In October 2004 Shirley Weinberg, a relation by marriage, suggested that my father accompany her on a trip to Marbella to see her son Adrian, who was a representative for a property developer there. My father was recuperating from a triple heart bypass operation and the idea was for him to have a holiday while she took good care of him. She made all the travel arrangements and facilitated matters for him, and her son showed him around several properties when he arrived in Spain, pointing out all the benefits and advantages of owning one.
Adrian Weinberg had a very luxurious property in Marbella and after a few days my father was invited to a sumptuous dinner there and subjected to intense pressure to put down a deposit of 6000 euros on a property by Mr Weinberg. He was reluctant to proceed, but was told that he would lose a great opportunity if he didn't take advantage of it and assured that the money was fully refundable within 10 days if he changed his mind (Mr Weinberg even added this clause to the contract), so he reluctantly went ahead. He also believed that he was protected by his Lloyds TSB debit card.
The deal was dependent on a) the 10-day opt out clause and b) the approval of my father's financial advisor, Peter Talbot. When he got back to England, Mr Talbot strongly advised him against the deal and contacted Adrian Weinberg to request a refund immediately. However, Mr Weinberg played all kinds of cat and mouse games with my father, sending him cheques that bounced, making false promises, and spinning him all kinds of lies and excuses.
My father tried to enlist the help of his bank, Lloyds TSB, but they misdirected him to the wrong department and he ended up missing the 120 day visa deadline to claim his money back.
Adrian Weinberg subsequently admitted that he recovered the deposit my father paid him from the property development company, but kept it for himself instead of returning it. He took advantage of my pensioner father (then 75 years old) while he was in a very fragile state, deviously scheming to profit from him and his mother, who knew he had a reputation as a crook, did nothing to prevent this even though she was supposed to be looking after him and had promised his daughter that she would do this.
Despite getting court judgment against Adrian, all attempts to recover the money from the Weinbergs have proved futile, including heartfelt pleas from my father to Shirley about how desperately he needs the money for his daughter's health condition (MS) and during recession conditions.
Adrian Weinberg is now back in the UK, and both he and his mother are travelling sales reps at shows. BUYER BEWARE if you come across them! STAY WELL AWAY!
