Mmm - not good.

Sorry to hear this Petrat.

I am horrified though not surprised that this matter has not yet been resolved...I fear that you may have to let this one go...that is unless you decide to take the direct action approach and send some door steppers to see this man...

I am afraid to say that this is not uncommon nowadays, people have no compunction in taking monies under false pretences and doing a runner...

I wish you both luck and any other poor soul who has been caught out by this person..

Kindest regards

Andrew

I'm penning a 7 day letter today. Fortunately one of my pupils is a legal exec, and has suggested that I also ask for the delta between the original flights and the ones we were able to re-ticket.

Although I don't quite have his current address, I have found out that writing such a letter to the address I sent the money to is acceptable in law.

I hate to come down this heavy, but if needs must...


Thanks for the support everyone.

Jo

You could easily find out his current address as he is listed on MusicTeachers.co.uk. The site gives his phone number so anyone can phone him as a 'prospective student'. Presumably he would need to give a potential new student his address so they could actally meet him/have a lesson with him.

The site also gives a postcode so you can also easily find out which street he lives or works in.

Sorry to hear you are still having problems.

The thing is, if he has no money, then husbands or not there is no way to get paid. If the legal system can't put it right, then visiting in person and trying intimidation won't help and will just give him grounds for counter attack where the legal system is concerned.

This is a really rotten situation and he would do well to explain honestly what happened and then try to make amends - even if that means saying "I messed up. I'm sorry. I can't pay you now, but I can pay you X per month over X months" - at least that way it will be resolved.

Were cheques made payable to him personally or to a company? If to him, then the law will enable liquidation of his goods if necessary to reimburse people, if to a company, it will depend on whether that company is limited or not and whether deliberate fraudulent activity took place on the part of the directors. If the payments were to a company, you may just have to say goodbye to them unless you're prepared to go into a great deal of legal mess to prove he was deliberately trying to defraud you.

I'm so sorry for both of you and hope that Andrew does the decent thing and tries to reach an agreement with you both.

Allan

He's made contact. I've now been able to send the PM I wanted to, and I have also emailed him the same details. Both amount to a 14 day letter, which gives Andrew 14 days in which to respond. As I have said this is most unforunate. I hope that Andrew responds promptly and gives no further hassle. I do not want to do anything that will prejudice matters.

Petra and I have done a reasonable job of tracking him down. Hounding is going to do no good.

Jo

Boy, am I glad I decided not to go on this jaunt! Sorry to hear about the mess, jod and petrat; hope it's resolved soon.

Come on ajm3212, do the decent thing and let either refund jod and petrat, or at least let us know what's happening. We know that you were online at 8.50 this morning (your profile says so), so you can't have missed any of the PMs you've been sent, or this thread.


Or indulge in a little public humiliation - consumer rights column in the national press, or Watchdog, anyone?

Things are looking up folks. I have received a cheque for the full amount a few minutes ago. If you are reading and if all is in order ,Thank You Andrew.

Thats very good news, well done...and well done to Andrew for sorting this out...

Brilliant...well done for your persistence. Good for Andrew too.....

How about Jo....??

I'm awaiting an email or PM response.

My situation isn't quite as simple. Petra was able to claim her flight back on insurance. Due to the reasons Andrew gave I have not. To mitigate our losses we have reticketed. One of my pupils is a legal exec and she has suggested that, due to the notice period, that asking for the difference between the original flights and what we would have paid if we were not reticketing is entirely reasonable. So that is precisly what I've asked for.

Obvioulsy If I were in Andrew's position I would want to consult someone before replying. I've given him 14 days.

Given my mother was going to fund my part of things as a birthday present, I obviously want to see all my birthday money back. She would be less than happy to know that due to someone cancelling an event at less than three months notice, he has pocketed money she intended for me.

A bit of progress, then? I hope the cheque clears.

Ann, wearing cynical hat.

One thing's seems likely - he's not in a good position to attract any more business of any kind from any of us here, is he?

Better late than never but glad to hear it.


Ain't that the truth!

This is quite an old post but if anyone knows how to contact the good gentleman please could they suggest that he sorts out the deposit payment to Jod. I had mine returned after a lot of detective work but he has yet to return hers.

rather charitable to refer to him as a "good gentleman", methinks...

Well, it the season of good will and they probably won't be too happy if I write down my real feelings on the matter. Andrew, if you happen to read this perhaps you can sort out Jo's money asap.

I guess he might look in on here anonymously, but certainly hasn't logged in since October. It's quite interesting to google for him and see what else he's up to, business-wise.

It was good of Petra to post this.

With out trying to perjure myself, the stress of the Spanish trip being cancelled may well have been the thing that tipped me over the edge in October. So what that I was ill at the time when it was meant to happen. These varient Migraines normally happen when my stress levels reach overload. Who know's what would have happened if the event had not been cancelled and I was left in a position chasing compensation and facing imminant bulding works.

All I want is my money back. Is that too much to ask. I would file a claim on money claim on line, and probably will when I'm well enough to deal with it. As since October I've had the Variant Migraine to deal with followed by a major Fibromyalgia flare which is now complicated by a cold.

I hope you get your ££ back, jod.



chin up, at least it isn't acute nasopharyngitis!