The Land Bank Scam
I first came across these land investment scams about three years ago, when my late son built a web site for a company that was selling small strips of land with the promise of future planning permission. They were targeting mainly Asian families and were pulling in a lot of punters.
I told him to stay clear of this type of company and on telling a respected estate agent, he said it was a big problem and no-one seemed to be doing anything about it.
So why has it taken so long to reach the headlines? I suppose NuLabor had other priorities, like clinging to power.
Even now, type “land banking” into Google and there are quite a few sites out there trying to sell you bits of worthless land. But now, there are also lots of warnings from respected financial commentators like the Guardian and agencies like the FSA. Read the latter items and ignore the sales pitches.
Needless to say, but my son was never paid for his work.
The Anonymous Widower 
There are a lot of such scams, I am part Scots, and often there are schemes for buying a small bit of Scotland, so we can claim to be a Laird, the land is worthless, too small to do anything with, and with no right of way across other plots. YOu can also apparently buy a title to make you a Lord of the Manor in UK! And stupid people fall for it.
I am sorry to hear your son was never paid, but it doesnt surprise me. Many of the Asian clients will have not understood what they were buying, and it is made more complex because of the very complicated (to Westerners) laws on financial systems, debts etc which apply to Muslims.
Comment by liz | March 5, 2011 |