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Dear Sirs, I have been telephoned by Legal Advice Counsel , Centro comercial Guadalmina 4, Malaga offering to take court action to recover timeshare sale losses. I am very wary of 'cold calls' and would like to find out if this is a legitimate and trustworthy law firm. Thank you.
Dear Sir/Madam,
Further to your query, we’ve never heard of this law firm you mention, Legal Advice Counsel, located in Marbella.
Spanish Law firms never cold call people, ever.
Every time we phone someone it's because that person has previously submitted to our law firm a legal query.
This begs the question as to how they obtained your personal contact details in the first place. Spain forbids selling this type of sensitive information in compliance with Spain's Data Protection Act.
It's ironic how they themselves invoke the Data Protection Act when it benefits them, so as to discourage new potential clients from requesting referrals from prior clients they may have had, very bizarre.
It's also striking how they mention they "offer free, impartial advice to victims of fraud..." and yet on the following page they write "our (legal) team strive to ensure that nothing about the process is daunting or off-putting in any way - including the cost". So, is their legal service free or do they charge for it?
After checking their website, they label themselves as a “legal firm”, not as a “law firm” as you happen to mention in your query.
Quoting their website:
http://legaladvicecounsel.com/
"Legal Advice Counsel is a legal firm, with an office in Marbella."
"Dedicated legal services for UK residents"
Any firm is legal by its very own nature on being incorporated. So writing that they are a “legal firm” means nothing, other than misleading people into thinking they are an established law firm in Marbella run -presumably- by qualified and registered Spanish lawyers. A “legal firm” could be anything ranging from a grocery to a flower shop. A firm is just another synonym to name a “company” or “business".
Bottom line, a legal firm does not equate to a law firm.
From the Oxford English Dictionary:
firm
• noun a company or business partnership.
Moreover, having checked the date they set-up their website it dates from the 28th April 2009. Hardly a long track record, 30 days.
Whois Server Version 2.0
Tu petición es "legaladvicecounsel.com"
Domain Name: LEGALADVICECOUNSEL.COM
Registrar: TUCOWS INC.
Whois Server: whois.tucows.com
Referral URL: http://domainhelp.opensrs.net
Name Server: NS.123-REG.CO.UK
Name Server: NS2.123-REG.CO.UK
Status: clientTransferProhibited
Status: clientUpdateProhibited
Updated Date: 28-apr-2009
Creation Date: 28-apr-2009
Expiration Date: 28-apr-2011
We have checked on the only person that appears mentioned on the website: Mrs Tara Hamilton. She identifies herself as a ”Senior Legal Adviser”.
“Senior legal advisor” doesn’t mean anything in Spain; she’s probably just a paralegal and not a Spanish qualified registered lawyer. A paralegal usually doesn’t have any legal background. They most certainly cannot advice on legal matters in Spain.
In fact, in Spain we don’t even employ paralegals in law firms, unlike in the U.K.
I’ve also confirmed with Spain’s Solicitors’ database that the above mentioned person is not a registered lawyer in Spain either.
The website just mentions they work alongside lawyers but doesn’t mention any solicitors' names or law firms.
I leave you to draw your own conclusions.
You may want to read the following articles:
1. Careful with Scammers Posing as Spanish Lawyers - 18th March 2009
2. 9 Tips on How to Determine if an Offer is a Scam- 17th October 2008
We are receiving a dozen queries every day asking about the legitimacy of certain offer, generally received by email or over the phone after a cold call. Unfortunately, we cannot analyze case by case, and therefore will provide a set of useful hints which will help you evaluate the legitimacy of the company or individual yourself.
The list below is provided in no particular order:
1. Is the domain name old enough? By means of a Whois search you can find out when the domain name was registered. If it’s only a few weeks old, be suspicious.
2. Are they using mobiles? – If the phones used as contact numbers are mobile numbers instead of land lines, it’s definitely not a good sign. In Spain, mobile numbers start by +34 6..
