The £7 million (?) (US$12m) swindle, engineered

(1) "Dear Noëlle, If you ever want any help let me know -- I once owned a leasehold flat in a block owned by a company registered abroad and had a few of the same problems you have had"

Martin, United Kingdom

(NB: See Portner / Portner and Jaskel LLP point # 14 for subsequent events with this visitor to my website; also covered under points 37 and 38 of my 3 June 2008 (74pg) Witness Statement)

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(2) "Ce site démontre à lui seul que Noëlle et toutes les victimes du leasehold sont dans leur bon droit.

L'État Britannique, dont le Droit est si respecté dans le monde, doit faire cesser au plus vite l'abus de position dominante auquel se livrent les landlords de sa Gracieuse Majesté.

Isn't "Dieu et mon Droit" a British motto?

Dieu merci nous sommes préservés de ces dérives en France.

Tenez bon Noëlle, nous sommes à vos côtés"

Thierry, France

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(3) "Where do you find words to portray what one thinks of this situation?

I would say this is so hard to believe one woman has had to fight her way through the system to get no redress or help, from the system that is in place to "protect us". (I use this term loosely and with some irony) It is the same system that this woman has to battle against, and what a battle. You couldn't even script it for a movie...

I personally feel a lot of admiration, and hope her battle is seen through to the end and justice is done. It is a sad day when one has to justify why one has to fight for his/ her right not to have people steal from them and made to feel like they are the villain for doing so.

Please keep us appraised of the situation"

G, United Kingdom

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(4) "Once is accident, twice is coincidence, three times and it is enemy action" - Anon.

The litany of incompetence, arrogance, carelessness and obfuscation not to mention menace and threat outlined here goes beyond enemy action and shows something is very, very wrong with the system of vested interests we have here.

The lack of any challenges by the named (and shamed?) parties proves the truth of your statements.

If after reading this site, any reader thinks we should just abolish leasehold systems because they are open to abuse and they are a form of economic rent that keep perpetuating wealth in a few families or companies without adding any value whatsoever to the economy in general; do what I did. Go to http://petitions.pm.gov.uk (*) put the search term "abolish leaseholds" and petition the government to end this practice.

Noëlle, I wish you success in your endeavours to obtain redress. Good luck".

(*) Closed in March 2008. See Comment # 10, below.

Ashwin, United Kingdom

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(5) "Sorry to read about your problems and I hope you have a conclusion to your satisfaction. I am a Brit living in the USA and I am having problems with a surveyor in regards to a home I was hoping to buy in Scotland. I paid for a survey but received just a minor report with less information than the sellers advertisement. I hope to take my complaint to the RICS.

Good luck"

Mark, United States of America

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(6) "I admire your marvelous courage and undimmed fortitude in fighting the turbid, unyielding bureaucracy and the viciously archaic English leasehold tenure laws.

Your website is an especial inspiration to me and many others in this town which is notorious for its corrupt managing agents and avaricious freeholders.

As a journalist, currently writing a book about corruption in the South coast property market, I have been researching the shady dealings in [property]. Ironically the freehold in this block belongs to the leaseholders but a small clique of leaseholders - [] - have entrenched themselves as permanent directors of the [property] residents association and effectively run the building through their agent [] of [] Property Management [].

Their technique is to arrange for [] to drive up service charges to sky high levels so that existing leaseholders are obliged to sell their flats because they can no longer afford to live in the block. Anyone who can't or won't pay the service charges is threatened with court proceedings and forfeiture of the lease.

The [] already own [] flats in the building but their recent attempt to buy [another] from a lady who could no longer afford the service charges was rebuffed on principle. The [] is also a director of [], a company whose stated aim is to buy property in [property].

You are not alone.

Good luck and God be with you"

Mr B, Hastings, United Kingdom

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(7) "Hello,

Congratulations on your magnificent website.

Thanks for sharing this priceless information and for your courage and tenacity"

Simon, United Kingdom (?)

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(8) "I have met some really inspirational people through CARL (*) and it does help knowing we are not the only people going through Leasehold Hell. Your incredible story on the Internet mirrored my own experience and proved the system works against all Leaseholders - I had begun to think I was doing something wrong!"

