajoy

Congratulations on becoming the new Spanish President.

Our website and petition - www.bankguaranteesinspain.com - is representing all those innocent people who attempted to purchase an off-plan property in your wonderful country.

Unfortunately due to the lack of supervision by the Banco de España and the systemic corruption in the Property and Banking Sectors we are now victims of Bank Guarantee Abuse.

Our off-plan deposits have been stolen by the corrupt developers and negligent Banks. LEY 57/1968 has not been enforced and the Banco de España has failed in its role as the SUPERVISOR OF THE SPANISH BANKING SYSTEM.

Your court system is overloaded and cannot deal with the number of cases. On many occasions Judges are failing to apply LEY 57/68 correctly in their judgements.

LEY 57/68 was introduced in 1968 to protect the purchaser from the abuses and corruption in the property sector.

The rights granted to us by LEY 57/68 are 'Caracter de irrenunciables'. Our rights have been violated.

In your 100 Proposals for Change you make several references to transparency, trustworthiness, credibility and consistent justice. For example:

"A modern state must guarantee values of certainty, legal security and legal trust"

"rigorous tackling of many of the problems which have so far been ignored"

"We must restore our trustworthiness and credibility in the world"

"greater answerability backed up by full transparency"

Your document concludes by stating:

"We must recover our leading role abroad as a reliable, dependable and respected partner. The economic and institutional reforms we are going to undertake will contribute to international respect for Spain and its international role as an advanced Western democracy that is committed to freedom, democracy and the defence of human rights"

To achieve this you must immediately tackle Off-Plan Bank Guarantee Abuse and ensure LEY 57/1968 is enforced in all cases – past, present and future.

During the past year we have been in contact with the advisors of the former Housing Minister - Sra. Beatriz Corredor.

We look forward to working with your Housing Minister, Minister for the Treasury and Minister for Economic Affairs and Competitiveness to ensure that Off-Plan Bank Guarantee issues are resolved and measures are put in place so this corruption and abuse can never happen again.

Please take a look at our website - www.bankguaranteesinspain.com - and feel free to contact me by email: keith@bankguaranteesinspain.com

Yours sincerely


Keith Rule

Buyers take Campos del Rio town hall to court

While still waiting for the bankruptcy proceedings to come to an end, some Trampolin Hills buyers have decided to take the Campos del Rio town hall to court, because they have consistently refused to even consider the claims for refunds solicited since March 2011. They expect this to take months, but see it as a first step to hopefully oblige the town hall to admit their responsibility towards the buyers.

ONE OF THE BURNT ONES (Reuters)

Caja de Ahorros del Mediterraneo (CAM), a 135-year-old Valencia-based savings bank, was one of the profligate ones. CAM sits in a moderately sized Spanish region -Valencia is home to around 5 million people- but it financed grandiose projects like the Terra Mitica theme park in the coastal resort city of Benidorm, which emerged from receivership in 2006, and opened offices in Shanghai, Miami and Geneva. When the government slashed the number of savings banks by more than half last year and forced them to take on private investors or face nationalisation, CAM was one of those that failed to generate interest because of its real estate losses. On taking the caja over in July, the government found much bigger losses than expected. It also found that CAM directors and their equivalents at fellow failed savings bank NovaCaixaGalicia had awarded themselves multimillion euro severance pay packages while racking those losses up. Union data shows the pay packages of CAM directors increased more than sixfold over the 2004-2010 period, while profits grew 3 percent over the same period. Five directors at CAM got payouts of 12.8 million euros in total, while three top staff at NovaCaixaGalicia got 23.6 million between them, press reports say. Both banks were bailed out with public money. "There has been an embezzlement of public funds destined to bail out the bankrupt cajas," said the speaker of the United Left party, Gaspar Llamazares. The reports shocked Spaniards suffering the highest unemployment amongst industrialised nations -- one in five is out of work -- and the threat of deep cuts in health and education. CAM director, Maria Dolores Amoros, was fired and put under investigation for falsifying accounts. Roberto Lopez, a former director at CAM, had to leave an Alicante tennis club in October after people booed and shouted insults at him, according to a local paper. "It is an absolute disgrace that the managers of the bankrupt cajas should receive such massive bonuses," says Jose Luis Corell, lawyer and bankruptcy expert, at a cafe outside Valencia's 17th century basilica. Bank of Spain Governor Miguel Angel Fernandez Ordonez called the behaviour of the CAM executives "scandalous" and said the bank was "the worst of the worst" at a press conference in September.