3. Have you been contacted out of the blue? – If you where cold called, or received an email from someone you don’t know, ask yourself why these people have your contact details.
4. Are you being requested to pay money upfront? This is the single most worrying point if it comes in conjunction of with one or more of the above.
5. Are they requesting you a money transfer through Western Union or similar?
6. Is the offer too good to be true? If the offer sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
7. Is the company properly registered? – Although it’s something positive if they can provide you with company registration details, you shouldn’t give this point too much importance. Fraudsters have been registering companies for decades with the sole purpose of deceiving (e.g. dozens of companies where incorporated by fraudsters to conduct the infamous Timeshare Resale Scam)
8. Is the address for their offices correct? – Not sure why, fraudsters tend to provide you with fake addresses which don’t really exist. Check any of the online street directories and find out if the address provided is correct.
9. Something strange about their names? Funny names such as “Woley Fernandez” or “Barrister Perez Santos ESQ” are names made up by Nigerians conducting 419 advance fee scams (the terms “Barrister” or “ESQ” don’t exist in Spanish law). Also, fraudsters tend to cite fake organisms such as “The Ministry of Finance” or “The Security Company”.
10. What others are saying – Use search engines to find information about the company. Try putting the company in inverted comas, and add terms like “scam” or “fraud”. The company or individual you mention might have already been reported online as fraudsters by other people.
Needless to say, the above list shouldn’t be taken as definitive, nor the absolute legitimacy o illegitimacy of a company established based on one or more of the above points. You can use it, however, to personally evaluate the risk of the transaction.
My recommendation is that you never pay any moneys upfront if you have been contacted out of the blue. However, if you have to, before doing so always suggest the use of an escrow company (chosen by you) to hold the funds until the product or service has been delivered. If they refuse, I recommend that you back off.
Always remember; have a lawyer analyze the transaction before making any up-front payments.
I Have been contacted by Legal Advice counsel in San Pedro Southern spain. They assert that they can take court action against Holiday companies that are offering to sell my 2 Club Class holiday packages?
I have submutted to them 5 plus organisations that have taken holding deposits over the past 12 months, & never found a purchaser, but have retained the so-called returnable deposit (Usually paid by Credit Card) The C Card companies have not been efficient at recovering these monies due to the 12-month contract usually associated with the transaction.
The LEGAL ADVICE COUNSEL have prepared an invoice as a pro Forma to recover some £40,267, which includes the anticipated price they estimated that they could obtain for the packages.
A 5% deposit of £2,012 is required up-front,for the service, & 10% of the monies recovered will be the legal fee.
Their full address is Centro Comercial Guadalmina, 4 Edificio 2 local 88
29678, San Pedro de Alcantara, malaga Spain.
If you have been cold called by Company A who knows you have been conned by Company B, it is reasonable to think that Company A = Company B.
We've had plenty of similar cases in the past years with very similiar modus operandi, and they all turned to be scams (Servicios Fuengirola 2002, Conectese SL, European Mediation, etc.).
You might want to ask them if they are registered with the Malaga Bar Association as a law firm. Only registered law firms are allowed to provide legal services.
Hi, i to have just been contacted by a lady who explained she was a solicitor in Spain who was able to fight these holiday companies and claim my money back....She asked me to fax my reclaim voucher and my contract over to her today, as she was going to court this afternoon to gain an affidavit against Holiday Warehouse (tenerife). I told her i was very wary of companys claiming they could get us our money back as they have so far all turned out to be more con men..... she assured me that no money would be paid up front and that i would not have to go back over to Tenerife to go to court, she said as she was acting for over 2000 people who are in our situation and that there was a good chance of getting us our money back....... she said all i had to do was fax over the infomation today to her by 4.00pm before the court case and that she would then be able to do this for us..... As usual i have googled the name and fax number given to see what infomation i could find and i was sent to this page................... im not surprised its a scam.... i just wish these people would leave us alone now, we know we have lost the money, do they really think we are gonna give them any more ?????? And yes it does raise the question as to how she knew our address and phone number????
