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Thread: European Mediation

  1. #11
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    Default European Mediation

    These people have contacted me too and like most of you I queried their legitimacy but they have not yet been able to prove their credibility. In fact, I have not heard from them since then. Some vulnerable person will fall for their ploy and yet again loose a substantial amount of money. It is very sad that such companies are allowed to operate here in the UK and swindle people of their hard-earned cash.

    If anyone were to find a way to deal with these scams please do share with the rest of us and most importantly what we can do to get our money back from Instant Access and the Spanish developers.
    Last edited by Lady Slim Sackey; 12-02-2008 at 11:28 PM.

  2. #12
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    Default European Mediation

    I too received a call, just this evening, here in Ireland.
    The polite gentleman was very sympathetic and repeated
    the phrase "you dont want to send good money after bad"

    He mentioned legal fees of 10 per cent and another 8 per cent on
    successful completion.He did not indicate any up front payment but did refer me to their web site and suggested that a search would also find
    confirmation of a EC bases institution which hands over fraud
    compensation funds. So far I cannot find any such EC institution.

    He was very sure about the potential success rate and referred
    confidently to the European Compensation Fund as being a thing of fact
    which would oblige the Spainish Government to compensate in full
    all losses and legal cost which arise as a result of fraudulent activity.

    He explained that they would take what I understood to be some style of class action and was very confident of getting a full refund for all those who lost in this case. He promised to call me again on Thursday.
    He gave a phone number to me in case I wanted to call him back.

    I was wise enough to be very modest with my Fortuna investment but
    I would be more than miffed to be doubly caught.

    What is the law on this kind of thing in UK ?
    Is it covered by Consumer protection agencies ?
    Can any one of you get it on to BBC crime watch or watch-dog or whatever so that we can have some exposure and clarity ?

    I will not pay up front ever without a cast iron irrrevocable guarantee, but as ithye caller sounds so polite and plausable and kindly ( so British !) it is for sure that many people will be conmvinced to do so.

    Be aware ! / Richard

  3. #13
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    Thumbs down european mediation.

    keep well away from e.m. they are a scam. All investors of fortuna / oanna are at present trying to set up a representative body to fight to try and get some of their investments back. If it seems to good to be true it is. I also have been contacted by e.m.


    Quote Originally Posted by Alistair View Post
    Hi there. I was wondering if anyone dealt with a UK company named European Mediation? They contacted a friend of mine who had purchased off-plan in Spain. They guaranteed him over the phone they would be able to recover in less than 30 weeks 100% of the deposits he had paid to the developer! They said they worked alongside with Spanish lawyers. Do any of you think this is possible? I looked up their website and it has just been created in August 2008. I would really appreciate any feedback on them if they deliver as promised.

  4. #14
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    Default

    I refer our forum lurkers and posters to our useful blog post (scroll below):


    9 Tips on How to Determine if an Offer is a Scam

    October 17th, 2008 @ 14:10 by admin




    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. Is the offer too good to be true? If the offer sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

    6. 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)

    7. 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.

    8. 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”.

    9. 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.

  5. #15
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    For all those of you who have failed investmenst in Fortuna Land, Fortuna Estates, Oanna Group please read this thread. Thank you.

    Lawbird Legal Services

  6. #16
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    Angry IAP member

    I, too, am/was a member of IAP and have been cold-called by the same company, European Mediators Ltd.. I found this thread by doing a search on "European Compensation Fund", wondering if they'd just picked a name that sounds legitimate. I also searched on "European Mediators" and found other similarly named organisations that do appear to mediate rather than pursue claims!

    It may be of interest to you to know that, when I asked, they said that they had (after some perseverance) been given access to the database by the liquidators of IAP. So far as I know, the only persons with access to the database were Inside Track (now in liquidation), IAP Ltd (also in liquidation) and now, having purchased it for £70,000 from IAP Ltd. – along with other rights - IAP Global, the company that Jim Moore has established to rescue members from the ashes of IAP Ltd.. I would be very interested to know who is behind European Mediation (i.e. shareholder(s)). On their website, under Legal Services, the only person listed is a JC Bufete who appears to be a Notary.

