Compass Commercial Finance James Austin and Fin Cooper Compass takes fees for finance that never existed Bournemouth Internet

We have just received the news that James Austin, far from being the 'innocent party' he claimed to be. has now filed for bankruptcy in order to avoid the debts he has incurred to othe people he ripped off.

Following is the text of the notice received from the Official Receiver's Office on 20th January 2015.

IN THE COUNTY COURT AT BOURNEMOUTH AND                                                                                            0397 of 2014
POOLE

THE INSOLVENCY ACT 1986

RE: James Edward Austin on medical leave, of 171 Seabourne Road,
Bournemouth, Dorset, BH5 2HH lately carrying on business as commercial
finance broker at 171 Seabourne Road, Bournemouth, Dorset BH5 2HH under
the style Compass Commercial Finance
IN BANKRUPTCY

A bankruptcy order was made on 10 December 2014.

Notice of No Meeting of Creditors

I have decided under section 293 of the Insolvency Act 1986, not to summon a
meeting of creditors.

Requisitioning a Meeting of Creditors

One quarter in value of creditors may require me to call a meeting of creditors to
appoint an alternative trustee.

A BIS SERVICE

Details on how to requisition a meeting are available from our website
www.bis.gov.uklinsolvency or the Insolvency Enquiry Line on 0845 602 9848.

Proof of Debt (Formal Claim Form)

As I have decided not to summon a meeting of creditors, I am not enclosing a proof
of debt with this notice. Should you wish to lodge a formal claim and require a proof of
debt form, it is available on our website or from this office. Proofs of debt received will
not be acknowledged.

Yours sincerely

G Rogers
Official Receiver

Reference: BKT4366989                                                                                                                                                        RTC
THE INSOLVENCY ACT 1986

IN THE COUNTY COURT AT BOURNEMOUTH AND                                                                    0397 of 2014
POOLE

IN BANKRUPTCY

RE: James Edward Austin on medical leave, of 171 Seabourne Road, Bournemouth,
Dorset, BHS 2HH lately carrying on business as commercial finance broker at
171 Seabourne Road, Bournemouth, Dorset BHS 2HH under the style Compass
Commercial Finance

Date of Birth: (((redacted))) 1970

The bankruptcy order was made on 10 December 2014, on the petition of the debtor.

This is my report to creditors under Rule 6. 73 of the Insolvency Rules 1986.

Information relating to the assets and liabilities of which I am aware follows. A breakdown of
the liabilities by creditor type is attached.

ASSET TYPE                                               NUMBER                                              ESTIMATED
                                                              OF ASSETS                                      REALISABLE VALUE

Cash - Building Society/Bank                          1                                                                 £0.00
Fixtures and Fittings                                      1                                                                 £0.00
Leasehold Property                                       1                                                                 £0.00

TOTAL ASSETS                                                             3                                                                                       £0.00
TOTAL LIABILITIES                                                                                                                               £231,002.44
ESTIMATED DEFICIENCY                                                                                                                     £231,002.44

The cash at bank in the amount of £5 was released to the bankrupt for immediate living
expenses.

An Income Payments Agreement/Order is not considered appropriate given the bankrupt's
current circumstances although this matter will be subject to review.

At the date the bankruptcy order was made, the bankrupt was living in rented
accommodation.

On the basis of the above information there appears to be no prospect of a distribution to
creditors.

The bankrupt states that:

-.. In 2007 he set up on his own as a commercial finance broker. He also refinanced a
property so that he and his ex partner could buy a further property to refurbish and.sell
on for profit;
-.. Initially the business did well and the refurbished property was completed and put on
the market. However problems in the economy led to a crash in his business profits and
the sale of the refurbished property fell through. Due to his reduced income he could
not maintain the property repayments and both properties were repossessed leaving
shortfalls which make up the bulk of his debt;
·-.. Over the next few years he tried to rebuild the business but had problems with some
bad debts and also some disputes over business deals and he was unable to achieve
his previous level of profitability. He sold his car to finance the business but struggled to
meet all his commitments and incurred some debt. Then in June 2014 he unexpectedly
became seriously ill and had to stop work and close his business down;
-.. He has no date when he will be able to return to work and is currently dependent on
benefits. As he can see no way of repaying his debts he took advice on his situation
following which he decided to petition for bankruptcy.

The bankrupt attributes his insolvency to:

A severe and unexpected illness which has. left him unable to work.

As a result of the issue of the notice of no meeting attached, I am trustee of the bankruptcy
estate.