Sarah, United Kingdom

(*) C.A.R.L. (Campaign for the Abolition of Residential Leasehold) http://www.carl.org.uk

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(9) "I think you're doing an excellent job. Keep it up!"

Michael, United Kingdom

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(10) "I just want to say thank you for this website as it is so relevant to our situation. I was devastated that the petition about abolishing leasehold was rejected by the government (*). It is more convenient to them to turn a blind eye on this situation.

Let’s get together and support CARL in its doing, and organize another petition to government"

Svetlana, United Kingdom

(*) See "The Prime Minister's Office" 5 March 2008 response at http://www.pm.gov.uk/output/Page14896.asp (copy)

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(11) "We have just seen your interesting entry on the web about Martin Russell Jones. As
we have a similar problem with them (enormous demands etc.) and are going to [] We suspected that they are dishonest in the large demands being sent us as well as other signs and would greatly appreciate any advice or information you could give us. They were 'appointed' over our heads by [] which has connections with CKFT - very fishy!"

Subsequent communication: "Thank you so much for [] and all the helpful information. I was really grateful for your website and have drawn other residents' attention to the parallels with what is going on here []"

Further subsequent communication: "Your website has certainly been a blessing here and I really trust you will be able to be free of all the difficulties which have beset you and which you have so bravely fought. Thank you for sharing your experiences to help others like ourselves"

Mrs 'X', London, United Kingdom

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(12) "Martin Russell Jones 'run' [] Court, Kilburn, in a similar fashion"

Mr M, North London, United Kingdom

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(13) "Hi Noëlle, You are not alone. I was harassed, abused and made homeless by [] Management Company, which runs [] London E1.

They have issued packs of fraudulent claims against a number of leaseholders there. Held them to ransom and mounted legal costs of around £500,000 pushing some of the leaseholders into poverty and bankruptcy.

Violence and physical threats against other leaseholders were common.

And freeholder profiteering from insurance premiums which have been hiked by astronomical multiples.

And, on top of everything, there is a corporate law firm, [] LLP which keeps taking money from the building trust fund uncontrollably to run more and more claims against the people in the building. They have used up reserve fund on legal fees and are refusing to disclose documents even under instructions from courts or LVT"

Mr M, East London, United Kingdom

Comment from Noëlle - Visitor to the site: are you outraged by these comments? Are you shocked by the fact that this is happening in the year 2008, in the United Kingdom?

David Miliband (Foreign Secretary) was quoted in the Mail on Sunday, 31 August 2008, as saying (in the context of Georgia) "The British people want a government that stands up for what it believes in and speaks out for the victims of aggression or injustice...".

When will New Labour "stand up...and speak out for the victims of aggression or injustice" in the residential leasehold sector - and implement what it claimed to "believe in", in its 1997 pre-election policy document 'An End to Feudalism'?

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(14) "I happened upon your website while trying to check-up on Joan Hathaway from Martin Russell Jones.

I am extremely concerned. This woman is doing exactly the same to leaseholders in a block where I own a flat. Although I am at the end of my tether with their demands for more and more money for service charges, and her complete indifference to whatever letters I have been sending her, I really thought it was sheer incompetence. I had no idea I was dealing with a confidence trickster [].

Mrs L, North London, United Kingdom

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(15) "This firm [Martin Russell Jones] were truly terrible. It did not even bother them in the slightest that most of the residents refused to pay their service charge - they knew they would get it all back by refusing licence to assign the lease when it came to moving.

...Some years ago [MRJ] charged a small fortune for a small amount of internal decoration work which was a rip off...

Another scam that MRJ operate is through the law firm [], Middlesex. I am told that MRJ are linked by family to this firm, though I do not know for sure. When I had to obtain licence to assign my lease, the firm charged £500 plus management charge of £75 plus VAT on each to read the two references that were required. Since they were holding me to ransom, I had no choice but to pay. I could not complain to the Law Society because I was not the client (the landlord was - and the landlord wasn't about to complain because, I am fairly certain, they were getting a cut.

MRJ is a very shabby outfit indeed who simply milk their position for all it is worth and do absolutely nothing for the service charge they levy..."

Mr ''X', London, United Kingdom

(Note from Noëlle: See also LVT case)

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(16) "Hi Noëlle, I have just happened to find myself on your site, through my daily routine of investigating and researching for information, in relation to my case.