    After the first call, I expressed some doubts and said that I thought the agreement with IAP required me to keep things confidential so I couldn't discuss my case. They called me again and gave me a few days to think about it, saying a "senior advisor" would call me back on Wednesday 3rd December.

    I got a call back on 3rd December from someone answering to the name of Jessica Walker (popular name for chocolates or athletics). She suggested that I take some time to look at their website then she'd call back early next week. She told me they would charge 8% plus VAT, though no-one said this was up-front, that it would take 16-20 weeks and that it was an absolute certainty I would get all my money back. If it's that much of a certainty, I wouldn't expect to pay a penny up front: they would be guaranteed to get their remuneration so shouldn't need money up front, so I would just have them deduct their share from my compensation.

  7. #17
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    Exclamation tamsin barks

    I too have been contacted at least twice by European Mediation, I noticed that when I asked too many questions they became evasive. Someone I trust checked them out for me and his opinion was they are a "scam". You can judge for yourselves but Lawbird seems to have the measure of them.
    I lost over £500K through the company IAP Instant Access Properties run by the notorious Jim Moore/ Anthony MacKay/ Maria Gifford/Brad Rosser ( yes he has gone very quiet recently ) When my case was covered in the national press several times, Anthony MacKay told the newspapers he was helping me, This is another of his lies.
    If you are another victim do beware.... and as Lawbird says if they really where 100% certain of getting your money back they would work for no win no fee.
    I asked the person who last rang me if I could speak to one of the lawyers they claimed they had working for them,( after all they were charging very substantial fees for their" service" he was unable to give me even a name!!!!!

  8. #18
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    An interesting and very useful blog post from OverseasCafe.com.

    http://overseascafe.blogspot.com/200...aud-squad.html
    Last edited by Lawbird Lawyer; 12-10-2008 at 07:06 PM.

  9. #19
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    Default European Mediation

    I am a lawyer who has tonight been contacted by European Mediation regarding my Instant Access investments. I was sceptical at being phoned out of the blue and so checked out their website and the comments on this and other forums - thank goodness for search engines! I have recently made my own enquiries of rereferred litigation solicitors who advised on the actual property deal - an off-plan in Manchester which has yet to complete after at least 7 notified completion dates. If anyone wishes to consider a legitimate class action with approved law firms, I'd be more than willing to join them. I work in general insurance and am incensed at the heavy regulation involved in dealing with insurances averaging a few hundred pounds and yet Instant Access were allowed to take thousands of pounds from us without any regulation whatsoever. The loophole needs to be closed fast to prevent other innocent victims from suffering the same fate.

  10. #20
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    Default European Mediation

    I have been in discussions with this so called company too after being 'cold called'. I was told because I had bought a property abroad I had been put on a list of such people and that is how I was contacted. Although I was given a British telephone number to contact them (as per their site) calls received from them were echoey as if not made in this country (England). I do not have any dealings with property in Spain, however I have a couple in other countries through Instant Access Properties. The spiel was all about breach of contract and claiming back all monies paid to Iaprops so far i.e. if the completion date had exceeded 6 months over the date given at time of initial purchase, and getting my membership fees back from Iaprops.

    One of my properties is well over the six months in USA so I gave details of that and of my membership fees of Iaprops. The details were then supposedly given to the lawyers to assess and two days later I was called again only to be be told that they were unable to go ahead with the USA property because of the property laws/builders in USA but they could get my membership fees back. Question - why did he take all the details when he knew that it wasn't possible? Answer - To hook me and get my enthusiasm going for more.

    So to get my membership fees back I needed to forward to them their 'legal fees' - 10 percent of my claim plus VAT. This amount would then be added to the amount I would be claiming and then the total would be claimed from the "European Fund". Then, when I get the total amount awarded, EM invoices me for 8 percent, plus VAT, as their fee!!! If, however, the claim backfires, I have paid the 'legal fees' which of course are non-refundable - I DON"T THINK SO!!!!!

    Scam scam scam

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