An offer of £47 but I got scammed and paid £600

Tony Hetherington is Financial Mail on Sunday’s top investigator, fighting readers’ corners, uncovering the truth behind closed doors and securing victories for those left empty-handed. Find out how to get in touch below.

YES writes: I responded to an advert offering to make wills for £47. I ended up paying Town and Country Law Ltd £600 for wills for myself and my wife. I am still furious about this. I have complained and also emailed the female representative who came to our home saying I was not happy. I feel I have been ripped off.

Tony Hetherington responds: The offer to make wills for £47 was a foot in the door. The agent’s job was to get you and your wife – both in their mid-70s – to pay more. You told me: ‘I don’t remember her ever mentioning £47 wills. The visit was a bit of a whirlwind and a bit over our heads.’

The outcome, according to Town and Country Law, is that you instructed the company to draw up not only the two wills, but also four Lasting Powers of Attorney, two for you and two for your wife. You commented: ‘I did not ‘instruct’ anyone to draw up the LPA – it was suggested that I take them along.’

The company denies having received any complaints from you, but you told me, “I complained over the phone and was told, ‘Well, you signed it.’ I also sent an email saying my head was spinning.”

It is outrageous that no legal qualifications are required to draw up the wills or similar documents offered by Town and Country Law. Furthermore, there is no regulator to whom you can complain.

Here’s a helpful description of the setup: ‘Legal services that aren’t provided by a lawyer aren’t regulated. So it’s very difficult to get your money back if something goes wrong, no matter what it is, and there are no agencies to help you.’

All true, but the man who said this was lawyer Jonathan De Vita – and he is no longer a lawyer. A few months ago he was acquitted of criminal fraud, but his South Humberside law firm was closed by the Solicitors Regulation Authority and he was banned from practising law.

A disciplinary tribunal found that his firm had grossly overcharged clients, falsified business records and used clients’ money without their knowledge or consent. De Vita had acted dishonestly and his misconduct was “deliberate, calculated, repeated and had continued over a number of years.”

The court added that De Vita had ‘taken advantage of vulnerable people – a large part of the work was probate and beneficiaries and executors were completely reliant on trust in the solicitors’. De Vita owes £143,456 in costs, so I asked the Solicitors Regulation Authority how much of this he had paid so far. The answer: ‘Not a penny.’

De Vita declared himself bankrupt and his debts are still being investigated by his trustee, outside of his control. So what does he do for a living now? He works for Town and Country Law, one of the unregulated legal services firms he used to tell people to avoid!

I asked De Vita if he had changed his mind, if he still stands by the advice he gave before he was disbarred. Without really answering the question, he told me: ‘After a very difficult period in my life, I was acquitted. While it was the right decision, I learned some very valuable lessons and I am looking forward to putting behind me parts of my career that I deeply regret.’

I also asked James Scotney, director of Town and Country Law, whether he agreed with De Vita’s advice to employ good lawyers, and why clients should find De Vita trustworthy, given the court’s damning finding that he had abused vulnerable clients.

Scotney did not answer either question. De Vita still works at Town and Country Law, and the firm still advertises wills for as little as £47.

Now that I have a lawyer at 10 Downing Street, I wonder whether the need to regulate will writing companies will be given a higher priority. I hope so.

Banking for children in healthcare

Mrs. KH writes: I am desperately seeking help as a foster carer. NatWest are a nightmare to deal with when opening accounts for foster children.

All carers are required by Social Services to open a bank account for the children placed with them. I have been trying for a year to open one for the young teenage girl placed with me.

Tony Hetherington responds: You have been banking with NatWest for over 15 years, so the bank knows you. However, your first attempt to open an account for Julie (not her real name) was rejected because she did not have a passport. You gave Julie a passport and reapplied. At that time NatWest refused to recognise your foster care agreement. The bank then rejected the letter from the local authority confirming that Julie would remain with you until she was at least 18.

After I contacted NatWest, the bank asked for the foster care agreement again and this time the bank accepted it.

There were also problems with the bank not accepting screenshots of documents from phones and doubts that the letter from the local authority provided sufficient evidence of the link between you and Julie. However, Julie now has her NatWest account. All in all it took a year to get this, although the delay of several months was due to the time it took to get the passport. NatWest told me: ‘We apologise to Mrs H for the delays in opening the account.’

If you believe you have been a victim of financial misconduct, please write to Tony Hetherington at Financial Mail, 9 Derry Street, London W8 5HY or email [email protected]. Due to the volume of enquiries, we are unable to provide personal responses. Please only send copies of original documents, which we regret we cannot return.