Re: Spring 2014 | Page 8

But you promised... There will, however, be the odd bad penny, and the thing is they are difficult to spot in a handful of change. Recently, I went to see the Wolf of Wall Street. If you haven’t seen it, it’s an entertaining (though long) film about a corrupt US stockbroker called Jordan Belfort, based on his own story, published when he was released from prison. In essence, it’s a story about greed and gullibility. Jordan Belfort prospered for many years because he and his colleagues sold to gullible people the idea that they would become rich very quickly by investing in dubious enterprises that had little real value. They were motivated to do so by their own greed, which of course ultimately proved to be t heir downfall. They promised much and delivered little. It made me reflect on the extent to which the ordinary business we transact in our lives relies upon trust, which in turn depends on the people we are dealing with behaving ethically and honouring promises. How important is that and how far can you take it for granted? Well, as a Solicitor, I of course have to say “Don’t rely on it”. In my career I have come across many examples of people that have put too much faith in another person’s promises without really testing them out or thinking about the consequences if those promises aren’t honoured. An example of this would be a client I dealt with many years ago who was seeking some finance for a particular project he wanted to launch and was 6 told about an investment company that could be interested in backing him. He met with a person describing himself as an Agent of the investment company in an Airport lounge. Yes that may start to raise suspicion, but actually quite a lot of business is done on the move these days, so the lack of a plush office decorated in pastel and bedecked with artificial greenery isn’t of itself an indication that extra vigilance is needed. Anyway, in this particular case, the Agent said that the investment company would need to look into the viability of my client’s company, and that would cost £50,000 for the “Due Diligence”. At that time, my client had no Solicitor acting for him, but was reassured to learn that the Agent could produce a Solicitor’s reference, confirming that all was in order so far as this Agent’s dealings were concerned. The money was paid. Needless to say, that £50,000 and some more money after that disappeared, and no investment ever took place, at which point I became involved, to advise what could now be done. It was an interesting case. My client was based in Canada, so it had an International flavour. The “Agent” inevitably disappeared after some initial half hearted correspondence so how would any recovery of money be effective? There was some law to unravel. For a start, in law, not all promises are binding. If I promise to come round to your house to wash your car (and let me just say there is little