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Issue 782
10-16 OCTOBER 2014
British pensioners lose £6 billion by living abroad according to currency specialists HiFX BRITISH PENSIONERS living overseas have potentially lost out on over £6.4 billion of their income since 2007 due to the falling strength of Sterling. Read the full story on page 22
Judge halts bank’s ‘repo’ bid by Jack Troughton
Emiliano Casal
Torrevieja’s athlete of the year SPANISH BOXING Champion Emiliano Casal was presented with the top award at Torrevieja’s Sports Gala on Saturday. The ceremony also recognised the best of Torrevieja’s promising young athletes and veterans of local sports. Read the full story on page 23.
RETIRED BUSINESSMAN Mike Kemp is celebrating a court victory against banking giant Barclays after a judge refused to grant a repossession order so his villa could go to public auction. The 72-year-old’s own criminal case against Barclays Bank – he accuses the bank of corruption, fraud and false advertising – was accepted by Orihuela Court three years ago but is stuck somewhere in the judicial system in an over-worked legal system. At the heart of the case is Mike’s 310,000€ Catral home – one of some 1,200 illegal villas built on rural land – and there are two outstanding demolition orders lodged against it. After last Friday’s ruling he told RTN: “Barclays wanted to repossess my house to auction off – the judge basically told the bank ‘yes, you can do that but you must wait until the case against you for corruption and fraud is heard’. “This is a first for this area and I am absolutely over the moon over it – it has taken 10 years to get here. I have not just done this for myself but for other across Spain in the same position.” Mike, a former Kingston upon Hull councillor and company director, took out a 100,000€ mortgage with Barclays after being assured by a financial consultant and a former senior manager with the bank, it would never lend against an illegal property. But his ‘belt and braces’ approach failed and in 2005 he was shocked to learn his dream home in the sun was illegal – triggering a David and Goliath struggle with Barclays. PROTECTED The bank maintains the loan was advanced based on an architect’s report – a
professional working for the developer – that maintained the house was over five-years-old and protected by the law of antiquity. Mike claims Barclays ignored the valuation survey it required before granting the mortgage; which he had to pay for. He said it took him five years to see a copy – customers normally receive these automatically – and he had to seek EU intervention before the bank released it. And he said the first part of the survey underlined the house was new and illegal – a position confirmed by Catral Town Hall and backed up by aerial photographs. And while Barclays says Mike should be taking action against the writer of the architect’s report, he believes the bankers who granted the mortgage and Barclays itself are responsible for his predicament. After exhausting the bank’s own complaints procedure, he wrote to successive Barclays chief executives; John Varley, Bob Diamond and Anthony Jenkins – who once headed the bank’s Spanish operation. Receiving no replies – he was warned in one email the bank would not correspond further – he appealed to Prime Ministers, MPs for help. Finally to force the issue he stopped repayments on the loan in 2010, still owing 49,000€. However, there has been a massive cost to Mike’s life. His marriage failed, he has suffered three heart attacks and been diagnosed with depression. DESTROY “This has ruined 10 years of my life and destroyed my marriage. Ten years at 20 is not as valuable as 10 years at 62. We wanted to make the villa our base and travel around the Mediterranean,” he said. Continued on page 4