Happy Holidays, Zapatero

FAO: José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, President
Email: jlrzapatero@presidencia.gob.es
The Spanish Government
MADRID
Spain

7th August 2011

Dear Sir

This is the third occasion on which I have written to you and maybe it will be third on which I do so without response; nevertheless, given its anticipated “circulation” I feel sure it will not go unnoticed!

I am prompted to write, yet again, after hearing of your Countries continued economic gloom and the fact that you are having to cut short your holiday in order to deal with the crisis … LUCKY YOU … I cannot afford a holiday after having been defrauded of some €250,000.00 by citizens from your Country! Your problem, Sir, is the underlying corruption and fraud which underlies every facet of Spain’s culture. Take a long hard look at the situation you have with CAM Bank … I alerted the Authorities to the extent of the fraud taking place there years ago … AND VERY PUBLICLY AT THAT. CAM Bank HAS BEEN BUILT upon an overall ethos of fraud and corruption for years and you sir have simply allowed it to perpetuate. A fraud based upon the exploitation of largely innocent “Non- Spanish Nationals” in a huge “Property Scam”.

This scam has been allowed to perpetuate by what must undoubtedly be the most dilatory Legal System in the World … one which would be more at home in some of the more corrupt African States. I commenced a fraud action (“Querella Criminal”) against a Developer, Rafael Aguilera and his Company Trampoline Solera, some three years ago for signing a contract with me for the purchase of a property, taking nearly €200K, then in collaboration with CAM Bank arranging a huge fraudulent Mortgage before finally fraudulently selling MY PROPERTY to a third party. In any Country in the World that IS FRAUD but bringing someone to trial in Spain … particularly if they are NOT Spanish citizens … is impossible! You have a law in your Country … LEY57/68 … but does it ever get applied … a law designed to safeguard the deposits of purchasers from an “off-plan” developer. Justice in your Country is impossible and yet here you are “crying” over the state of your Countries “economic crisis” whilst ignoring the underlying problems. Your actions are akin to the treatment of a Headache with Aspirin whilst ignoring the underlying cause … a tumour the size of the combined area of the Spanish Costa’s which requires removal! Apart from Oranges, Olive Oil and Melons the Spanish economy has relied heavily upon Tourism and the Construction industry fuelled by a desire to “entice” overseas Purchasers to but property in Spain. A construction industry based upon greed, corruption and fraud and yet you have the absolute downright nerve to send a Government representative to the UK with the sole intention of organising a “Road Show” to defraud yet more UK residents!

Sadly I think you will fail to appreciate the severity of the concerns voiced here because I suspect that fraud and corruption run through the veins of all Spaniard’s and therefore you too will not appreciate the points that I, together with thousands of others, are trying to make. For sure, had I known way back in 2004 the “cultural level of fraud” which exists in Spain I would NEVER have attempted to purchase a property in Spain or indeed the one I now have on Mallorca! Justice in Spain is an absolute “non-starter” and then … even when the Court appoint an official as they did in the case of the collapse of Trampolin Solera … Monzón Abogados … obtaining an intelligent response to a question is impossible. Sra. Monzón’s sole intention is to drag out her enquiries for as long as possible in order to build up her fees in an attempt to defraud still further thousands of innocent victims from yet another Spanish Property Scam!