I am a Claimant and not a Defendant, but that is just a technical point. What we share in common, is the epiphany of the British Judicial System.

My baptism into this world began in April 2006, and what I have suffered I would not wish on anybody.

It appears that I am a novice in comparison to you, and this, ironically, gives me strength and moral fortitude to continue my struggle.

What I have read, mirrors my experience of the corrupt and fraudulent officers of the court, and institutions set in place, to destroy and crush citizens of this country. I am part of the great unwashed, but I will have Justice - as long as I have breath in my body.

I believe your level of presentation and legal acumen, second to none - and I have had the so called cream of the profession representing me.

I have been hollowed by my nightmare, which has only been 30 months. Still a long time, but pales into comparison to your situation.

My case is ongoing. I have lost everything: my home, my life savings and nearly my sanity, to fraudsters who happen to be solicitors and barristers. So, I have a bit of an uphill struggle.

What I have uncovered beggars belief. You are correct in the assumption that the level of misfeasance and corruption which permeates our courts is deep, and the coercion of the different institutions. I do not want to say too much in this e-mail/letter, I am sure you will understand.

I think the parties concerned must be extremely worried by your tenacity and intelligence.

Thank you for hosting your site, and disclosing your experience to the public. It has been a great boost for me to know that I am not alone in what I have discovered, and others are also fighting this corrupt Judicial system, criminally placed before the people.

I wish you all the best in your future endeavours"

Mr E, London, United Kingdom

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(17) "Dear Noëlle

Reading through your website is almost like reading my life and that of my friend who has helped me since 2002 regarding a Leasehold flat I purchased.

I can only say that I have been a victim of what can only be described as "Organised Criminals" but cannot get recourse. Like you I am told to seek legal advice and the solicitors I have have become compliant with the people involved in the building (part of a larger scam/portfolio).

Local authorities appear to be compliant. I have been through every correct complaint procedure and have been blocked. Most politicians and the legal system appear to be hand-in-hand - their aim to extort maximum amount of money from those who are contributing or have already contributed enough into the system and appear to be protecting those who are not honest. If you complain you are accused of threatening "Them" and if they threaten you, they are protected.

Surely there is something that law-abiding, honest citizens of this country can do together - as there is obviously many people in this situation - although in the early years you think you are alone. Are there any honest local authorities? Are there any honest solicitors, accountants, surveyors left?"

Ms G, London, United Kingdom

(Note from Noëlle: See also a case, reported in the media, involving pensioners, and the 'Letters to the Editor' section in C.A.R.L.'s newsletter 'Autumn 2008-Issue 25' for another case also involving pensioners. Previous editions of the newsletter include others. It particularly sickens me that elderly people are being taken advantage of, are bullied, etc. e.g. see also the Elderly Resident in Jefferson House).

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(18) "Noëlle,

You can be pleased to hear this web site www.leasehold-outrage.com has now been brought to the attention of a very small number of MP's on a recent visit to the House of Commons.

I am only too happy to promote this web site as a Leaseholder who is also experiencing the same in East London. All Residential Leaseholders would be best advised to contact Margaret Beckett, MP, Minister of Planning and Housing, Eland House, Bressenden Place, London SW1 5DU.
Web site http://www.communities.gov.uk/corporate/contact

What an excellent web site! As a Leaseholder we are proud of you"

Mr S, East London, United Kingdom

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(19) "I have only just learned about your website and I am writing because I too was treated with the utmost unfairness by Judges at West London County Court in 1999. [Note from Noëlle: West London County Court is the court where the 2002 and 2007 fraudulent claims were filed against me]

I am very interested to see that you ended up making a complaint against []. This is a firm that robbed me of my London flat and landed me with a legal bill for Ninety Thousand Pounds in a service charge dispute of under Three Thousand Pounds - even though my case was talked about in the House of Commons as a classic case of leasehold abuse by my freeholder.

But, the Judge at West London County Court, was openly biased in favour of the Barrister [] engaged [] [I was] bullied and intimidated into quite literally giving my London flat away to the freeholder whose lawyers were [].

A very appropriate name because that is their philosophy i.e. to bash leaseholders and needlessly ruin their lives. I have been signed off-sick because of the illness it caused me ever since.

