It appears that the thousands of overseas property investors who found themselves caught up in the scandals of Ocean View Properties and Harlequin may be entitled to seek financial redress via a potential claim through the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) if they meet certain criteria.
It will not be a blanket acceptance by the FSCS of all claims from historical investors and will centre upon those clients that received advice from a mortgage broker and/or a financial adviser at the time, which may(if proven) be deemed to have been regulated advice.
If an investor re mortgaged their home in the UK and subsequently was then encouraged to invest the funds into an overseas off-plan purchase of a property with the company Ocean View Properties, they may be able to recover compensation of up to £100,000 from the FSCS or via insurance policies of brokers who advocated the process.
Investments were mostly made in projects in Spain however alternative investments were recommended as far afield as the Dominican Republic at the failed development of Punta Perla.
What to do next.
Should you feel your circumstances fall into this realm or you would simply like to enquire if you would meet the criteria of a claim, the good news is you can contact the FSCS directly at no cost and they will make an assessment of your claim.
We have spoken with the FSCS and they have advised us that any claimant will initially only need to provide to the FSCS the name of the advising firm, they will then check if it is one they would be willing to accept as a claim. They will then send you a claim form which will detail what paperwork would be required to progress matters.
The FSCS are approachable and will help and guide you through the process without the need to involve third party claims management companies and you will (if successful) receive 100% of the compensation, all it will require is some patience and attention on your behalf.
Please follow the link below to the relevant sections within the FSCS website.
http://www.fscs.org.uk/what-we-cover/questions-and-answers/qas-about-claiming-compensation/