I too have been totally ripped off by the horrendous company - MRI. I paid €11350.00 to furnish two studio apartments in Aspen Valley in Bulgaria. After the title deeds were given to me (a year later than promised) I was sent an e-mail demanding an extra 20% for VAT.
The money I paid, was invoiced by and paid to a company calling themselves ‘Global Home Services’ which is a division of MRI Overseas Property, in fact the sales person, Steven McCann introduced himself as a member of the MRI Completions planning department.
According to art.67, paragraph 2 from the Bulgarian VAT law, when at the moment of agreeing the sale and delivery it is not expressly said that the tax is due separately, it is assumed that it is included in the agreed price. Once the company has charged for goods, unless it has expressly agreed with the client to charge VAT at a later date then under Bulgarian law the price paid is assumed to include VAT. It is also the responsibility of the company to pay the VAT to the state. There is no legal basis for MRI’s requirement that additional VAT be paid before they will deliver the furniture pack. This is nothing more than attempted extortion. In this situation the law expressly states that the supplier cannot make delivery conditional on the payment of additional VAT because VAT has ALREADY BEEN PAID.
The above is Bulgarian law but all European Union countries (including Spain and Ireland) have similar laws. MRI furniture sent me two e-mails demanding this extra money (which they incorrectly / illegally refer to as VAT).
The bank account details they gave in the two separate e-mails are different, the first demanding money paid to a Spanish bank account and the second e-mail demanded the money to be paid to a Irish bank account! Also they do not give any physical contact details and state that only e-mails can be used to contact them. However they have never responded to any of my e-mails. The telephone numbers given on my invoices and receipts for the furniture do not work.
I for one am getting my documents togther to sue. Anyone else going this way?