So Senor Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, what are you going to do about this? My guess is NOTHING … you have postured about cutting short your holiday but my guess is that this will be a short lived reaction before you return to another bottle of Fundador Brandy before your resignation on, I assume, a lucrative pension from the Spanish Government. My suggestion is that you go now and at least show the world that you want to see your Country recover. As for me I simply want to see Justice in your Courts, the return of my money whilst I rue for the rest of my life the day I purchase ANYTHING in Spain! I have alerted you now for a third time to the extent of the fraud in your country, to the docile nature of your Legal System and to the corruption within both CAM Bank and Monzón Abogados … doubtless you will do nothing but in case you have forgotten what this is really all about I repeat below the text from my letter of March this year:-

I have written to you on a previous occasion sadly to little effect but on searching the Internet I find that not only have you been contacted by many others about the “off-plan” building scandal in Spain … more specifically have you been contacted by many others about the situation with a company in Murcia appearing in several guises … Trampolin Solera, Trampolin Hills, Trampolin Royal Dreams. All of these are separate companies which are interlinked who together, I suspect, with the respective Banks … most notably CAM Bank … have been able to defraud many hundreds of people of their homes and their life savings.

One of the “letters” you have received early this year starts in the following vein:-
“We understand that improving Spain’s economy is proving difficult. We are very sorry about that, but not surprised.

We feel it is necessary to draw your attention to a case which no doubt is keeping European citizens of all nationalities from buying off-plan property anywhere in Spain, and will continue to do so if it is not dealt with in a just and appropriate manner. ….”

The letter then goes on to document a catalogue of errors made by the authorities which have brought many families across Europe to their knees … mine included!

I really wonder whether or not you have any idea of the mammoth scale of the fraud involved … indeed I wonder whether you really care? The Legal system in Spain … a system over which YOU preside … is so lax that I am forced to say “is it any wonder that your own Costa Del Sol is known throughout Europe as the Costa Del Crime”! Criminals in Spain appear not just to survive but to positively flourish in your Country due solely to the dilatory nature and handling by the Courts and the Justice System in Spain.

I take my own situation as a case in point although by NO MEANS isolated. I purchased an “off-plan” property from Trampolin Solera in or around 2004 and over a period of months paid over some 185,000€ leaving a small balance to be paid upon completion. Eventually the property was finished but when my Lawyers checked through the details of the transaction it became clear that a large Mortgage had been taken out with CAM Bank in 2007 which was (a) far in excess of the balance due to be paid (b) taken out against a highly inflated Bank valuation and (c) some +- 2 years AFTER I HAD SIGNED AND AGREED THE CONTRACT! Worse was to follow … the Developer had in fact subsequently sold my property twice and in fact moved the SECOND purchaser into our home … even in Spain this has to be FRAUD!

The Civil Judgment which eventually followed after some two years produced no satisfaction. A second CRIMINAL action was commenced in early 2009 with a “Querella Criminale” being issued against the Developer, Sr. Rafael Aguilera. All of this was two years and in spite of my making two personal visits to the Court number 2 at the Royal Palace of Justice in Murcia and spoken directly to the Judge Miriam Garcia this matter STILL has not been progressed to Trial. In the meantime the Defendant has been able to dissipate all his assets before placing his company Trampolin Solera SL into Administration. The appointed Administrators are Nerea Monzón and Rafael Jiménez from Monzón Abogados in Murcia.

My question of you, Senor, is just what does an innocent victim have to do in order to gain Justice in your Country … I have been defrauded of in excess of 250,000€ including costs ect and all the while the Defendant is able to simply continue enjoying the “spoils” of his crimes whilst continuing to attempt to defraud others. From your point of view, as the President of your Country, perhaps the real concern should be the involvement of the Banks … and in this case CAM Bank … in what is potentially a fraud of over 100,000,000.00€! I would welcome the opportunity of meeting with either yourself or one of your SENIOR advisers in Madrid but in any event I am copying this email to The British Prime Minister, David Cameron, our own Embassy in Madrid, my Lawyers based in La Manga … Iberbrit and the administrators for Trampolin, Monzón Abogados.

I look forward … hopefully … to your meaningful and constructive response.

Let us now see whether or not you really do have the “courage” to respond!