The Government should have abolished forfeiture to stop people's lives being ruined by greedy freeholders"

Mrs M, Aberdeen, Scotland, United Kingdom

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(20) "Dear Ms Klosterkotter-Dit-Rawé

"My name is []. I am living at [] Jefferson House and have, for the past [] and a half years, had issues with the management who have been rude, threatening and made it virtually impossible for us to live there.

The other day we found your website and found that you faced similar problems, and I was wondering if [] the appalling management in this building []"

Mrs Y, London, United Kingdom

(Note from Noëlle: Knowing the people we are dealing with (e.g. Other Residents; Head of the (then) Residents Association; Elderly Resident), I anonymise to the maximum comments I receive from people who live in my block)

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(21) "Noëlle,

"I applaud your bravery and tenacity in fighting this. I have written about this feudal system and it's human cost on my blog.

Je suis entièrement d'accord avec les sentiments de Thierry et vous-même que cette situation est une tâche sur la réputation de la Grande Bretagne"

Ms 'Marmite Lover', London, United Kingdom

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(22) "Dear Noëlle,

I am so glad I stumbled across your website after spending [] battling with MRJ (Martin Russell Jones) [].

I admire your persistence since I've spent less time dealing with these people and already my blood pressure and mind are going insane.

I am glad I am not alone since I live in the same block as you, and look forward to any communications we may have in the future".

Mr Z, London, United Kingdom

(Note from Noëlle: as per note for comment # 20)

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(23) "Noëlle

I am sorry to say that your rambling rantings make you come across as a bit of a nutter with a website development kit. I am sure this is not the case and that you are an intelligent woman but frustrated and emotionally upset dealing with complex and sophisticated property matters.

Many of these complexities arise from socialist and expropriatory legislation intended to favour the tenant by legal interference (aka theft) of landlords' property rights purchased in a so-called free market economy.

Why on earth do you show out-of-date equivalent values in USD - what is the point? Why not show equivalent values in Vietnamese Dongs?

You say in one section that tenants conveniently do not bother to understand what a lease is nor do they read their signed lease document!?!

This is, as you say, one of most people's biggest personal financial commitments and yet they DO NOT BOTHER TO READ OR UNDERSTAND THE CONTRACT!? Even in your own country I believe the phrase caveat emptor is well known?

I suppose you believe that it is the "wicked landlord's" fault (and all the other participants in your alleged conspiracy) that a naive tenant, having not read the contract that she/he signs, discovers that she has say, a 70 year lease interest (rather than the freehold) and that she has to contribute to the maintenance of the shared parts and fabric of the building?

Anyway, the legal system is of course there to earn money when disputes arise and, unlike the US, you may wish to consider yourself fortunate that generally at the LVT you only have to pay your own costs rather than those of the winning party. Thus landlords have to pay their own legal fees to defend against often unwarranted claims from tenants who failed to read the contract they signed.

In your own interest you should desist from the litany of defamatory remarks peppered throughout your diatribe. This is very dangerous and if I was one of those people being defamed I would be on to Carter-Ruck quicker than you could say "punitive damages"

Mr Martin, Hayling island, UK

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(24)"I have been down the same route but, now, I can't publish the results. They will never appear anywhere, because the landlord used the fact that costs are not automatically awarded to Leaseholders if they are the applicants and the landlord the respondent, and they pushed up the legal costs to about what I earn 3 years before tax and living expenses. They did this by requesting adjournments and responding with voluminous amounts of documents that were always produced a liitle late, resulting in my having to stay up all night to give my response by the next day.

None of the LVT directions were obeyed precisely by the landlord. They never did produce the documents to back up their pricing schedules. This meant the case was not officially heard but it was dealt with. Because they know leaseholders on average incomes cannot take the risk of continuing...

Now it's over and I have to pay a substantially reduced amount and pay the remaining legal fees over the next two years if possible !!!

The landlord can't say it was just an estimate anymore and demand more from me; that is one small blessing. However they want what I earn "net" in about 4 years, payable within 1 year.

Currently struggling to re-structure my finances and to get a loan/mortgage whatever.

The best I can do is to attempt to warn people about what to expect here at [website]"

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- 'Letters to the Editor' in each of the newsletters on the website Campaign for the Abolition of Residential Leasehold (http://www.carl.org.uk) for other 'horror' leaseholders' experiences.