Reduced from riches to rags.

[Digsy]

I would like some feedback on how you would help someone that has gone through the following circumstances.

 

Man comes back to England from Spain, he was an illegal immigrant in Spain, spent three years over there before deciding to come back.

 

Over the next ten years this man works his little butt off accumulating assets.

He buys a flat outright within this 10 year period.

 

He meets a young lady who works at his place (accounts department), and he's under the impression that his boss (who has become a good friend over this 10 year period) had his best interests at heart (his boss had bought and sold several businesses and too this man with him).

 

Within the first six months of being with the young lady (this man is early 40s, young lady early 20s) he re-mortgages his flat and invests it into a larger (250k) house. He also fathers a child to this lady.

 

He finds out at some point during the first year that the lady is a heavy drug user, but he stands by her because he is blinded by love.

The lady quits work to look after the child and the man now supports his family (complete with ladies drug habits).

He continues to work for a further two years, then the recession hits and the company he works for goes into administration, he hangs onto his position working alongside the admins right up until the final day of the businesses existence.

Then he loses his job, within six months he finds out that his partner is sleeping with drug dealers (in their own home) to pay for her fixes, and decides enough is enough, and splits with her, he moves back to his flat.

In the meantime she lives rent free in his 2nd home (that he can no longer afford) and takes the mick, gets CSA onto him, making unrealistic demands and the like.

 

He decides enough is enough and kicks her out of his 2nd home and cuts all ties with her.

 

He is unable to sign on because of his three year stint in Spain (not paying NI), and faces foreclosure on both properties.

He then sells his portion of both properties for a fraction of what its worth and invests the money into a business with his brother in law, and gives his sister the rest to save.

The business starts losing money and it comes to the point where he needs the little he's given his sister to save (17k), to be told he's cheeky for asking for it back, and that they want another 16k to put into the business.

 

Needless to say he's at the lowest point in his life that he can get to, and is looking at being broke and homeless pretty soon.

He is also very depressed and cannot motivate himself into getting another job nor shows any interest in picking himself back up.

 

I've tried to cheer him up but he's been reduced from riches to rags, I don't know what else I could do for him.

 

Any ideas?

[redrobbo]

I would like some feedback on how you would help someone that has gone through the following circumstances.

 

Man comes back to England from Spain, he was an illegal immigrant in Spain, spent three years over there before deciding to come back.

 

 

If the man is a UK citizen, then he couldn't have been "an illegal immigrant in Spain".

 

If the man is not a UK citizen, and was thus indeed an illegal immigrant in Spain, then he is now an illegal immigrant in the UK.

 

I've tried to cheer him up but he's been reduced from riches to rags, I don't know what else I could do for him.

 

Any ideas?

 

If he is an illegal immigrant in the UK you should inform the police so that he can be deported.

[Digsy]

If the man is a UK citizen, then he couldn't have been "an illegal immigrant in Spain".

 

If the man is not a UK citizen, and was thus indeed an illegal immigrant in Spain, then he is now an illegal immigrant in the UK.

 

13-14 years ago he wouldn't have been an illegal immigrant?

They used to fly you back and if you was caught x amount of times was banned from entering the country, at least that is what I was led to believe.

It's irrelevant anyway the point was that he didn't pay his NI for three years, so there is a shortfall.

 

If he pays his NI shortfall then he should be able to sign on, but I don't think he's bothered to find out how much it is and couldn't pay it if he wanted too.

 

If he is an illegal immigrant in the UK you should inform the police so that he can be deported.

 

Nah he's always been English chattel.

[megalithic]

Whether he's an illegal immigrant or not, sounds like without the smackhead he'd be a good business man.

Sign him up, i say.

[Digsy]

Maybe Illegal immigrant is the wrong phrase I don't know, he didn't have a Spanish green card or work permit or whatever and had overstayed his holiday time etc.

 

That is just it megalithic, I've been trying to tell him that although things are crap atm and his credit rating is looking at being shot down he's better than this.

He just has to get passed the depression and start again, he's been to the docs etc. now on anti-depressants, but I just don't know how to get him to pick himself back up again.

[megalithic]

New hobby mate, or a good day out, something to trigger his old self.

if you've got a business brain, with a bit of a kick up the ar5e it soon comes back.

[Alien]

Add a bomber and an Alien and it'll make a cracking Hollywood script.

[redrobbo]

13-14 years ago he wouldn't have been an illegal immigrant?

They used to fly you back and if you was caught x amount of times was banned from entering the country, at least that is what I was led to believe.

It's irrelevant anyway the point was that he didn't pay his NI for three years, so there is a shortfall.

 

 

Since the UK's accession to the European Treaty, there has been free movement across EU borders.

 

Nah he's always been English chattel.

 

OK, so he isn't an illegal immigrant.

 

...the point was that he didn't pay his NI for three years, so there is a shortfall.

 

If he pays his NI shortfall then he should be able to sign on, but I don't think he's bothered to find out how much it is and couldn't pay it if he wanted too.

 

Your loyalty is admirable, but if he can't be bothered to find out for himself, I have to question why are you bothering for him?

 

He took his chances in Spain, and things didn't work out for him. But he can't return to the UK and expect taxpayers to pick up the bill for him when he hasn't made any NI contributions whilst he was out of the country.

[megalithic]

There's no discussion to be had here, give the bloke 3 years, 1 to recover and have fun, and 2 years to prove himself, if he doesn't, give him the boot, unless he's a valid citizen.

Sounds like what we need to aid recovery to me, a young entrepreneur.

[Digsy]

New hobby mate, or a good day out, something to trigger his old self.

if you've got a business brain, with a bit of a kick up the ar5e it soon comes back.

 

Aye, I just don't know what kick would motivate him again.

He's had to sell up all the shares he had stockpiled (not a massive amount, maybe a few thousand) and is pretty much living off bread, eggs, onions and liver.

I've tried to think of ways to help him, we started paying him to do our shopping from the wholesalers (because what we saved from retail price paid for his food), instead of getting a taxi to Morrisons.

 

We are not rolling in money either so what we pay him is pretty much all we can spare ourselves.

 

The only place I can find for him to live is at my cousins in Skegness, my cousin doesn't use his flat during season because it's cheaper to live in his van.

And he says that he might be willing to help out if things become dire.

We really don't have space here there is already six of us in a two bed property.

 

I just can't think of what else can be done to help him.

And it is a shame because he's a really nice bloke.

 

He came round last week to do the shopping and heard my account of the past month and how I've been feeling seriously sick to the back teeth of everything, not just my life (family excluded, I love them to bits and they are the only thing that keep me going) but his too, the state of the economy, the uprisings abroad the state of the whole planet.

Told him about my five year plan to get back into work and 7 year plan to buy a burger van and hopefully set up on our own, me and our lass.

Told him about the problems I'm having getting out and about.

Explained to him that at the rate we're going now it will be nigh on the end of this year before I can buy a wheelchair or maybe at a push a lazy luxury mobility scooter to help me get around.

 

He offered to give me the money for a scooter on the grounds that if I ever wanted to give him the money back, I'd do so when I could afford it.

That is how nice a bloke he is.