Just to relate my experience of losing approx £5,000 (euro 7,000) after using Homes Dubai, a Manchester-based property agent and the currency broker, HIFX.

In January, I reserved a £30k studio apartment in the Al Salam City development close to Dubai in the UAE. The salesperson had me fill-out a reservation form and promised the actual purchase agreement from the developer would be issued within 30 working days. I immediately paid a non-refundable deposit and the first installment payment.

The first installment payment was in Dirhams and had to be sent to an account in Dubai, so the salesperson repeatedly recommended that I use the services of HIFX, a currency broker, even providing a reference number to quote. On that advice, I called HIFX to arrange the first installment payment. Although I repeatedly told their dealer that I had not received the formal purchase agreement containing the exact amounts and dates of payments, he still offered to enter me into a legal contract to purchase, in advance, the entire estimated total purchase price in AED using estimated installment payment dates. Trusting his judgement, I foolishly agreed. As well as the initial installment, I was then obliged to transfer a large deposit for future payments.

Later the same day, I informed the dealer again by e-mail that I had not received the sales contract from the seller so the amounts and dates would need to be modified sometime in the future. He promptly called me to say that he was "very concerned" to hear that. However, a short time later he again called, stating that he had spoken with his superior and that it would all be arranged "in my favour" (direct quote).

Now the bad part. By August I had still not received the sales contract from Homes Dubai. It was difficult to get any information from them, I was told that the salesperon I had dealt with had left. I was reluctant to send any more money to an account in Dubai without any contract, so I wrote to cancel my reservation and request a refund. Their MD refused any refund.

Simultaneously, I attempted to contact the dealer in HIFX to cancel that contract but he too was now working elsewhere. His replacement informed me that I had legally committed to buy the entire estimated purchase price in AED and to close the contract, the AED would need to be sold back to HIFX - with a loss of several thousand euro on my part given the intervening fall in the value of the US dollar (to which I learned the AED is linked).

I complained to HIFX on the basis that the dealer should not have offered me the initial deal, having being repeatedly informed that I was neither in possession of a sales contract, actual purchase price nor actual payment dates. Secondly, a loss could not reasonably be interpreted as an arrangement "in my favour". Thirdly, the dealer had again contacted me in June 2007 yet still failed to warn me of the mounting losses; even at that stage the losses could have been limited. Finally, HIFX have informed me that Homes Dubai are one of "their agents", a clear conflict of interest which Homes Dubai did not reveal to me.

In October, HIFX made a "final" offer to withhold my initial deposit and bear the additional loss, threatening further action if I did not agree within 24 hours. Desperate to limit my losses and fearful of their actions, I was compelled to accept their offer under protest. The loss borne by HIFX amounts to a paltry 100 euro...

As well as refusing a refund, Homes Dubai deny all liability regarding the currency loss and their advice to use HIFX's financial services.

So I now face a combined loss of approximately £5,000 or euro 7,500.

Please learn from my experience!

Hi Alan,

and all guys reading this thread.

It is only vital to educate yourself before you buy anything.

I am not promoting anything here only pointing at the fact that it is good to read educate and get recommendation rather than ignoring every help coming on this forums for free.

Good luck with everything

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Have you reported this to the press or the complaints commission? Keep everything you have in writing.

Thanks Gurus.

I have everything I mentioned in writing because I currently live outside the UK and corresponded mostly by email. Yes, I have recently written to the UK press and main property magazines and I'm awaiting a reply. Unfortunately, currency brokers aren't regulated by the FSA...

was having trouble with the internet connection at the time

anyway good luck grathal and thanks for sharing your experience. Hope you're next adventure is more fruitful.

GRATHAL Sorry to here about your mis fortune, interesting post and well written, it does draw attention yet again to how people are willing to invest in property here in The UAE with out seeking legal Advice or involving a lawyer who specializes in UAE Property.

Aren’t HIFX affiliated to a certain property company (we can’t mention) who have a couple of (naughty) postings on YouTube?

I use Moneycorp, and have had no problems whatsoever with them.

Dear Grathal,

I understand your problem. I also work for a developer in Dubai and I have been working with them for almost 2 years. I changed few of the for different reasons, and one of them is that they don't give the contracts to the clients in time, which means that the clients can pay even the third payment and the contract is not ready. One of the reason is that they don't have enough staff and also they have many projects comming up and they don't have enough time for all of them. On the other hand regarding the money transfer, there is a group all over the world which is working also with companies from Dubai for the money transfer, so the work as a bank and the transfer fees are cheaper than any other bank. You only have to give me your details like name and e-mail address and I will recomand you to them and they will take care of you. In case that you like how they work you can transfer through them in the future. Keep in touch.

Hi friend,

Sad to read about your loss, I think you should file a case against developers of Al salam city legally in dubai about your losses . I understand that the problem was from al salam since you did not get your sales contract.or was it from Homes dubai ? if it is from homes dubai , you can consult a legal advisor and sue them in court , either in dubai or in UK.

As we move through the market we are finding more and more agents claiming to have direct access to the developer. As the markets in areas such as the UK and of course the USA harden the impact on sub-agents and sub-sub-agents will be that the market for international property advisers will explode.

If the middle man won't let you speak or have direct access to the developer a flag should go up - its called buyer beware.

As we network and teach our clients perhaps those who also have an open access policy should teach their own clients that completing forms with third parties is fraught with danger. There are only two people in the contract when buying off-plan that matter the seller and the buyer. It is not like buying privately from an Estate Agent, who in fact has little legal power anyway. It is the Solicitor.

Just tread slowly and carefully.

Paul

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