Kind regards

Yours sincerely



Andrew Wilford


cc: The Rt. Hon. David Cameron, UK Prime Minister
Alex Brown, British Embassy MADRID
AUN, Alicante
Sean O’Hare, The Daily Telegraph
Michael Cashman MEP
Monzón Abogados
Atencion al Ciudadano; case no. 1533/2009
Buyers For Trampolin Hills
ITV Homes from Hell
Finca Parks Action Group

The mayor of Campos del Rio refuses to consider claims

As a reply to our claims of refunds to the town hall of Campos del Rio, we finally received a certified letter. The mayor says he will NOT take into consideration our claims and that he will inform the council about his decision in their next meeting. He also says that we can appeal, which we certainly will. The decision regards whether or not our claims will be considered and is NOT an answer to our claims or requests for clarifications. In our opinion, this is just yet another example to show how lack of proper management and faulty administration on behalf of the town hall is causing unnecessary delays and further grievances to the buyers.
We might add that the new mayor as of the May 22. elections will be Miguel Buendia, whereas this reply is signed by the current mayor, Miguel Navarro Romero.

Stop the Spanish Property Roadshow

Just like me, I’m sure you’re appalled at the insulting cheek of the Spanish Government in sending Sr. Jose Blanco, the Spanish Development Minister (El Ministro de Fomento), around Europe ‘encouraging’ buyers of property abroad to start buying again in Spain . As long as they continue to misappropriate our monies, and betray our goodwill and trust they should not be allowed to set foot in the UK on such a touting-for-business mission.



Please would you help me to circulate information about the petition I’ve set up at this link:

http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/stop-the-spanish-property-roadshow-open-letter-to-davi.html

It is a short, swift web-petition and is in the form of an Open Letter to David Lidington, Minister for Europe in our present coalition Government, and will be open for signatures to be added for one month only.

If you are in agreement with the letter please add your name. All that is required is a name - plus your e-address which will NOT be published. If you wish you can add in which area of the country you are living and there is a comment box if you want to say anything else, but those extras are entirely optional. You can also remain anonymous but it will be a stronger petition if you do give a name. If you are a couple please add both names.

I hope you will support this petition and tell others about it too. We have to move fast on it so please act quickly.

Thanks everyone.

For more on David Lidington see: http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/about-us/who-we-are/our-ministers/david-lidington and

http://blogs.fco.gov.uk/roller/lidington/entry/beating_the_drum_for_british

ruth

HAPPY EASTER

We wish you all a very happy Easter holiday and and wish also to thank the Spanish head of government for the reply we have received from them, after sending them a copy of our petition to the local authorities in Campos del Rio. Anyone interested can email us for a copy of the letter.

Mr. Zapatero and Spain's economy

Some of us still remember the real estate boom in Spain as the good times when pensioners from all over Europe settled all along Spain’s Mediterranean Coast, creating much activity and new jobs in the real estate and building sectors and new markets for all sorts of other services and activities.
Now, as Mr. Zapatero, along with the rest of Spain’s government, is struggling to get over a crisis which seems like an economic quagmire, the boom we saw just a few years ago seems unreal.
But it was real. And why shouldn’t pensioners move to sunny Spain and settle there to relax and enjoy their retirement? Well, this is where the property scandals like Trampolin Hills and many others play a key role. It should not be so difficult for Spain’s government to understand that as soon as they show it is safe to buy property in Spain, we might very well get a new boom, and the ghost towns of unsold property all along the coast might be filled with happy pensioners, busy spending their pensions buying Spanish services and goods.
Mr. Zapatero should understand that the first step to improving Spain’s economy is showing it is safe to buy property in Spain, and that buyers do not risk losing their hard earned life savings because the company suddenly goes bankrupt or the authorities suddenly decide to demolish your home after finding the building permit they issued to be invalid.
As Marta Andreasen points out (see link): “We want a solution now“.
If you, as a buyer of property in Trampolin Hills, wish to, with all due respect, draw to Mr. Zapatero’s attention the importance of showing that buying property in Spain is safe, then you can write to the following email address: jlrzapatero@presidencia.gob.es

Refunds claimed from the Town Hall of Campos del Rio

Marzo, 2011

Al Excmo. Ayuntamiento de Campos del Río
Avda. Constitución nº 11
30191 Campos del Río
Murcia
España

I. Pido que se comprueben y/o que se confirmen los siguientes
HECHOS ANTECEDENTES:

2004, Noviembre:
Se solicita la recalificación de un terreno de más de 1 200 000 m2 en el municipio de Campos del Río, Murcia.

