I was told by Jack Ford that for a subcription fee of just under £300GBP I could expect to receive a service where he would send me suitable property lists and be in regular contact with me in order to help in any way possible, all that was needed was for funds to be cleared/received to choices company, unfortunately as soon as they had my money I was either ignored, told that I had just missed out on lots of auctions or to expect a delay due to the approaching holiday period, when by January 2010 I had not received the service that I had payed for I simply asked for my money back, which is when I was told to contact Josie Hartely who deals with refunds, she waisted no time in e-mailing a decline for refund claiming that I had requested an immediate commencement of services (which I had not received) therefore I was not entitled. She further suggested that I take the matter up with my solicitor rather than waist her time on the matter if I was unhappy with the decission, I have kept all e-mails regarding all dealings between my self and Mr ford and his collegue J Hartley if needed and find it shocking that a company like Choices which prides itself on size and professionalism would disregard customer relations and blatently hold on to someones money especially when we take into consideration the amount in question, rather than simply pay them back when they are clearly unhappy with the level of service they have received or not as the case may be. Suffice to say that any attempt to contact a real person since has failed miserably and they need not send me any more automated mail regarding seminares, unsuitable properties and/or subscription fees and renewels!!! PE LEAAA SS!

I have recently purchased a property in the North of East of England which was being sold by a London Auction House. Prior to the property being sold at auction I had an offer accepted at its reserve price. I completed the purchase of this property on the 20th May 2010.
However, since the completing the purchase of this property I have observed that Choices Property Acquisitions and Investments, North of England Office has continued to marketing my property for auction sale even as the property has been bought. I sent two e-mails to their office last week informing them that I was the new owner of the property and politely asked them to stop advertising the property sale as it was misleading. I did not recieve an e-mail reply but a male staff member from their office called me back the next day informing me of the different services that they offer to property investors such as their Auction Information Service. I pointed out to him that I would just like his office to stop advertsing my property for sale at auction as it is has now been bought. I pointed out to him that the advert that are continuing to use is misleading to the public and they are contining to use it on different property websites. I was assured that they would now stop using this advert. However, on the 17th June 2010 as I make this complaint they continue to run the same misleading advertisement of the property for sale at auction. I would like to make a complaint about their conduct and claim maximum compensation or damages againt their firm for continuing to run a misleading advertisement.

Earlier this year I was looking for a property to buy and was contacted by Mr Ross Gardner (Choices Retained Client Advisor) of Choices Property Acquisitions and Investments. I went to a meeting with Ross Gardiner on the 2nd March 2010 and he assured me that his company would be able to assist me to find a 'Below Market Value' property that would not only be a home but also a profitable investment.
He advised me to subscribe to their 'Retained Client Service' for lifetime membership for a fee of £1,500 plus VAT making a total fee of £1,762.50p.
For this subscription fee I was assured that I would recieve weekly information of sourced properties being offered for sale through Choices at substantial discounts
(e.g. 15-30%) of their 'Open Market Value'. As soon as my cheque payment for £1,762.50p cleared I began recieving e-mails from Ross Gardner of discounted properties that were not suitable for my needs. I sent a letter and several e-mails to Ross Gardner informing him of my property requirements and he said that he would contact me again when more suitable properties came to his attention.
I have not had any contact from Ross Gardiner or Choices Property Acquisitions and Investments since mid March 2010. Using my own research skills I managed to buy a repossessed property in the North East of England in May 2010 for less than 50% of it's previous sale price. I have written 2 letters to Ross Gardiner and the Managing Director requesting a full refund of the £1,762.50p that I paid for a non existent service I have not recieved a reply to these letters sent at the end of May 2010.

