Churchills, a Karl Goldthorpe run company filed for liquidation last year. Many investors lost money in what has been described by a top city solicitor as "an obvious large scale fraud". This blog is designed to inform other victims and interested parties in the sorry history of this affair. We would also like fellow victims to post their own story, as a comment, so that there is a single site with the whole story presented.

Saturday 7 March 2009

Credit Card Refunds

Two investors who made their initial payment to Churchills with a credit card have now had a full refund (all their loss, not just the initial payment) from the card issuer.

21 comments:

  1. Great work.
    This is the first time I have seen ray of Hope to get my money back. I am victim of Churchills fraud, Branganza world,Goa(9000GBP), However I had paid 3500GBP by Credit card.
    Do above cases means I can also claim my 9000GBP.
    If so please advice how to proceed. Who are these great consumers who managed to get their money back and how.
    Any information is welcome.
    we are almost group of 30-40 people fighting for our money from Goa developer.

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  2. You simply need to prove that the products or services were not delivered - in your case it would appear to be easy to prove that Braganza World will never happen. So just contact your credit card issuer and request a refund of your £9K under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act.

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  3. Sorry, I am not clear about this credit card refund, if some part of the total deposit was paid by credit card and the rest by international bank transfer, would the international bank transfer part also get refunded by the credit card company ?

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  4. Hi Bharat, yes thats correct - if you payed any part by credit card you can claim the full amount back, regardless of how the rest was payed.

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  5. That is fabulous news, I will get back to the credit card company asap, I read the Sunday Times article on 22/3/09 but it was not completely clear on the matter, many thanks !

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  6. Ok Bad news.
    My Credit Card company says as receipt of Churchill's mention Non-refundable payment, they will not be able to help me and refuse to take any further action. My question to the people who know about section 75 and who got money back is-
    1) Does receipt should not mention it as non refundable payment?
    2)Is this the correct basis for bank to refuse the refund as receipt say payment is non-refundable even though the product won't be delivered?
    3)Can any one has personal experience in getting money back throw a light please!

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  7. Your bank is telling you rubbish. Check out http://www.consumerwiki.co.uk/index.php/Consumer_Credit_Act:Section_75

    You may need to go to the financial ombudsma, see

    http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/publications/ombudsman-news/31/creditcards-31.htm

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  8. Well i can tell you if your with Yorkshire Bank then you won't have any chance of getting the full amount back.I'm with them and having a battle with Daniel Wells who still maintains that because he property in Estonia value was £39,000 it doesn't meet the upto £30,000 which the section 75 consumer act goes upto.
    But am still trying

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  9. Hi Anonymous, surely the Yorkshire Bank should honour the first £30k, they are jointly liable for that amount even if you purchased a £20 Million property.

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  10. I think the issue here is that you (Anonymous) didnt purchase a £39K property (such an object never existed). You purchased, for whatever your deposit was, the right to make the full purchase. It is that opportunity that you will never have, and that is why you should argue with your CC provider that they should refund you.

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  11. Hi. I have only just got wind of this whole sordid affair.
    AAC - if I paid the 'Reservation' fee (500GBP) by Credit Card but then paid the Deposit of 12,000GBP by bank transfer, do you think I should still have a right to recover all 12,500GBP via the Credit Card company?
    If so, what kind of proof will the CC company need that we are never going to be able to realise that purchase? Thx, James

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  12. We know that two investors have got their deposits back under the same circumstances. I think this shows that the legislation covering this is not clear and of course the CC co's will try to get out of it if they think they can. The documentation on the blogsite re: company liquidation should be more than enough proof that the developments can never be completed, that and the on-going fraud investigations. I would think there are good grounds for those affected to take legal advice with a view to taking some kind of group action, perhaps on a no win no fee basis or similar.

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  13. I am battling with Lloyds card services. I paid £9527 in total on CC and the remaining £20000 'by cash'. They are dragging their heels so I called the Ombudsman on Friday and they sent a letter on my behalf which they will receive today. Lloyds now have 8 weeks to respond before the Ombudsman steps in. It wold be useful to communicate with the two investors who have been successful so that we can all have a template to follow.

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  14. section 75 only covers purchases made on a credit card not a charge card, for the value between £100 and £30,000. If your purchase price is over the £30,000 non of it is covered under this law. Even if you deposits for less than the £30k the whole transaction is the amount looked at and for what your cc are jointly liable for.

    as confirmed on the financial ombudsamn's website

    http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/publications/ombudsman-news/31/creditcards-31.htm

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  15. If the property was worth £29500, and I paid £5000 on credit card but didn't pay the remainder, can i still get the full refund (both £5K and £24500) from the Credit Card company under the consumer credit act 75?

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  16. I received my refund form Lloyds Card Services...with a little help from the financial Ombudsman.

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  17. Hi Anonymous
    Can i ask how you manage to get your money back from Lloyds and how did the obudsman help

    Thank you

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  18. JB

    I paid £1020 by Barclaycard credit card as deposit and the remainder £18806 from my solicitors cheque, money left over from selling a house. Then i got a receipt saying "non refundable deposit", We are broke and would like to get our money back. Barclaycard have refused to pay and demanded to see a contract. I have the statement and 1020 slip stappled to the letter. any suggestions mrphayesATyahoo.co.uk

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  19. Has anybody hired a sheriffe to colect the money owed?

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About Me

We are a group of three investors who have lost money to the Churchills fraud. This blog gives background information about the fraud and about action being taken against the perpetrators