2005, Mayo:
El Pleno del Ayuntamiento de Campos del Río aprueba un convenio urbanístico entre el Ayuntamiento de Campos del Río y la empresa Trampolín Hills Golf Resort S. L. para la construcción de unas 2200 viviendas alrededor de un campo de golf.

2006, Julio:
El Pleno del Ayuntamiento de Campos del Río aprueba la modificación de las Normas Subsidiarias de Planeamiento Municipal que afecta al terreno de Trampolín Hills.

2007, Septiembre:
La oposición niega al alcalde el derecho de votar sobre la aprobación del proyecto, por su participación como agente inmobiliario en las ventas de algunas de las viviendas en Trampolín Hills Golf Resort.

2008, Enero:
El alcalde de Campos del Río, Miguel Navarro, pide públicamente que la oposición vote a favor de la aprobación del proyecto, insistiendo que traerá grandes beneficios a la comunidad y que la oposición no tiene motivos para mantener su actitud negativa.

Abril:
La oposición, liderada por Miguel Buendía, denuncia al alcalde y su partido por faltas en las tramites de aprobación de unas modificaciones del plan parcial de Trampolin Hills, supuestamente en espera a que el derecho de votar por parte del alcalde quedará renovado, 2 años después de sus últimos negocios con la empresa Trampolín Hills Golf Resort S.L.

Mayo:
Un auto dictado en el Juzgado de lo Contencioso-Administrativo número 1 de Murcia por José Miñarro García advierte de la responsabilidad por parte del Ayuntamiento de Campos del Río si el proyecto fallara por causa de la gestión, o falta de gestión por parte del Ayuntamiento de Campos del Río: «de producirse, en hipótesis, un perjuicio masivo a particulares, la responsabilidad patrimonial de la Administración sería evidente por tolerar el Ayuntamiento (no sólo el Grupo de Gobierno) la construcción y venta de propiedades a particulares, de forma ostensible y con abundantísima publicidad sin la pertinente autorización administrativa».

Octubre:
El Ayuntamiento de Campos del Río se decide a favor del derecho de votar del alcalde.

2009, Enero:
El Ayuntamiento de Campos del Río aprueba el proyecto.

Febrero:
La Comunidad de Murcia aprueba el proyecto, sujeto a unas modificaciones necesarias.

Noviembre:
El Juzgado de lo Mercantil 2 de Murcia declara el concurso necesario de la empresa Trampolín Hills Golf Resort S.L.; el Concurso Ordinario 20/09. Tras el concurso, el alcalde y el concejal de urbanismo aparecen en una reunión de compradores prometiendo que se aprobará la recalificación del terreno dentro de un plazo de un mes.

2010, Marzo:
El Juzgado de lo Contencioso-Administrativo número 1 de Murcia declara nulo el convenio urbanístico entre el Ayuntamiento de Campos del Río y la empresa Trampolín Hills Golf Resort S.L., aprobado en 2005.

Hemos visto que el Ayuntamiento de Campos del Río no ha finalizado satisfactoriamente los trámites puestos en marcha en 2004; entre ellos la recalificación del terreno. Por los muy graves retrasos y faltas en la gestión por parte del Ayuntamiento de Campos del Río, la empresa Trampolín Hills Golf Resort S.L. no ha podido cumplir con los contratos de compraventa de viviendas firmados con los compradores.

II. Como comprador de una vivienda en Trampolín Hills Golf Resort, que aún no se ha podido construir, pido que el
AYUNTAMIENTO DE CAMPOS DEL RÍO
admite en trámite esta solicitud, donde reclamo la responsabilidad patrimonial de la Administración y solicito la indemnización pertinente por parte de la Administración, equivalente al importe pagado por mi a la empresa como deposito y pago, para mi vivienda en Trampolín Hills, más los intereses según las tarifas vigentes.

Espero vuestras noticias muy atentamente,

Open Letter to José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, President of Spain

The Spanish Government

MADRID
Spain


4th March 2011


Dear Sir


I have written to you on a previous occasion sadly to little effect but on searching the Internet I find that not only have you been contacted by many others about the “off-plan” building scandal in Spain … more specifically have you been contacted by many others about the situation with a company in Murcia appearing in several guises … Trampolin Solera, Trampolin Hills, Trampolin Royal Dreams. All of these are separate companies which are interlinked who together, I suspect, with the respective Banks … most notably CAM Bank … have been able to defraud many hundreds of people of their homes and their life savings.