Please let me know if anyone has any more infomation on these people .
Thanks
I havew also been appoached by "The Legal Adcice Counsel" claiming they can win me compenastion from Holiday Warehouse and Club Class Holidays and Reclaim Ltd . They have promised me over £7000 in compensation but have asked for £600 up front and 10% of any money sum gained for me by their actions.
They have quoted a lawyer
Carlos de Miguel Olivares No Colegiedo ( Licensce Number) 831 Abogado
The Address on the letter headings emailed to me is
Centro Comercial Guadalmina ,4
Edificio 2 Local 88
2976 San Pedro Alcantara
Malaga , Spain
Helpline 08719711864
Tel 0034 952887206
I have got 4 pdf documemts emailed to me one of which is a contract.
I think this is a scam to get me to throw good money after bad. Can the above details throw any further light on this ?
Grasie
Dear Sir/Madam,
We take no stance on this company, we leave forum lurkers to make their own minds being factual in everything we write.
The lawyer you mention is duly registered at Malaga's Bar Association. This company may then be outsourcing work over to him.
Yours faithfully,
So Lawbird,
Are you saying that Tara Hamilton is a registered Lawyer
Michelle
Not Tara Hamilton, but the lawyers they quote as supposedly responsible for the legal work.
Ms Tara Hamilton is not a practising lawyer in Spain. You can check for yourself:Quote:
Originally Posted by Grasie
https://www.redabogacia.org/censossl/printLogonCenso.do
Thank you for that, but cannot seem to get into that website, my system is saying it is not secure, does not have a certificate.
Michelle
For some reason your browser is warning you that the certificate is not from a trusted source. However, you will be able to access the site if you click on the link following the little red icon with the text "Continue to this website (not recommended)".
Yes thank you,
I think that says it all.
Have had an email from Tara Hamilton, who says they pick the best Lawyers for whatever fraud you have been related to ie Timeshare, Holiday Clubs etc.
But as yet they have not asked for any money upfront.
Michelle
They will at some point. If they are so sure of recovering the funds lost to these companies, perhaps you can talk them into accepting a no-win-no-fee scheme.Quote:
Originally Posted by Unregistered
During the past years, I have been approached by several fully registered Spanish lawyers who were working at the time in companies very much like the one discussed in this thread. These lawyers trully believed the companies which employed them were legitimate (if they can fool thousands of people, I'm sure they have no difficulty in fooling a few lawyers). Eventually, these companies turned out to be nothing but scams set up by the same people who had ripped off thousands of timeshare owners with the only purpose of 'milking' them further.
Thank you once again.
Glad I have found this forum.
They certainly will not get any money from me upfront.
But will try for the no win no fee. I have emailed them stating this and guess what it has all gone quiet, no phone calls and no email's from them.
Michelle
I had a call from this company in the begining of the year, claiming they could claim money back for me from Club Class and Etoo. I had to send in proof of payment and and promises from the company so they could assess it for free. After sending in the documentation i then received a call from a senior advisor saying I did have a case and that my claim would be 24,000 sterling.
I would have to give them 800 in legal costs and translations that would be refundable once I won the case. In May I recieved a call saying I won the case for both and the monies where all transferred into my bank account, WITH the refundale deposit ontop, all they asked for was a 10% commision, which I was happy to give them after receiving the full claim, which was more then o hoped for anyway.
I know there are many companies out there to scam you but there are companies that can make money from actually help unfortunate people like ourselves. All round i found their services to be very helpful and suggest if anybody else has any problems with any bogus timeshare company to listen to what they have to say, there not all bad, i am proof.
Hi Jebanks
Your story sounds improbable to say the least. Is there any more evidence apart from your testimonial that you could share with us? (e.g. wire transfer receipts, "court resolution", etc).
