Part 9: Wrapping it up
This saga started in January 2005, and at long last the house was sold and the money in our bank account by February 2006. So was that the end of the story?
Well no, actually. We considered suing various people and professionals for various things but decided that a) you can't get blood out of a stone and b) anything we were likely to get would be swallowed up by lawyers' fees. It was best to put it all behind us and get on with our lives.
But just one more thing before this tale concludes:
Several weeks after the sale, we still hadn't received a statement from our lawyer, Mumtaz Awan, of Awan Solicitors, Airport House, Croydon, outlining how much he had charged and for what. We knew he would have taken his fees before remitting the money to us, but we had nothing to show what specifically these fees were being charged for. He had been in touch with us by email several times and also had our postal address, so we didn't understand why he couldn't simply send a statement to tell us how much he had charged.
We sent a reminder on 21 April. Awan replied on 24 April, apologising for the delay in sending the final statement and attributing it to delays on the part of our mortgage lenders and the buyers' solicitors. He told us he was sending the Bill of Costs, Completion Statement and a copy letter from our mortgage lenders concluding the proceedings.
When nothing had arrived by 16 May, we emailed again to ask if he could at least email us the Bill of Costs, on the assumption that he would have a copy on his computer (it turned out that he didn't). He replied to say that he had sent the documents, and quoted the address to which he'd sent them. However, typing errors by his office meant that the address they were sent to – crucially, the town and postcode – was wrong...
Awan re-sent a statement later that day (by fax – we'd already stressed on several occasions that email should be the primary means of contacting us, including when we first engaged his services) and the amount charged was very reasonable.
So here endeth the saga.
We were thousands of pounds out of pocket (theft, damage, lost rent, court fees, temporary accommodation costs, eating out, buying replacement goods so we could live while we fixed up the house, etc, etc...).
Our lives had been on hold for months and we weren't able to pursue the projects we had planned to work on. So many opportunities lost because we were clearing up the filth and destruction left by Karen Holliday.
It took a long time to get over this 13 months of hell but it's time to get on with our lives.
If you're thinking of renting out your home we sincerely hope you have better luck.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: To avoid confusion in case there are other persons of the same name: the Karen Holliday, aka Karen Davies, referred to on this website is the one who previously lived in Senga Road, Hackbridge and then at 30 Longfield Avenue, Hackbridge, Surrey, SM6 7BA, United Kingdom, from July 2001 until her eviction in June 2005. To the best of our knowledge she then continued to reside in the London Borough of Sutton.
LEGAL NOTICE: Remember - if it's true, it can't be libel.