One of the “letters” you have received early this year starts in the following vein:-


“We understand that improving Spain’s economy is proving difficult. We are very sorry about that, but not surprised.

We feel it is necessary to draw your attention to a case which no doubt is keeping European citizens of all nationalities from buying off-plan property anywhere in Spain, and will continue to do so if it is not dealt with in a just and appropriate manner. ….”


The letter then goes on to document a catalogue of errors made by the authorities which have brought many families across Europe to their knees … mine included!


I really wonder whether or not you have any idea of the mammoth scale of the fraud involved … indeed I wonder whether you really care? The Legal system in Spain … a system over which YOU preside … is so lax that I am forced to say “is it any wonder that your own Costa Del Sol is known throughout Europe as the Costa Del Crime”! Criminals in Spain appear not just to survive but to positively flourish in your Country due solely to the dilatory nature and handling by the Courts and the Justice System in Spain.

I take my own situation as a case in point although by NO MEANS isolated. I purchased an “off-plan” property from Trampolin Solera in or around 2004 and over a period of months paid over some 185,000€ leaving a small balance to be paid upon completion. Eventually the property was finished but when my Lawyers checked through the details of the transaction it became clear that a large Mortgage had been taken out with CAM Bank in 2007 which was (a) far in excess of the balance due to be paid (b) taken out against a highly inflated Bank valuation and (c) some +- 2 years AFTER I HAD SIGNED AND AGREED THE CONTRACT! Worse was to follow … the Developer had in fact subsequently sold my property twice and in fact moved the SECOND purchaser into our home … even in Spain this has to be FRAUD!


The Civil Judgment which eventually followed after some two years produced no satisfaction. A second CRIMINAL action was commenced in early 2009 with a “Querella Criminale” being issued against the Developer, Sr. Rafael Aguilera. All of this was two years and in spite of my making two personal visits to the Court number 2 at the Royal Palace of Justice in Murcia and spoken directly to the Judge Miriam Garcia this matter STILL has not been progressed to Trial. In the meantime the Defendant has been able to dissipate all his assets before placing his company Trampolin Solera SL into Administration. The appointed Administrators are Nerea Monzón and Rafael Jiménez from Monzón Abogados in Murcia.

My question of you, Senor, is just what does an innocent victim have to do in order to gain Justice in your Country … I have been defrauded of in excess of 250,000€ including costs ect and all the while the Defendant is able to simply continue enjoying the “spoils” of his crimes whilst continuing to attempt to defraud others. From your point of view, as the President of your Country, perhaps the real concern should be the involvement of the Banks … and in this case CAM Bank … in what is potentially a fraud of over 100,000,000.00€! I would welcome the opportunity of meeting with either yourself or one of your SENIOR advisers in Madrid but in any event I am copying this email to The British Prime Minister, David Cameron, our own Embassy in Madrid, my Lawyers based in La Manga … Iberbrit and the administrators for Trampolin, Monzón Abogados.


I look forward … hopefully … to your meaningful and constructive response.


Kind regards

An open letter to Mr. Aguilera

Dear Mr. Rafael Aguilera,
We are buyers from Trampolin Hills and Trampolin Royal Dreams who would like to know your opinion on the situation of Solera El Trampolin S.L., both in its own right and as a company which guaranteed many of the Trampolin Hills contracts. We have contacted the court "Juzgado Mercantil número dos de Murcia", and have been informed that it is possible for bankrupt companies to sign an agreement with the Bankruptcy Trustees, thus avoiding a liquidation of the assets which most certainly will result in great losses for the buyers. Such an agreement might imply, for example, the building of the urbanizations, with financial aid and the due licenses and approvals promised by the town hall of Campos del Río. This seems like a feasible way of avoiding great financial damage to your clients. We would therefore like to know if you see this as a possibility, both for Trampolin Hills and Trampolin Royal Dreams.