A British mother and her son were left homeless when Spanish officials sold their home for much less money than it was worth.
According to the Daily Mail, Victoria Jenkins had been living in her Marbella home located on the Costa del Sol for the last 22 years.
Her son Sam was born in the same house almost thirteen years ago, and the mother-son duo lived happily in their home until the authorities in Mijas served them with an eviction notice in November 2020.
“The Spanish authorities flogged their home at a cut price of £24,000 at auction without her knowledge,” per Daily Mail. “And she is not the only victim of an alleged property seizure scandal, with a string of other homeowners claiming to have also been targeted in the region.”
“The scandal has led to campaigners calling for officials and a former mayor of the town to be investigated by police.”
The UK born bought the house with her ex-husband for £230,000 in Riviera del Sol and didn’t have a mortgage or any debt against the property.
“But the local authority, similar to a town council in the UK, sold it for just £24,000 – despite it being worth around £280,000 – due to an alleged debt of £3,500.”
Moreover, after paying the debt, the authorities didn’t even give the remaining amount to Victoria and instead kept it for dealing with the legal procedure.
Consequently, Jenkins and her teenage son were left with nothing at all.
The mother-of-one claimed that she was even deprived of the child maintenance money that was previously awarded to her by the court.
Jenkins said that last year in October, six men, including two police officers, two town hall officials, the new owner, and his friend, suddenly arrived at her home and asked her to leave the house immediately.
The young mom said that after leaving their home, she and her son went to stay at her friend’s house, and since then, they had been sleeping on her couch.
“Jenkins has been battling the Andalusian courts for answers ever since. She was first handed an eviction notice in November 2020 and told that the town hall had sold her apartment to recoup unpaid ground taxes of £3,500 owed by ex-partner Lee Cohen, who officially owned the property,” wrote Daily Mail.
Speaking to the outlet, Victoria said that she had no idea about the deal until April 2021.
“No one notified me of the debt or the sale, and it happened back in 2015,” she said.
“Notification about the sale was sent to the wrong address, leaving me not allowed to speak. I have had the same address, email, and phone number the whole time I’ve been in Spain. All the court documents have the correct address, but the notifications were sent to one that doesn’t exist.”
“Because it looked like I was not responding, the judge automatically ruled in their favor,” she continued. “Without me knowing about it or being given a fair hearing or chance to put my side and legal documents forward.”
She added that when the judge thought she wasn’t responding, he granted them the eviction.
“And they had no problem finding me and banging on my door when it was time to kick me out. I don’t know how these people sleep at night.”
She noted that it was really shocking to learn about the whole situation, particularly knowing that the court officials didn’t even listen to her side of the story.
“The procedure had been manipulated in order to not give me a chance to talk or make anyone else aware of what had happened,” she explained. “I never had a chance to put my side across. I thought courts were supposed to hear both sides. We are in a really vulnerable position.”
“How do people get an invite to attend a closed auction? Why can no one answer that question to start with? I’d love to buy a home worth £280,000 for £3,500.”
“There were other homes with much higher debts than £3,500 at the time my home was sent to auction. These homes with higher debts were not auctioned. Why is that?”
The angry mom also said that she had not heard a word from her former partner since he left to start a new life in Indonesia ten years ago.
“The local politicians have taken advantage of my position to swoop on the flat as the force of sale was put on the property by the ex-mayor of Mijas, Angel Nozal,” said Victoria.
“There is no social housing here. I went to social services to see if they could help, and they said if I did not have a home the only thing they could do is take my son into the care system.”
“I feel defenseless, bullied, unable to protect my son, anxious and scared. I’ve never felt so harassed and helpless. I don’t understand why my child’s legal rights have been ignored,” she concluded.
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Source: Daily Mail
