This is the third time in a matter of weeks that we have to report a scam operator hiding behind a real law firm, this time the company in question is Logra Grupo Empresarial who are a real firm of lawyers based in Madrid that have no idea their name is being taken in vain.
Although similar to our reports regarding JR Abogados and Ardaga Abogados this one has an interesting twist. What the scammers now want is for a payment of €480 in order for, wait for it, A Brexit stamp fee! Oh yes, since the UK has exited the EU, to transfer monies out of Spain a special stamp is required, or so our scammers say. The following gobbledygook is quoted:
“Ironically as a result of the jurisprudence created by Brexit; you will now
unreservedly and directly receive your payout as British Citizens to your
designated UK bank account through a fully integrated instant payment system
without going through the lengthy and protracted and rather bureaucratic EU
regulatory and supervisory regimes.”
The accompanying covering letter and fake court documents state that the case won is against Diamond Resorts, well apart from individually presented claims handled by bona fide lawyers in Spain there have been no such court cases as described in the fake documents.
The compensation awarded supposedly amounts to €13,234 due to the fact that there has been a court case. Problem is there was no court case so there will be no massive payout.
Our investigation
Well Logra are certainly a real firm of lawyers in Madrid but strangely in their practice areas there is no mention of timeshare. The contact address quoted on the covering letter states; Grupo Empresarial Logra, Calle Balina 18, Edif Caleta, 388A, Santa Cruz De Tenerife, two things are odd about this. The real company don’t mention that they have a branch in Tenerife; the second point is that according to Google maps, the address doesn’t exist. There is a Calle La Ballena 18 but this is just a private house:
Apart from this, the real contact telephone number as quoted on the Logra website is 900 373 004 which of course is genuine Spanish number. Rather strange then that two UK numbers are quoted on correspondence being 0207 183 0260 and 0800 802 1867.
The final giveaway is the email contact address. The real company uses its domain name as part of the address as you would expect info@grupologra.org. On the correspondence we see grupologra@consultant.com and 24-7-logra@spainmail.com both these email addresses are similar to Gmail or Hotmail, anyone can get one. Specifically @consultant.com has received various internet comments that this domain is connected with scam companies, see comment here.
According to another scam detection website they have traced 947 scam companies using @consultant.com
Rather stupidly, in case “marks” should by chance find the real phone number there is a scare tactic on the covering letter suggesting that you don’t call Spain because of the expense, you will pay a Premium International call charge, email instead, why? Well simply if you call the real firm the scam will be uncovered.
Final comments
Again a sophisticated scam backed up by fake documentation but a scam never the less. Our caller stated that he was contacted by phone initially, the man he spoke to who was adamant the claim was real; we think our investigation above will refute that claim.
Be aware, although the documentation sent may look real to the untrained eye it’s all fake. Once again we reiterate that if you have not been involved in any legal proceedings how on earth is it possible to win a case. Even in group litigation or class actions the “plaintiff” will have had to have input. If the first you know is that X thousand Euros are on their way to you it’s all a lie to extract money from you that you will never see again.
Whilst €480 doesn’t sound like a lot, the scam won’t stop there. More emails or phone calls will arrive requesting other sums for spurious reasons and when all added together the cost will be substantial and bear in mind scammers use bank transfers to foreign accounts, when you establish that you have been scammed it’s too late.
Lastly, the real law firm has had this reported to them and to say they were most grateful would be an understatement.
Copies of the documentation may be downloaded here:
If you are at all in doubt please get in contact with us, a simple call could save you heartache and money.
For more information regarding this article or assistance in any other timeshare related issues please contact the TCA on 01908 881058 or email: info@TimeshareConsumerAssociation.org.uk