Briton wins landmark Spanish property ruling

A BRITISH woman has won a landmark ruling after failing to receive ‘fair compensation’ for bad investment advice related to a Spanish property.

Charmaine Emptage, 53, from Berkshire, was left with huge debts and a worthless property after being advised to invest in Hacienda Riquelme golf resort in Murcia.

After failing to recover her money from Berkeley Independent Advisers when it became insolvent, the manufacturing worker took her case to the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS).

The body, which is responsible for awarding relief to victims of bad financial advice, awarded her £11,500 in 2010.

But a High Court judge has now ruled that since the payment failed to return Emptage to the financial position she was in prior to the bad advice, it does not represent ‘fair compensation’.

The FSCS, which had only paid out for the bad mortgage advice and not the bad investment advice, has now been ordered to pay Emptage’s legal costs of €180,000.

The compensation body has appealed against the ruling due to the possible implications the case could have on other similar claims.

“We are devastated that we’ve got to wait until the summer until it goes back to court again. We’ve been fighting this for a long time,” Emptage said.