On 9 February we featured the plight of two Brits who'd each paid tens of thousands of pounds for holiday homes that were left uninhabitable.
Catch-up on the story by reading the full report.
Chris Dale paid Bulgarian Dreams £56,000 for an apartment in the Windows to Paradise development on Bulgaria's Black Sea Coast. But two years after it was due to be finished, he still can't move in. Tim Winterburn paid a total of £132,000 for two apartments from Bulgarian Dreams and there's no sign of them being finished either.
Robert Jenkin
The man behind Bulgarian Dreams is British; Robert Jenkin. He's told customers that the problems aren't anything to do with him and blames the developers. But he doesn't mention the fact that both he and his wife Mariya Georgieva have had particularly close links with some of those development companies. Especially one called Interlink BG. Robert used to be one of its owners and wife Mariya is still listed as a company director. We tried to track him down to get some answers, but he'd shut up shop in London and was nowhere to be seen at his Bulgarian office.
Since our broadcast we've discovered a lot more about Robert Jenkin and Bulgarian Dreams. He was selling apartments in over 30 developments across Bulgaria, so it's no surprise that we've now heard of hundreds of you who each paid him tens of thousands of pounds for properties that were never finished.
Familiar story
We spoke to Gavin Tweedie who's one of more than a hundred customers who bought apartments in the Cedar Heights development in Pamporovo. But when Gavin visited the apartment he'd been told was ready, he found it wasn't. A familiar story.
Gavin has taken matters into his own hands. He now heads an action group representing the buyers at Ceder Heights against, not just Bulgarian Dreams, but the developers, Interlink BG. They've voted to remove Interlink BG as the development's managers and hire in their own company. Unfortunately Gavin says that Interlink BG have denied their new management company access to the property. Gavin is incensed: "I don't know why they want to hold onto the complex. What benefit is it to them?"
It's not clear whether the people involved will ever get any answers, especially from Robert Jenkin. It's a shame he is so reluctant to speak to us and his customers. It's a disappointing twist to a once promising career; a Cambridge degree, a job as an investment banker, a successful entrepreneur. But now he's just a man hiding from an awful lot of people who want to ask him a lot of awkward questions.
Watchdog has repeatedly tried to speak to Robert about the issues raised in the two reports. This is his response:
Statement on behalf of Berkeley Square Trading Limited (T/A Bulgarian Dreams).
"The decision to close the London sales and marketing office of Berkeley Square Trading Limited t/a Bulgarian Dreams doesn't mean that the company isn't committed to providing ongoing customer support services to clients who've purchased developments in Bulgaria where it's able to do so.*Clients are aware of the telephone number and email address where ongoing queries can be addressed. Bulgarian Dreams will answer such queries if they're addressed to the Company directly, but it's not prepared to discuss individuals' issues on air."
Read the original Watchdog report on Bulgarian Dreams.
Bulgarian Dreams update
Catch-up on the story by reading the full report.
Chris Dale paid Bulgarian Dreams £56,000 for an apartment in the Windows to Paradise development on Bulgaria's Black Sea Coast. But two years after it was due to be finished, he still can't move in. Tim Winterburn paid a total of £132,000 for two apartments from Bulgarian Dreams and there's no sign of them being finished either.
Robert Jenkin
The man behind Bulgarian Dreams is British; Robert Jenkin. He's told customers that the problems aren't anything to do with him and blames the developers. But he doesn't mention the fact that both he and his wife Mariya Georgieva have had particularly close links with some of those development companies. Especially one called Interlink BG. Robert used to be one of its owners and wife Mariya is still listed as a company director. We tried to track him down to get some answers, but he'd shut up shop in London and was nowhere to be seen at his Bulgarian office.
Since our broadcast we've discovered a lot more about Robert Jenkin and Bulgarian Dreams. He was selling apartments in over 30 developments across Bulgaria, so it's no surprise that we've now heard of hundreds of you who each paid him tens of thousands of pounds for properties that were never finished.
Familiar story
We spoke to Gavin Tweedie who's one of more than a hundred customers who bought apartments in the Cedar Heights development in Pamporovo. But when Gavin visited the apartment he'd been told was ready, he found it wasn't. A familiar story.
Gavin has taken matters into his own hands. He now heads an action group representing the buyers at Ceder Heights against, not just Bulgarian Dreams, but the developers, Interlink BG. They've voted to remove Interlink BG as the development's managers and hire in their own company. Unfortunately Gavin says that Interlink BG have denied their new management company access to the property. Gavin is incensed: "I don't know why they want to hold onto the complex. What benefit is it to them?"
It's not clear whether the people involved will ever get any answers, especially from Robert Jenkin. It's a shame he is so reluctant to speak to us and his customers. It's a disappointing twist to a once promising career; a Cambridge degree, a job as an investment banker, a successful entrepreneur. But now he's just a man hiding from an awful lot of people who want to ask him a lot of awkward questions.
Watchdog has repeatedly tried to speak to Robert about the issues raised in the two reports. This is his response:
Statement on behalf of Berkeley Square Trading Limited (T/A Bulgarian Dreams).
"The decision to close the London sales and marketing office of Berkeley Square Trading Limited t/a Bulgarian Dreams doesn't mean that the company isn't committed to providing ongoing customer support services to clients who've purchased developments in Bulgaria where it's able to do so.*Clients are aware of the telephone number and email address where ongoing queries can be addressed. Bulgarian Dreams will answer such queries if they're addressed to the Company directly, but it's not prepared to discuss individuals' issues on air."
Read the original Watchdog report on Bulgarian Dreams.
Bulgarian Dreams update