I encountered Choices early Decamber 2009 where I was told that for a subscription fee I could expect to receive a list of suitable properties to fit the criteria I was looking for, I was told by a Mr Ford that he would send me those lists as soon as payment cleared but unfortunately as soon as he had my money he became increasing difficult to contact, at first I was given the excuse that I had just missed out on lots of auctions and then I was told that due to the approaching holiday period that there may be a further delay, when by January 2010 I still had not began to receive the service that I had payed for I simply requested a refund, I was told to contact a J Hartley who takes care of refunds, when I forwarded my request for a refund on to her she sent me an e-mail refusing to give me back my money and later called me via telephone to reiterate that I would not be getting my money back she also suggested that I take the matter up with my solicitor if I had a problem with that decission rather than waist her time e-mailing her on the matter, I have kept all relevent e-mails regarding the matter and fail to understand how a legitimate company can refuse to give you your money back if you are unhappy with the service or non-service provided. Suffice to say I have been unable to contact a real person since as all efforts have been repeatedly ignored. What should my next step be?

I first encountered Choices acquisitions in June 2009. I attended a 'seminar' which turned out to be a one to one interview as their were insufficient people attending.

The company director Steve Cubitt promised to send me information about Below Market Value properties where for a fee of £2500 in total I would become a, "retained client". I was sent information via email regarding properties that were supposedly below market value. In July 2009 Mr Cubitt sent me a property in Blackpool which was being sold for £52,500 plus Choices commission of £2500. Mr Cubit called me and said that the property was only available for a short while and would be "snapped up", and I should pay the retainer as soon as possible, the retainer being their commission.

I bought the property with a view to sell again at market value (this was my criteria as Mr Cubitt was informed). The property took almost 7 months to sell and was actually valued by a mortgage surveyor at £52500, one buyer actually pulled out of the sale based on the valuation.

I eventually sold it for £63900, and after all my costs to choices (almost £5000) plus legal fees, agents selling fees, etc. I made a loss on the transaction.

I feel that Choices have misled me and will continue to mislead other people. They advertise that their properties are below market value by 15-20% yet when you see what they offer, most of the properties were valued in 2007/2008 at the peak of the market. They do not account for the housing price drop 2008/9 and try to convince buyers that they will make a profit which after their exorbitant fees is very unlikely indeed.

I am not certain if what they do is illegal but even if I have no case against them at all, I want this company exposed for what they are. They simply charge an agents fee to purchase, which is immoral if nothing else. Plus they charge a high fee to join their "exclusive" club. Completely a waste of money in my opinion.

I have complained several times and asked for at least my subscription fees to be reimbursed but I do not get a response from Cubitt or anyone else. Now I feel I want the subscription fee and their agents commission returned.

Their web site is : www.choices.co.uk

Thanks

After browsing on-line a Mr Jack Ford contacted me claiming that he could help as he had a wide range of properties that suited my small budget, I live over seas which he claimed posed no problem and that my budget was under 45k GBP for which I hoped to find a small 100% ownership property preferably freehold, I was told he could find a property to suit said criteria.
He then sent me lists that were out of date as a guidline to view what sort of properties were available through his company, the company he worked for and he made sensationalist claimes as to how big a discount a buyer could expect to get when they use choices services.
At first I told him I preferred to think about it before making any decissions but then I decided to continue after a further telephone conversation, the price for signing up with choices came to just under £300GBP. and for that fee I was told by Mr ford that as soon as funds cleared I would receive the first property lists he also claimed that as part of the service he would be calling me regulary as I received property lists to see if any suited and that he could help me proceed with my investment, up to this point everything was clear enough his last e-mail before receiving fees stated that he would be sending me suitable properties as soon as the funds had cleared.
As soon as he had my money things changed as his first e-mail was to inform me that the money was received just after lots of auctions had taken place, he later informed me that he would be sending me the promised lists after christmass, when I still heared nothing from him despite my e-mailing him on several occasions regarding the matter I simply requested to terminate our agreement asking for my money back as nothing had been done, he had not sent me any lists or began working on my case therefore I did not see a problem with simply returning my money, he immediately e-mailed me recommending I contact his superior a Josie Hartley if I am not mistaken, who deals with refunds, I forwarded my complaint on to her where she e-mailed me a denile claiming that contractually services had been requested to commence immediately, WHAT SEVICES? and that was the reason I could not have my money back I e-mailed her again regarding the matter which is when she opted to call me by phone, at the start of the conversation she was overly animated which grew into an argumentative state the manner was uncalled for! she told me that if I wished to continue to complain that I should take it up with my solicitor rather than waist her time e-mailing her, she informed me although I never sighned any contract i was bound by contract through verbal agreement/ communication and that her company did not have to send me suitable properties within any specific time period, I still have all the e-mails regarding the case and suffice to say both Josie H. and Jack Ford have not been in contact with me since except for an almost apologetic e-mail from Josie claiming that she would like to help me find a property, I have however received several e-mails ( majority of which are automated) offering free seminars and some unsuitable properties but any attempt to contact a real person has failed and properties the few that are sent where all done so after I asked for my money back. I have requested via e-mail(s) a list of the people working for choices which was ignored and I have asked for a refund again but I suppose it must have been lost in the post? How should I proceed? Thank you.

