We would like to draw our readers' attention to the new forum for UKLI plotholders, created by the Joint Administrators of UKLI.

UKLI Forum

Please remember that this site has been set up specifically to deal with plot and site specific issues. Other issues should be addressed directly to the Joint Administrators and not though this forum. The Joint administrators accept no responsibility for posts submitted to this site by members.

Note that this is, so far as we are aware, the only official forum for UKLI plotholders.

The BBC carries a story about a share scam perpetrated against British investors.

A father and daughter have been accused of tricking 15,000 mostly elderly British citizens out of more than $70m (£34m) by selling worthless shares.

Investigators allege Paul Gunter, 58, and daughter Zibiah, 25, from Florida, sold fake shares in 50 dormant firms...

... The BBC's Andy Gallacher, in Miami, says it is thought the Gunters hijacked the identities of the dormant, publicly traded companies and used high-pressure sales techniques to sell worthless shares to British investors.

Hambrook & Greenstock have now been put into compulsory liquidation and the official receivers are keen to hear from everyone who bought land from H&G.

If you are an H&G plot owner, please either:

• Leave a comment below including a working email address OR
• Send us an email using the email link at the bottom left of every page on this site.

We will pass your details on to the H&G receivers.

The Plot Owners Google Group, which we set up for plot owners to meet and discuss tactics, has recently been abused by a small number of individuals to post spam messages.

All spam messages have been removed, the individuals responsible have been banned and posts from future new members will be moderated, to keep the group free from new spam.

We hope that this will make the group more useful for bona fide members and we encourage our readers to visit the group and to take full advantage of it in future.

(See also the similarly titled, earlier post here.)

Since the FSA started to act against companies which had been offering collective investment schemes without proper authorisation, most land banking companies now clearly state in their published materials, both printed and on the web, that they do not offer collective investment schemes.

Check land bankers' literature and web sites for disclaimers regarding collective investment schemes, the Financial Services and Markets Act and, occasionally, abbreviations like FSMA.

As PropertySCAM continues to grow, more and more people are posting comments here seeking to join forces with others who have bought land plots.

Recognising this, and because the PropertySCAM site itself was designed primarily to inform readers and not as an interactive, self-help portal, we have created a new Google Groups site which plot owners may use to talk to each other, to compare notes and develop strategies for managing or exiting their land plot investments.

The new group is called Plot Owners and is open to anyone to join.

Subscribe to Plot Owners

Email:

Visit this group

Please feel free to give the group a try, or post a comment here if you have any suggestion on how it might be improved.

A number of land banking companies have now been closed down by FSA/DTI action, having been found to be operating illegal collective investment schemes. Other land banking companies are currently being investigated by the FSA.

This leaves many plot owners in a very uncertain position. Are they entitled to any refund or compensation? Who will pay it?

The FSA has already issued guidance which says that land plot investors may have a statutory right to recover money and claim compensation for any consequent losses where illegal collective investment schemes have been in operation.

But plot owners may have difficulty in getting any money back from land banking companies even where liability can clearly be established because there may be insufficient collateral left after winding up these companies to pay any dividend.

However, it may be possible to claim against credit card companies where deposits on land plots were paid by credit card. This is because, should contracts for plot purchases be shown to be illegal, the credit card companies could be liable to refund investors under section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 since they have effectively lent money to investors to enter into these illegal contracts.

If you are resident in the UK, are the owner of a plot bought from one of the companies which has been closed by the FSA or is being investigated currently and you can demonstrate that you paid a deposit on your plot by a credit card issued by a UK bank, please leave a comment below including a working email address.

We'll try to put you in touch with someone who will be able to explore your options for you.

As more people become aware of the land banking problem the popularity of PropertySCAM continues to grow.

We are interested in hearing from our readers and, in addition to the email link you can see near the bottom left of every page, have enabled reader comments on this PropertySCAM article for the first time.

While email to us is private, any comments you post here will be published instantly and will be visible to every other reader. You can contribute just by clicking the "Comments" link.

Now it's over to you.

• What sort of features would you like to see on PropertySCAM?
• Do you have a land banking story to tell?
• Are you a plot owner, or thinking of becoming one?
• Do you live next to a land banker's plot site?

Do please note that we reserve the right to edit or delete comments that do not contribute positively to the debate on how to stop land banking.

Please note that this is a continuation of the lengthy discussion started in an earlier post with a similar title. New visitors may wish to acquaint themselves with the contents of that post before contributing comments here.

Since the FSA started to act against some land banking companies it suspected of operating unauthorised collective investments, many other land banking companies have publicly stated that they do not operate collective investments.

If this is so, what are they actually selling and where does this leave the investor?

As more people become aware of the land banking problem the popularity of PropertySCAM continues to grow.

We are interested in hearing from our readers and, in addition to the email link you can see near the bottom left of every page, have enabled reader comments on this PropertySCAM article for the first time.

While email to us is private, any comments you post here will be published instantly and will be visible to every other reader. You can contribute just by clicking the "Comments" link.

Now it's over to you.

• What sort of features would you like to see on PropertySCAM?
• Do you have a land banking story to tell?
• Are you a plot owner, or thinking of becoming one?
• Do you live next to a land banker's plot site?

Do please note that we reserve the right to edit or delete comments that do not contribute positively to the debate on how to stop land banking.

A reader, Mr D of Leamington Spa who asks for his identity to be withheld, writes to us:

"I have paid the reservation fee for a plot of land just outside Cambridge. The price of a plot is £11,500. It is 4305 sq ft. The reservation fee is £1050. The land was advertised on a radio station called Punjab Radio.

"I will be getting my desposit back. I'll be cancelling my reservation on the basis that the company hasn't been round for long and that I don't see why a bigger company hasn't bought this plot. Please do not disclose my name. I feel quite cheated. I'm really glad I visited your site.

"Thanks."