I doubt your testimonial Sir.Quote:
Originally Posted by Jebanks
How can you receive a call from them in May 2009 informing you they had already won when they had only just set up their company the 28th of April 2009 as can be read in the second post on this thread? This is publicly available information.
Litigation takes on average years in Spain as everyone knows, it doesn't take 1 week. So following your testimonial it would mean they filed your case back in 2007 or 2008, when their company/website didn't exist!
Have received a few calls from First Legal Services, claiming that European coast @ sun holidays Designer way vacation club, Timelinx. Have been to court twice and another court case pending in the next 18months can anyone confirm if that is true or not.
Michelle
Dear Michelle,Quote:
Originally Posted by Unregistered
This thread is on "Legal Advice Counsel".
You have a specific thread on "First Legal Services" over here:
First Legal Services
Glyn
Let us not induce into confusion both companies.
Regards,
The self-defined “legal firm”, Legal Advice Counsel, has posted on their website a PDF document under the heading cyberlibel in reply to this thread belittling the law firm “Marbella Lawyers”.
Let us start by writing we are always reluctant to engage publicly people who we simply ignore whom they are. Regrettably their posting has forced us to intervene providing an adequate reply.
Our website Belegal.com is a forum in which anyone interested in making a legal query on Spanish related matters is replied to freely. This website has provided free legal advice to thousands of people over the last ten years on a daily basis either online or via e-mails by registered lawyers such as myself. You can read further clicking on "about us".
Having said this, this thread on Legal Advice Counsel was started off by T.M. This person has contacted us privately using Belegal’s PM facility. So we have their name, surname, e-mail address and telephone number at the disposal of Ms Stewart or Mrs Hamilton should they be interested.
Regarding the “anonymous respondent” who replied to the query, they only have to browse one of the many threads or legal articles on this website to know who I am. I’ll sign this post to safe them the hassle.
Moving on to their PDF “rebuttal”, it fails systematically to address each point raised on our reply to T.M. relating to their company. Moreover, every point on our post is factual which is why they’ve been unable to counter it on their “rebuttal”. At no time have we insulted or bad mouthed anyone on this website as they write, much less a fellow lawyer or law firm. Please quote me doing so.
We fail to see how our comments can be construed as defamatory, as they write, when all we've written is factual as anyone can check for themselves.
Legal Advice Counsel is not a law firm nor is it run by registered lawyers. As such it is illegal for them, under Spanish law, to offer legal services to clients. We stand by every word of ours. No lawyer member of this law firm has contacted us to stand us corrected should there have been a misunderstanding on our side. We were only contacted by Mrs Hamilton, a self-appointed "Senior Legal Advisor", to have this thread "immediately removed" as it was "malicious" in her own words.
Furthermore and for clarities sake, “Marbella Lawyers” is not a law firm as they write, it’s a website . So we doubt they’ve read any negative comments on a non-existent law firm on “many, many internet sites” as they write on their rebuttal! The only law firm is Lawbird Legal Services, S.L.P, as per my signature.
The name of the website has been changed to Belegal.com as can be read on the top-hand left corner on our home page. It used to be called “Marbella-Lawyers.com”.
And to close this post Ms Stewart would you be kind enough, being a PR of L.A.C., as to shed some light on what is the relationship between your law firm, Legal Advice Counsel, and this other Marbella law firm called European Legal Services? www dot europeanlegalservices dot com/
Both law firms have different names albeit share an identical website layout, written content and services as those offered by your company, Legal Advice Counsel. European Legal Services claims to be based in Marbella , just like your company, but fails to provide any address, contact e-mail, telephone number or fax number. No lawyers names mentioned either, just like yourselves. In fact, no one is mentioned!
Bizarre way to do business, to say the least.
Both law firms are part of “Bannister Hamilton Consulting Ltd.with Registration Number: 1534308 ”
Thank you.
Yours faithfully,
Raymundo Larra*n Nesbitt
Nº 6072 Málaga Law Society
This firm has vacated their premises - I visited their office in November. All their equipment had been removed and it was being used by another company - not LAC.