Investors, Tenants, Potential Tenants, Contractors - BEWARE - this company and it's ownership should be avoided if you value your investments, good credit and personal or business security. Here are a few reasons, please feel free to do your own research - JUST BE SURE YOU DO - Lance Puig and York Street Properties, York Street Homes, York Street Investments and the numerous LLC's this organization operates under have caused 100's thousands of dollars of loss, 100's of wasted hours and countless heartaches for good people:

1) Debts and returns on investment are not honored in a timely fashion, if at all.
2) If you're tenant don't believe if you rent a home expecting to buy it that you ever will. It's a false promise - ask existing tenants.
3) If you're an investor; don't believe you are getting a safe, reliable, well maintained investment - ask past investors.
4) If you're a contractor; don't give this company or Lance Puig any credit - he does not pay.
5) Don't believe what you read on the website(s), in blogs or on radio shows. Icons are unauthorized, statements are false & exaggerated.
6) Don't believe mortgages (in your name) will be paid or debts for services will be paid - they won't be.

Here's a few examples of fact:
a) There are numerous lien filings, small claims filings and court filings against this company and Lance Puig. The subjects are wide
ranging (non-payment, fraud, etc). He gets contractors to remodel houses, then doesn't pay them - $1 Mil of examples cab be given
b) Investors have lost their investments due to non-payment of mortgages.
c) The BBB has not been paid and the "Online Accredited Business" icon is misleading at best.
d) The numerous bank links on the website are being used without authorization.
e) The claim that Lance Puig comes from 3 generations of real estate investors is pure embellishment.
f) Lance Puig hires people in the Philippines to write comments and compliments in blogs. They are not real.
g) An leading figurehead of the company and personal advisor to Lance Puig is an federal ex-con:
http://www.bop.gov/iloc2/InmateFinderServlet?Transaction=NameSearch&needingMoreList=false&FirstName=MICHAEL+& Middle=&LastName=BACHER&Race=U&Sex=M&Age=&x=79&y=8. This shows in everything they do, Lance Puig just hasn't been
imprisoned - yet.
h) Lance Puig/York Street Properties is not a member of the TAA or local apartment assoc. That makes all leases signed with the TAA
lease agreements invalid. According to law, the tenant has a right not to honor agreement/no legal protection for investor.
i) A majority of properties remain vacant because they're in bad, un-leasable condition. The company is broke.
j) Houses are purchased at REO prices (50%), then sold to investors for 90% with minimum remodeling to justify that price.
k) Resale, should the investor be faced with that, is impossible at 90% - not to mention the probable liens on the property.
l) The 40% profit (j, above) is used to support Lance Puig's unjustified lifestyle and foreign online labor (paid at $5/hour).

There are many cases of fraudulent and/or misleading business practices utilized by Lance Puig and York Street Properties, et al. Do you homework before doing any sort of business with this man or his companies. Better yet, why take the risk? In today's economy it's difficult enough to make your hard earned dollars and credit work for you - why add dealing with a broke, unscrupulous and unethical partner to the mix? Don't believe what you read - Lance Puig is a professional at making things look one way, when his representations don't paint the real picture. Last reports have he and his family hiding in their house to avoid process servers.

