Today’s article is a warning to readers about a new “Law Firm” contacting UK owners of Palm Oasis in Gran Canaria. One of our readers contacted us after being contacted and receiving a letter from Martin Zabala Abogados Asesoria, based in Madrid.
The address given is Calle Velazquez 15 -1, Escalera Derecha, 2008, Madrid, telephone number 0034 911 01 34 24, also using the same number for the Fax. They give two email addresses on the letter: info@mzabogados.com & mzabogados@email.com
We have found an entry for this company in company records, registered on 20 July 2016, with the CIF number B87615928.
One problem we have found is in the email addresses, the info@mzabogados.com actually belongs to a genuine law firm based in Barcelona called Martinez-Zurita Abogados Asociados.
The address on company records is: VIA AUGUSTA, Nº 246, 5 08021,Barcelona, with the CIF: E64299092, they have a website:
The law firm was founded in 2000 and shows all the lawyers and partners on the Team section, having checked on the Centro General de Letrados, which is the official register of all lawyers in Spain, all the names are members of the Barcelona Bar Association, so this is a genuine law firm. They have also been informed of the use of their email address.
So what makes this outfit in Madrid so suspicious?
Firstly the letter is signed by Jasmine Phillips, Lawyer at Martin Zabala Abogados, but no trace of her can be found in the official lawyers register.
Secondly it is the nature of the letter sent to Palm Oasis owners, the second paragraph reads:
“The court of Las Palmas has approved our office to aid all agreement holders residing in the United Kingdom. As Mediators, we are advising all members of the holiday resort of the ruling in their favor and to handle all outstanding claims of the injured parties.”
So they have been “approved” by the court in Las Palmas have they?
Well we know that the courts do not farm out these cases to outside companies or approve such companies to act on the courts behalf. We then have the fourth paragraph where they state that:
“Due to the material misrepresentation, aggressive selling methods, failure to revoke the right of withdrawal and in some cases, no right of revocation, all contracts concluded between 1994 and 2009 have been null and void.”
Not quite accurate, the laws which are being used by genuine law firms to claim and have contracts declared null and void, did not come into force until 5 January 1999 and are known as Ley 42/98.
Although they do say they will make no charge for their services as these are paid by the defendant, you the client are not exempt from court fees, these have to be paid directly to the court and not their company, also they will not exceed 12% of the settlement amount. All very strange indeed. What is the betting the amount will have to be sent by bank transfer to a fictitious court address?
Another fact from the letter is regarding the owners documents, they want them sent by fax or email clearly marked as copies, so they can ensure swift processing of applications.
Not the usual procedure to take a case to court, which requires original documents which then have to be translated into Spanish, a Power of Attorney needs to be signed, the case then has to be prepared on an individual basis by a lawyer (no class actions in Spain), the case is then filed by a Procurator at the court. We then have to wait for a pretrial judge to review the case and if eligible sending it for a full trial hearing. None of this is a quick process.
No doubt the main sting will come later in the process, which if like other cases we have highlighted will entail the owners receiving a letter to say their case has been won and many thousands of pounds have been awarded. Unfortunately, before the court will release this money a “TAX” will have to be paid, again probably by bank transfer to another company dealing with the “TAX” or the same fake court address. That will be the last you hear from them and yes your money has gone!
Inside Timeshare reminds all our readers and those coming across our pages looking for information, beware contacts from companies, law firms etc with these wonderful promises, check and check again. If you are unsure on how to do this contact Inside Timeshare and we will help, remember doing your homework before taking on the offers or paying any money will save you in the long run.
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