Their web site still exists but they do not answer the phones, respond to faxes or a contact form inquiry.
I am aware that some of their clients have paid rather large sums of money and are worried about the lack of response as LAC promised to give them frequent up-dates on progress.
The web site of this firm now says that there have been communication difficulties and asks concerned people to email them for new contact details.
After we publicly exposed Legal Advice Counsel and their sister company European Legal Solutions for what they were, scammers, they vacated their premises in October 2009 promising to keep in touch with their "clients" as they were having "communication problems". Quoting LAC's website:
http://www.legaladvicecounsel.com/
"NOTICE
This web site will soon be closed down due to
communication problems since October 2009.
•
Please use the contact form if you would like
to re-establish communications with LAC.
- 4/1/10 -"
Now some months after, we keep receiving e-mails on a new UK "law firm" that seems to have taken over the client files of the now defunct bogus "law firm" Legal Advice Counsel and it's sister company European Legal Services which were both based in Marbella (Guadalmina, San Pedro de Alcántara).
I suggest all those that are being cold-called -again- crosscheck with England's Law Society and other UK Authorities to make sure this new "law firm" located in London is indeed legitimate:
This is their website:
http://tpp-legal.com/index.html
And this is their address:
"TPP Ltd.
Park House. 111 Uxbridge Road.
Ealing, London, W5-5LB.
+44 208 133 1897."
I copy and paste one of the e-mail queries we've received on them and our reply relating to TPP Legal Ltd:
And our reply:Quote:
Name: Mr
Email:
Phone:
Comments: Sirs I have been contacted by a company called TPP Legal who say that they have taken over the cases of the company Legal Advice Council which you told me earlier was a SCAM company. These people now tell me that they have had agreement from a time share company called Sunterra Ltd to payout on the claim that LAC where supposed to be fighting for me.Can you tell me anything about them or is this just a scam also
Yours
It's remarkable how a newly incorporated company can claim such a hard earned reputation and impressive track record in such a short span of time (weeks)...Quote:
Dear Mr ....,
I take it you are aware they created their website on the 19th of January 2010, barely some weeks ago:
Tu petición es "tpp-legal.com"
Whois Server Version 2.0
Domain names in the .com and .net domains can now be registeredwith many different competing registrars. Go to http://www.internic.netfor detailed information.Domain Name: TPP-LEGAL.COMRegistrar: GODADDY.COM, INC.Whois Server: whois.godaddy.comReferral URL: http://registrar.godaddy.comName Server: NS1.AFRAID.ORGName Server: NS2.AFRAID.ORGName Server: NS3.AFRAID.ORGStatus: client
DeleteProhibitedStatus: clientRenewProhibitedStatus:clientTransfer
ProhibitedStatus: clientUpdateProhibitedUpdated Date: 19-jan-2010
Creation Date: 19-jan-2010
Expiration Date: 19-jan-2011>>>
Have you read the following on their website?:
http://tpp-legal.com/contact-us.html
"TPP Ltd is a trading entity of Trade Pour Premier Ltd. N° 40103166660
20/22 Kr. Barona Str. Riga. LV-1050."
This means their parent company is located in an Eastern European country...
How did they obtain your contact details?
As they claim to be a law firm using solicitors, can they give you the name, surname of the UK lawyers so you can crosscheck this information with England’s Law Society:
http://www.lawsociety.org.uk/choosin...asolicitor.law
Quoting their webiste:
"Welcome to TPP Ltd.
We are a specialist legal firm committed to assisting clients in resolving their disputes. At each stage of any dispute, TPP Legal will be pro-active in achieving your objective whilst ensuring any court proceedings or dispute resolution is dealt with quickly and in an effective manner.
Disputes are a fact of life, with TPP Ltd you can resolve them.
We have a well earned reputation for providing clients with effective and practical legal advice and representation. Our lawyers offer the best available independent legal services at reasonable cost. As a result, our reputation has attracted both private and business clients from locations throughout the UK and more than 30 countries worldwide."
