Dodgy dealers make £100,000 in holiday home rip-off

Oct 5 2008 By The Judge

TWO brothers who flogged dream homes in Bulgaria have pocketed more than £100,000 from dodgy deals, the Sunday Mail can reveal.

A flood of angry readers contacted us complaining they lost large deposits to James and Barry Donald for flats in the Black Sea resort of Sunny Beach.

The pair posed as Remax franchise holders even though the estate agency firm axed them in February 2006.

The Donalds even used Remax headed notepaper to sell the flats.

Shirley Prior, 47, paid £11,700 in June 2006 - but is still waiting for the keys.

She was told last year the flat was worth much less than the £34,000 she had committed to pay.

And she was stunned when the brothers offered her flats in Glasgow's Toryglen or Bridgeton instead.

Support worker Shirley, of Priesthill, Glasgow, said: "I thought I was dealing with a respected international company.

It has turned into a nightmare."

Engineer Chris Baird, of Kilwinning, Ayrshire, is considering legal action to recover a £11,700 deposit.

Hehas been unable to get answers from the brothers' Foreign Property Investment, based in Queenslie, Glasgow.

Chris, 31, said: "They gave me three options - take a flat elsewhere, continue or pull out and lose the deposit. They must think my head buttons up the back."

Brian Kelly, of Maryhill, Glasgow, is also nearly £12,000 out of pocket. The 58-year-old, who runs a drinks business, visited the development after smelling a rat - and found just a skeleton workforce.

He said: "They had the cheek to offer me a flat in Airdrie instead."

Salesman Paul Glackin made out cheques worth £10,000 to Remax.

Paul, 39, of Hamilton, said: "I paid Remax because of their reputation."

Bank worker Jane McGuire forked out nearly £12,000 - then received a letter saying her flat had plummeted in value.

The firm later wrote to say they were no longer a Remax franchise.

Last month we told how roofer Darren McGhee, of Muirhead, Glasgow, bought a £32,000 Bulgarian flat from the Donalds. He is still chasing his £10,095 deposit.

Five other readers are also out of pocket.

The Donalds did not return calls from the Sunday Mail. A worker at the Foreign Property Investment office said James is in Dubai.

But a letter on the firm's notepaper denied it was run by the brothers.

Remax said the pairwere dumped after bosses saw their ads for Bulgarian flats.

They may take action against the men for unauthorised use of their notepaper.

A spokesman said: "Remax Scotland does not receive cheques from customers on property sales or purchases."

He insisted Remax bore no responsibility for the brothers' actions.

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