Tony Hetherington is Financial Mail on Sunday’s ace investigator, fighting readers corners, revealing the truth that lies behind closed doors and winning victories for those who have been left out-of-pocket. He received certificates for the first two investments, but despite repeated chasing he never received paperwork for his third teak investment or the bamboo scheme. Find out how to contact him below. You found that your father had been due to receive income from the teak tree scheme as long ago as 2014 but it had not arrived. The demand you received for £2,489 even included work connected to the two investments for which your father never received title deeds, and it included alleged arrears going back eight years. This is because it is simply a maildrop. Like every investor who has contacted me, you had trouble getting in touch with Durrant at the London address he uses. And Living Investments UK does not really exist. Durrant’s real address is a splendid £2million home he rents in Oxford. Durrant told you the income must have been reinvested by your father at a later date, but there was no evidence of this and Durrant has failed to offer any explanation. Tony Hetherington replies: You will have seen that two weeks ago, I described Nicholas (‘Nico’) Durrant – the man behind Living Investments UK – as being like a slippery eel with a generous coating of Vaseline. Worse, he has issued big invoices to you and other investors. M.P. writes: I am sending you a summary of payments my late father made to Living Investments UK for the purchase of interests in teak and bamboo growing in Costa Rica. Well, nothing has changed.

It was badly set up and run.

It is just a trading name Durrant uses, though he fails to act legally and disclose this on his invoices and similar documents. I did not order this, so I called my bank and it cancelled my card but said the payment could not be stopped. The amounts demanded reflect the information he was given, he explained. Your father paid every management invoice he received, except that in 2020 he held back £75, saying he would only pay this when he received the missing deeds to two of his investments. Ms V.S. writes: I ordered dog food supplements from Amazon, and later that day I received an email from Amazon about an order for a cubic zirconia necklace costing £159. A few days later Amazon said I would be charged £192 for a stereo, which I had not ordered. And Durrant told me: ‘I was just a sales employee of Living Investment UK. Durrant believes his scheme does not fall under the jurisdiction of the Financial Conduct Authority. The plantation and investment is genuine. But how can he have been employed by something which did not exist? However, the invoices he has issued share out a wide range of what are said to be maintenance fees, his travel to and from Costa Rica, and even fees to ‘front men’ locally whose presence hides the identity of whoever really controls the plantations. I asked Durrant to comment on what you told me. And if it has closed down, why is Durrant still issuing demands for thousands of pounds in the name of that very same Living Investments UK? And that would bring it under the rules of the FCA, which has now been offered all the evidence gathered by The Mail on Sunday. And a few days ago, Durrant told you the missing deeds were posted to your father in March last year, but by ordinary post with no record of posting or receipt. And how can it close down? You told me this is completely untrue. This may mean the whole project counts as a Collective Investment Scheme – a sort of unit trust which invests in trees rather than stocks and shares. It was badly set up and run. Still wriggling, Durrant told me his demands were really issued by an Essex accountancy company, Money Books Limited. Amazon sent a necklace!

What could the general election mean for your money?

This was on the cancelled card so Amazon collected nothing. Happily, I can reassure you that Amazon is not objecting. Have you got the financial confidence to get richer? What does it take to win the Premium Bonds? Please send only copies of original documents, which we regret cannot be returned. Gold (Read More Listed here https://www.backtoglamour.com/blog/2024/08/26/fathers-day-gifting-ideas-with-mens-sterling-silver-jewelry-2/) price hits record high – should you invest? Because of the high volume of enquiries, personal replies cannot be given. More of us are falling into the savings tax trap – is it fair? But it followed this up with a warning that if Amazon objected and insisted you really had ordered the necklace, then the bank would have to pay the shopping giant all over again. What does the latest inflation data mean for our finances? Do Labour or the Tories have the plan Britain needs? Can Labour get Britain growing and make us richer? What could the general election mean for your money? Tony Hetherington replies: Fortunately, Lloyds Bank, which issued your card, said it would snatch back the £159. A spokesperson accepted that someone had used your card without your consent, possibly by gaining access to your computer. Should BofE have cut interest rates instead of holding firm? Is being a Nimby really that bad?

Mortgage rates are climbing again – should we be worry? Is the taxman really going after Ebay sellers? Will you be able to afford the retirement you want? Does it matter that the UK is in recession? Autumn Statement: What would you do if you were Chancellor? Why would the Bank of England cut rates this year? How fast will interest rates fall – and where’s the new normal? Will the Autumn Statement boost your wealth? Is the mortgage crisis over? What does 2024 hold for investors – and was 2023 a good year? Have interest rates finally peaked – and what happens next? Should you stick cash in Premium Bonds, save or invest? Will the state pension ever be means tested – and would you get it? Will the Bank of England cut interest rates soon? What drives you mad about going to the shops? Was the Budget too little, too late – and will it make you richer? Is the UK stock market finally due its moment in the sun? Is a 99% mortgage really that bad or a helping hand? Will the Budget cut tax – and the child benefit and 60% traps? Will inflation fall below 2% and then spike again?