Do your homework - there's too much to list here - don't leave any stone unturned if you need to prove to yourself that investing with Lance Puig/York Street Properties is a bad move. Don't leave any stone unturned before deciding to do business of any sort with this man and his companies - and if you do; get your money in advance - get your own attorney to verify all contracts - be sure you are protected to minimize loss when the "good faith agreements" are inevitably broken.

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Comments

[24/08/2009] Cindy Bidstrup: I live in a house owned by York Street Properties. The problem with that is they promised I would own it by now.

I've paid on time, put a lot of my own money into the house for repairs (though I really think they should have done most of them).

On numerous occasions I've asked them to send me documents to finalize the sale of the house but the women in the office (or should I say Philippines) don't know anything about this - they keep saying somebody will call me. Well I keep paying on time but they keep refusing to honor their agreement.

What can I do? I'm becoming afraid of these people if they are as crooked as some people say. I would move but I'm just hoping they will honor their agreement so my family can stay in this house - maybe that's a silly thing to wish for? If this company doesn't pay the bank, could I be evicted?

In October 2008 I received a call from David Archer from Choices Acquisitions informing me about a development in Cheshire that they’d managed to secure big discounts on. I was planning on making a buy to let investment but had planned to make it nearer to home. After he went through all the figures, what Barratts were selling them for, what Choices were offering them for, mortgage payments and rental value etc. I agreed to go ahead and purchase a 2 bed flat on the Sunningdale Estate. Prior to this I had had a numerous amount of questions for David, all of which had been answered extremely efficiently.

The property had to be exchanged within 28 days and completed by end of November, a very tight deadline but doable. I went ahead and paid my fees, £500 to Barratt Homes as a holding fee and £2,080.27 to Choices as a finder’s fee. I was then informed that I would need to use their solicitors. I did not agree to this as they were charging far more than if I used my own and I did not see why I should pay more when I can get the same job done for less. David said I would need to use their solicitors but that he would sort the price issue out. I asked for confirmation of the new fees in writing before I went ahead. This is when the problems started.

Over the next couple of weeks I had to make numerous phone calls and emails to David chasing for confirmation in writing and eventually informed him that if I did not get a response I would be pulling out. I then went on to ask for a full refund or for them to find another property where the figures stacked up and to transfer my monies across as the timing to complete this deal was now becoming too tight. After almost 2 weeks David came back to me saying that I could use my own solicitor but would need to ensure that the deadlines were met. I was left with just over 2 weeks to exchange which I felt was too short and I pulled out requesting a full refund. This was denied.

After writing several complaint emails and letters to the company with no joy I wrote to the Chairman. The response I received was as follows:

FURTHER TO YOUR LETTER OF 16TH APRIL 2009, WE ARE SORRY TO HEAR THAT YOU HAVE BEEN DISAPPOINTED WITH ANY SERVICE RECEIVED.
THIS MATTER HAS BEEN PASSED TO OUR DIRECTOR IN ACCORDANCE WITH OUR COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE WHO WILL HAVE TO MAKE SOME INVESTIGATIONS INTO THIS MATTER. A FULL RESPONSE WILL BE MADE TO YOU WITHIN 21 DAYS, UNLESS FURTHER ENQUIRIES ARE NEEDED, IN WHICH CASE YOU WILL BE ADVISED OF PROGRESS AND A FINAL DATE FOR A RESPONSE.

YOURS SINCERELY

PROPERTY MANAGEMENT
CHOICES

I have received no response since. The letter had no contact name of who was dealing with the complaint now or indeed even who wrote the letter. I did write asking for the name of the person dealing with it, as well as a copy of the complaints procedure but due to the fact I had no contact name to write to I wouldn’t like to guess where the letter ended up.