Naturally, no solicitor names are mentioned on their website...
LAC are the subject of various claims for unpaid bills and the Police are no doubt aware of the possibility of fraud and associated activities.
The web site - which they have not yet paid for - will be closed very soon - the web site has contained a notice stating this for several months.
A facility was offered on the web site which would provide the latest contact details for the persons responsible for LAC and their various activities.
Anxious clients have been provided with information by private email.
The web site and all emails traffic is archived and would be available for use in any official investigation but any request would have to be legally supported.
The business was probably not set up as a scam but the inexperience of the team managing the firm was over whelmed by the high level of response from clients and a complete lack of internal organisation.
There are probably hundreds of disappointed clients out there and their funds are probably lost forever or residing in Jyske Bank Gibraltar.
No comment.Quote:
Originally Posted by Unregistered
Keeping a website archive is definitely a must.
Already been done by these, as said will not respond to any communication have lost a bit of money so do not touch with a bargepole dont know where to go from hereQuote:
Originally Posted by Unregistered
Dear Sir or Madam,Quote:
Originally Posted by Unregistered
The names they were giving out over the phone weren't even their own real names. The same is true of many of these ongoing cold-call telephone scams. These people are not daft.
The bank accounts that were set-up to receive the client's funds were located in tax havens outside Spain's legal reach.
They had set-up two "law firms" (Legal Advice Counsel and European Legal Solutions) within the same city (Marbella) with no addresses, telephone numbers, faxes, solicitor's names etc. Only an internet form to contact them filling in your personal contact details.
Is that also as you coin it due to the "inexperience of the team managing the firm"?
I would think that type of behaviour falls under a different name. Maybe my level of English is limited and you can stand me corrected on my poor choice of words.
Already been done by Tpp legal to my stupidity,will not respond to any communication at all should have looked deeper into them but did not, got in touch beginning jan 2010 saying that they where taking over from a firm called DTI which where doing some work for me paid my admin fees but have not received anything back please be very careful if contacted by these peopleQuote:
Originally Posted by Lawbird Lawyer
have lost a bit of money and do not know where to go from here
Report them to England's and Wales' Law Society as well as to your local Police station.Quote:
Originally Posted by Unregistered
Yours faithfully,
"TPP Ltd.
Park House. 111 Uxbridge Road.
Ealing, London, W5-5LB.
+44 208 133 1897."
This is the address that this company is using at the moment....
These people are fraudsters, i contacted park house personally and i was informed that this company did rent an office from them but did not pay the rent for the office and are now being pursued by debt collectors, i was also informed that this company are a company located in marbella spain, who are cold calling innocent people stating that they can get their loans wiped for a fee of £450.00, they then take the money and run...beaware of these people, i nearly fell for their scam....they also act under different name companies!!!!
The circle of life and death of an online recovery room (i.e. bogus law firm boiler room) completes when the domain name is deleted:
The domain name is for auction, should any of the fraudsters who regularly read this site is interested:Quote:
Domain names in the .com and .net domains can now be registered
with many different competing registrars. Go to http://www.internic.net
for detailed information.
Domain Name: LEGALADVICECOUNSEL.COM
Registrar: TUCOWS.COM CO.
Whois Server: whois.tucows.com
Referral URL: http://domainhelp.opensrs.net
Name Server: NS.123-REG.CO.UK
Name Server: NS2.123-REG.CO.UK
Status: pendingDelete
Updated Date: 09-jul-2011
Creation Date: 28-apr-2009
Expiration Date: 28-apr-2011
http://www.namejet.com/Pages/Auction...icecounsel.com
Attachment 9
I have been recommended to use a lawyer called Jara Coca. Can i check this
person out on any legal register?
Hello Ian,
We are unable to make a search with so little details. You would need to find out in which province he/she is actively working and also, if possible, try and get his/her Bar of Association Registry Number.
Regards,