You need to be logged in to your Sky Poker account above to post discussions and comments.
You might need to refresh your page afterwards.
You need to be logged in to your Sky Poker account above to post discussions and comments.
You might need to refresh your page afterwards.
Comments
Reverend Mike Hall was working in north Wales when neighbours called him to explain they saw someone inside his £131,000 home in Luton, Bedfordshire.
He frantically drove back the following morning to investigate his mystery guests - but discovered the locks had been changed and a builder was cracking on with renovations inside.
The property had been gutted of his worldly possessions and "completely stripped" of all the furnishings - including the carpet and the curtains.
Mike complained to the Police who confirmed a man has been arrested on suspicion of fraud by false representation.
Detective Inspector James Day said: "I can only imagine the anxiety and stress the victim has had to endure in this unusual and sophisticated case.
"My team of specialist officers is determined to get justice for him, as well as other victims of heartless fraudsters here in Bedfordshire.
"Our new team marks a step-change in how we respond to fraud cases in the county and we are determined to bring any offenders to justice."
Mike told the BBC: "I went to the front door, tried my key in the front door, it didn't work and a man opened the front door to me.
"I pushed him [the builder] to one side and got in the property. I really didn't know what he was doing there."
It is unclear how long the clergyman had been away from the property.
After Mike informed the workman he lived in the property, he called the police to explain his troublesome return to the terraced home.
The builder then left, but returned some time later with the new owner's father - who revealed he had purchased the house in July.
He told Mike: "It is now my property. You are now trespassing. Get out."
Mike explained he had attempted to access the Land Registry documentation online, where he saw the new owner's name was listed as of August 4 - meaning they legally own the house.
He said: "At that point the police said, ‘Well, there’s nothing further we can do here. This is a civil matter; you need to leave the house and contact your solicitors'."
Despite owning the home for 30 years, Mike was initially told by police after the incident in August it was a civil matter and that he had not been a victim of fraud.
"I was shocked - having seen the house in the state it was, I was in a bit of a state of shock anyway - but then to be told by the police they didn't believe a criminal offence had been committed here was just unbelievable," he said.
The solicitors involved in the bizarre property sale, who have not been named, said it was inappropriate to comment further amid the police investigation.
The firm said: "We will continue to co-operate with the police, and comply with our professional obligations."
Oh my, what an incredible tale.
My own experience is that even if you have had the same solicitor for 30 years you still need to go through the identity process before any property sale or purchase.
I know that there are no Deeds anymore but surely Land Registration cannot be compromised?
A serious bit of fraud &/or misrepresentation has gone off here.
Should be fairly easy to resolve though? The genuine homeowner never sold his home, and the new buyer has purchased stolen property via a middle-man. It's unfortunate for him too, (the new "owner") he'll be the eventual loser I assume?
Angus Penfound was only alerted to the fraudulent sale when Southampton City Council officials contacted him about an unpaid council tax bill.
The 27-year-old queried the bill with his estate agent - who ultimately found out his tenant had moved out and someone else was now living in the three-bedroom terraced property.
Shocked Angus turned to his solicitor for help and it was discovered the house was now registered under a different name.
Angus said: “It was really confusing as to how someone would be able to pull this off, they must have just exploited lots of different loopholes from lots of different organisations.”
'It's the unfairness of it'
He appealed to the Land Registry but it ruled the new occupiers could remain and is now offering compensation.
Angus's father Neil Penfound, 60, said the situation is frustrating.
He said: “It’s the unfairness of it, that he has lost his house and now he’s trying to get his house back and they turn around to say that actually someone else is more entitled to it.
Strange goings on.
Neighbours of Angus's home told the Echo the situation was 'weird'.
One, who did not want to be named, said: "When the 'to let' sign came off we were quite excited that some new neighbours were going to move in.
"With time we saw that no one had moved into and that post was accumulating and that nobody was picking up but that some lights were on and that was quite strange."
Another resident said: "It just seems so weird that this would happen... it's just unfortunate for the previous owner and the new owner."
'It is shocking'
Southampton North and Romsey MP Caroline Nokes has taken on the case for Angus.
She said: “It strikes me it is very unfair that there is no prospect of Angus getting his house back, that it takes months for the compensation to be agreed, and that so few checks exist to protect people like Angus who find themselves the victims of fraud.
“Angus had not only invested his money, but his time and energy into renovating his home and it is shocking that this sort of crime can be perpetrated so readily.”
Response from HM Land Registry.
HM Land Registry said it can restore ownership to the original buyer in cases of fraudulent sales.
But it added if an innocent purchaser is already in the property - and the victim was not living there - then it will allow the new buyer to stay.
Angus, from Cornwall, has not yet received any compensation.
In 2019, the Daily Mail reported that Angela Ellis-Jones had lost her four-bed house in South London to a fraudster. She had returned from a three week holiday away to find her letterbox taped up and a metal post box fixed to her door.
Despite registering concern with the police, the officers did nothing - and three weeks later, she received a letter from the Land Registry, stating that her property now belonged to someone else.
Like Mike, Angela was a victim of property title fraud, but both scenarios were enabled through different means. In Mike’s case, a duplicate driving licence and bank account were set up in his name to sell the property. In Angela’s, a solicitor verified a person as her when they applied to transfer the property.
https://www.getagent.co.uk/blog/properties/house-sold-without-owner-knowing