On their website www.choices.co.uk they make various false statements, details as follows:
I BECAME AN ESTATE AGENT BECAUSE OF THE TERRIBLE SERVICE I EXPERIENCED WHEN DEALING WITH ESTATE AGENTS AS A CUSTOMER AND THE FEELING THAT THERE HAD TO BE A BETTER WAY OF DOING THE JOB. – I really feel there can’t be a worse company to be dealing with as regards to service received. All very good until they have someone’s money or things are going well but the minute there is an issue, David Archer became an ostrich and just stuck his head in the ground!

AT CHOICES WE ACCEPT THAT WHEN IT COMES TO BUYING, SELLING, OR RENTING PROPERTY THINGS CAN AND DO GO WRONG, NO MATTER HOW HARD WE TRY, THERE ARE NO MAGIC WANDS, AND THE BEST WE CAN DO IS WORK WITH YOU TO ACHIEVE YOUR OBJECTIVES, TO UNDER-PROMISE AND OVER-DELIVER. I was over promised and under delivered. I was promised by David Archer that my solicitor’s fees with their chosen solicitor would be reduced in line with what I could get them for with my own solicitor but yet it took David almost 2 weeks to get back to me even with me sending him many emails and many calls to try to get a response and confirmation in writing to finally agree that I could use my own solicitor.

AT CHOICES WE DO NOT BELIEVE IN TELLING YOU WHAT YOU WANT TO HEAR, ABOUT THE VALUE OF YOUR HOME, WHAT WE DO, OR ANYTHING ELSE. BUT WE DO BELIEVE IN TELLING YOU WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW. Again, I was told by David Archer that my solicitor’s fees would be reduced as I had told him I was not happy to be paying higher fees for the same outcome. He told me it would not be a problem and that I would have to use their chosen solicitors but that the fees would not be a problem. David was very quick to tell me this and I felt it wouldn’t be a problem and believed him, especially after reading the information on the website about believing in trust, not over promising etc etc. I know very differently now.

OUR SALES CONTRACTS ALL COME WITH A TOTAL FREEDOM GUARANTEE WHICH MEANS IF WE ARE TO KEEP OUR VENDORS WE HAVE TO PERFORM, NOT JUST PROMISE TO PERFORM.

THE TOTAL FREEDOM GUARANTEE IS FAR MORE THAN REASSURANCE FOR OUR VENDORS, IT IS ALSO A STRONG MESSAGE TO ALL OUR STAFF THAT SAYS AT CHOICES IT IS NOT GOOD ENOUGH TO TALK THE TALK, YOU HAVE TO WALK THE WALK AS WELL. Another false statement! David Archer was very quick to talk the talk but has not mastered the walk the walk part!

OUR VISION AT CHOICES WE HAVE A VISION OF A NEW TYPE OF ESTATE AGENCY, AN ESTATE AGENCY WITH A PHILOSOPHY BASED ON PARTNERSHIP, REALISM AND TRUST WHERE BUYERS, SELLERS, LANDLORDS AND TENANTS CAN GET ALL THE SERVICES THEY NEED UNDER ONE ROOF. A ONE STOP APPROACH, BRINGING WITH IT THE BENEFITS OF SHORTER LINES OF COMMUNICATION, OWNERSHIP OF RESPONSIBILITY IN ONE PLACE AND OF COURSE COST EFFECTIVENESS. It’s all very well to have shorter lines of communication if the person the public are dealing with actually communicates. David was quick to communicate before taking my money and almost straight after having my money seemed to lose the ability to communicate. Two things he was very good at were saying what he thought I would want to hear to start with and then he was very good at avoiding me afterwards!

I feel very strongly that the website does not portray the true facts about the company and would ask is there anything I can do to firstly get my money back from them and secondly to warn other people about dealing with such a company?

I look forward to hearing from you. If you require any further information then please do not hesitate to let me know.

Many thanks in advance.

Myself and my husband bought in to a land company called Fortunaland in 2004 we bought so many sq m of land and obtained deeds etc but have heard that this company has gone of with the money in 2008 and a lot of other peoples money also. We have made contact with a lawyer but he is looking for a lot of money and no guarantees he advised us to make a denuncia with the national police but I do not know how to do this.

Can anyone help here please.

Thank you