As no meeting is to be held and there is no apparent prospect of a distribution of funds,
creditors will not be asked to submit a proof of debt form as a matter of course. Should you
need to formalise your claim by lodging a proof of debt, you can find one on the Insolvency
Service website at www.bis.gov.uk/lnsolvency/about·us/forms/england-and-wales
(select form 6.37). Alternatively you can request one from our office.

Enquiries concerning this bankruptcy should be addressed to R Whitewood, at the address
below; telephone number 023 8083 1615. When telephoning or writing, please quote the full
name of the case.

I will be pleased to receive from creditors useful information concerning the bankrupt's
dealings or property, together with particulars of any written or oral statement made by
the bankrupt concerning their financial position, and to consider suggestions for further
explanation or enquiry.

Further information about insolvency procedures is available at www.bis.gov.uk/
Insolvency

Possible breaches of the insolvency legislation may be reported directly to me or by using
The Insolvency Service's 24 hour hotline on 0300 678 0017.

Date 20 January 2015

G Rogers
Official Receiver
Southampton
Spring Place
105 Commercial Road
SOUTHAMPTON
S015 1EG

This is in response to a repudiation Mr Austin has made.

Unfortunately I have two, near simultaneous, examples of Mr Austin's nefarious conduct

Mr Austin took money from one of my clients on the pretext that he was going to instruct a survey of a commercial development site and place the business with a mainstream lender.  The mainstream lender he named was one that had told me that the project was outside of their lending criteria.  Despite my relaying this information to Mr Austin, he insisted that he had a local agreement that would allow the case to proceed.

After 5 months of delays and a failure to answer telephone calls and emails, my client withdrew his application and requested a refund as no survey had ever taken place.

Mr Austin refused and so my client decided to pursue Mr Austin for repayment of his fees through the courts. 

My second client was seeking to release money on a property he owns so he could buy a derelict property, renovate and let it.  We needed a specialist lender because the client did not have the normal documentary evidence of income such as would satisfy a high street lender.  In addition, he needed the loan on interest-only terms for the first 2 years.

Again, the case dragged on for many months and, eventually, Compass sent a 'valuer' to the site.  We are unable to establish the credentials of the 'valuer' and, despite Mr Austin's promises of a low interest-rate, interest only loan, the offer finally procured was at a higher rate and on capital repayment terms.  Mr Austin then demanded a full payment of his fee.

Not unnaturally, my client was unhappy with the proposed deal as it would not leave him with funds for the renovation.  When he called Mr Austin to complain, that 'gentleman' used foul language and threatened to bankrupt my client.  I attempted to intervene and get the matter on a business level but Mr Austin was incandescent, unprofessional and determined.  I explained to him that as he had failed to deliver, he could not charge my client but these facts did not persuade him.

Mr Austin is a disgrace and his business, Compass Commercial Finance should be avoided at all costs.

 The client contacted this firm for funding for a development project. Terms for funding were sent from this firm to the client by email dated 11th September containg relevant information FROM THE LENDING INSTITUTION, for which the client had to reply confirming he wished to proceed. The content of this so called complaint is without foundation and we will not sullied by a client who feels it his perogative to contact our lenders directly in order not pay this firm for a facility he is unable to provide, bearing in mind he is failed broker himself.

 A week later the principal and the firm have received several emails from this client, containing foul language and defaming thhe firm and its staff. We have terms available and have tried on numerous occassions to discuss the matter, for which we receive nothing but abusive and foul language.

Unless this is removed by the client we will have to take further legal action for defamation of charactor. We take these reports very seriously and fortunately there is 2 sides to every story for which in all instances we will be delighted to pass to any interested party.

Here is a copy of the email sent to client expaining the facility initally should this client wanted to proceed.

Morning James

Apologies for the delay in responding. Following on from our discussions yesterday, I can confimr this deal is of interest to us in principle. I understand the intial land value is circa £50k and the end value of the scheme is £310k, with build costs being £190k. We would look to lend a maximum of £160k,I would like to know whether any works are needed on the wall that adjoins the site as it looks from the photo as if there needs to be some excavtions here? our indicative terms would be as follows.

Term 9m

Loan £160,000

Set Up fee: 2% (1% on acceptance of the offer and 1% of Drawdown)

Exit Fee 2 months interest.

Valuation fee  we obtain a quote for this on a commercial basis rather than use 3 times trhe scale fee as it will be chepaer TBA

In short this is a feeble attempt to try to cut this firm from its legally contracted fee by an unscrupilous client, I would recommend any broker reading thsi to steer well clear of this client.

James Austin