Failing Health and Lost Pension
Donation protected
A big thank you
First of all a big thank you for deciding to follow the link to this page. Below is my story and what I am trying to do. I hope you can help because I have nowhere else to turn and no one else to turn to.
Some background
In the mid 2000’s I decided to lump my three hard earned “pension pots” into a single fund to enable me to do whatever was necessary to secure a good pension income when I decided to retire. In 2010 I made the decision to semi-retire to Thailand so I sought out a Financial Adviser on one of my trips here to give me necessary advice about what I could do with my retirement fund when I eventually made the big move. In 2011 I made the move to Thailand and the main investment he recommended was an Australian Property Fund which seemed to fit the bill. Unfortunately, in March 2013, the fund manager called in the administrators and the fund went bust. As a consequence my pension was lost. The fund was later found to be an elaborate Ponzi scheme. Some 7-years later, due the complexity of the fund, the legal processes are still being pursued to resolve all the financial complexities. Investors have been advised that when the legal process is complete the return on the original investment will only be 5% or less which is peanuts compared to the original investment. We have been given no indication of how long that will take.
Current circumstances
As well as the above there are two things that are being pursued:
An independent legal class action has been instigated through the Isle of Man courts by an Australian financial crimes investigation company on behalf of Investors against the large Insurance Companies who were complicit in the Ponzi scheme.
I am pursuing financial restitution through the Financial Services Compensation Scheme in the UK through a “no win no fee” lawyer.
Both these actions are also likely to take some time yet and obviously there is no indication of what the outcomes might be.
I receive an old-age pension which I get sent direct to Thailand but I use that to support my wife and daughter. Unfortunately given the issues around Brexit and the subsequent hit on the £ this pension income has seen a reduction of some 20% which has had a massive impact.
Recently I have managed to live on income from the provision of online training but with the pandemic this has taken a hit and I currently do not have any work in the pipeline.
Previously I have had some issues related to my left knee but not serious enough to prevent me from working but that has now changed and I am experiencing problems with both knees. Due to the prohibitive costs of getting medical treatment here in Thailand I cannot get the necessary treatment I need. Basically I have to return to the UK once the pandemic travel restrictions have eased to get the knee problems sorted.
What am I looking for?
Basically I am looking at trying to raise £35,000 (approx. $44,000) which is based on 25% of my total pension loss in hope that the legal proceedings mentioned above will come to some sort of fruition and that my online training work will kick in again.
Given the above it would be greatly appreciated if you could help me out by contributing however much you can afford to my campaign. As the saying goes “every little helps”.
After 7-years of struggling to make ends meet I would just like to get my life back to some sort of normality. At the moment I dare not look into the future because there isn't one. I fear for my family because at the moment there is nothing for them when I'm gone. What you see of me on Social Media hides an inner despair and the constant turmoil I am in. Tbh my online activity sometimes keeps me from tipping over the edge.
Let me finish by saying again a big thank you from the bottom of my heart to those that feel they can contribute, but also a thank you to those who have considered this plea but don’t feel they are able/or don’t want to contribute because I understand that it is not something for everyone and I respect your position.
Thank you again … I hope you can help.
First of all a big thank you for deciding to follow the link to this page. Below is my story and what I am trying to do. I hope you can help because I have nowhere else to turn and no one else to turn to.
Some background
In the mid 2000’s I decided to lump my three hard earned “pension pots” into a single fund to enable me to do whatever was necessary to secure a good pension income when I decided to retire. In 2010 I made the decision to semi-retire to Thailand so I sought out a Financial Adviser on one of my trips here to give me necessary advice about what I could do with my retirement fund when I eventually made the big move. In 2011 I made the move to Thailand and the main investment he recommended was an Australian Property Fund which seemed to fit the bill. Unfortunately, in March 2013, the fund manager called in the administrators and the fund went bust. As a consequence my pension was lost. The fund was later found to be an elaborate Ponzi scheme. Some 7-years later, due the complexity of the fund, the legal processes are still being pursued to resolve all the financial complexities. Investors have been advised that when the legal process is complete the return on the original investment will only be 5% or less which is peanuts compared to the original investment. We have been given no indication of how long that will take.
Current circumstances
As well as the above there are two things that are being pursued:
An independent legal class action has been instigated through the Isle of Man courts by an Australian financial crimes investigation company on behalf of Investors against the large Insurance Companies who were complicit in the Ponzi scheme.
I am pursuing financial restitution through the Financial Services Compensation Scheme in the UK through a “no win no fee” lawyer.
Both these actions are also likely to take some time yet and obviously there is no indication of what the outcomes might be.
I receive an old-age pension which I get sent direct to Thailand but I use that to support my wife and daughter. Unfortunately given the issues around Brexit and the subsequent hit on the £ this pension income has seen a reduction of some 20% which has had a massive impact.
Recently I have managed to live on income from the provision of online training but with the pandemic this has taken a hit and I currently do not have any work in the pipeline.
Previously I have had some issues related to my left knee but not serious enough to prevent me from working but that has now changed and I am experiencing problems with both knees. Due to the prohibitive costs of getting medical treatment here in Thailand I cannot get the necessary treatment I need. Basically I have to return to the UK once the pandemic travel restrictions have eased to get the knee problems sorted.
What am I looking for?
Basically I am looking at trying to raise £35,000 (approx. $44,000) which is based on 25% of my total pension loss in hope that the legal proceedings mentioned above will come to some sort of fruition and that my online training work will kick in again.
Given the above it would be greatly appreciated if you could help me out by contributing however much you can afford to my campaign. As the saying goes “every little helps”.
After 7-years of struggling to make ends meet I would just like to get my life back to some sort of normality. At the moment I dare not look into the future because there isn't one. I fear for my family because at the moment there is nothing for them when I'm gone. What you see of me on Social Media hides an inner despair and the constant turmoil I am in. Tbh my online activity sometimes keeps me from tipping over the edge.
Let me finish by saying again a big thank you from the bottom of my heart to those that feel they can contribute, but also a thank you to those who have considered this plea but don’t feel they are able/or don’t want to contribute because I understand that it is not something for everyone and I respect your position.
Thank you again … I hope you can help.
Organiser and beneficiary
Ron Leeman
Organiser
England
Ian Hudson
Beneficiary