‘Why would a luxury hotel in Tokyo buy wine I never owned?’ TONY HETHERINGTON investigates

Tony Hetherington is Financial Mail on Sunday’s ace investigator, fighting readers corners, revealing the truth that lies behind closed doors and winning victories for those who have been left out-of-pocket. Find out how to contact him below. 

R.S. writes: I invested in wine through the Bordeaux Wine Company (BWC) which, as you reported recently, has collapsed. 

I actually sold my wine eight years ago, but I have now been contacted by Empire Investment Capital Limited, which says BWC bought two cases of wine for me, and not one case as I had thought. 

Empire says it has a buyer, the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Tokyo, which will pay £9,700 for the case of Mouton Rothschild 2002 which I supposedly own. 

The hotel will also pay Empire a 20 per cent finder’s fee. 

However, Empire wants £1,408 up front, refundable on completion of the deal. I believe this is a scam, and I have refused to pay.

Tony replies: This is a scam, based on a rip-off, wrapped inside a big lie. For starters, Empire Investment Capital Limited, with offices in Twickenham and in the City, should not even be using this name any more. 

It told Companies House last October that its name is now Empire Managed Properties Limited.

But leaving this aside, what about the details of its pitch to you. Should you really believe that you own wine worth thousands of pounds, while for the past eight years nobody has spotted this or charged you for storage? 

And how did Empire get control of that case when BWC’s wine has been in the hands of the liquidator since last summer? 

Against this background, has Empire genuinely done a deal with one of the most luxurious hotels in the world? No, it has not. 

A charming Michiko Fujikawa, head of marketing at the hotel, told me: ‘Greetings from Tokyo. 

Mandarin Oriental, Tokyo, does not have an appointed wine merchant in Europe.’ Michiko knew absolutely nothing about any deal with Empire.

And if this was not enough to undermine Empire’s approach, I found the wine you are supposed to own is on sale for around £4,400. 

So, I asked Raymond Empson, the sole director of Empire, whether he would care to pay me £9,700 for a case if I went out and bought one now for £4,400.

I also asked Empson how he managed to do a deal involving wine which you are clear does not even exist. 

And why, I wondered, would the hotel in Tokyo tell me there was no such deal.

Empson offered no explanations, and no comments. 

Perhaps he was put off by my warning that on the face of it, Empire appears to be making fraudulent claims, contrary to Section 2 of the Fraud Act 2006, to persuade you to fork out £1,408.

Or perhaps he chose silence because I made clear that I knew a year ago his company had approached investors who lost money in another wine scam.

Again, the wine company was in liquidation, yet Empire had supposedly done a deal with Shangri La Hotels in Hong Kong, which would pay well over the odds for surprisingly ordinary wine. The catch? 

Investors had to pay thousands up front to join in the deal.

Often when a scam investment firm crashes, its client list is passed to a different firm, operating what is called a ‘Recovery Room’. 

Its salesmen are tasked with squeezing more money out of the same victims by promising to get back their original losses, if only they will put up fresh cash to get things moving.

Last Thursday, I made a final bid to get Raymond Empson to speak to me. 

I called Empire on 0207 459 4089 and gave my name. After some conversation in the background, the line went dead. 

I rang again. 

Could I speak to Mr Empson? 

‘That’s not possible,’ was the reply, and the speaker hung up. Anyone contacted by Empire should do exactly the same: hang up.

Mystery of refund from Green Star 

B.B. writes: I transferred from Green Star Energy to another utility supplier. 

Green Star used incorrect tariffs on my final bill, and after writing emails and letters without success, I complained to the Energy Ombudsman, who told Green Star to apologise and credit me with £27 for charges, refund a balance of £65, and credit a further £50 as a gesture of goodwill. 

None of this happened except for the £27 credit.

Green Star told me: ‘We can confirm following the Ombudsman’s findings that we have implemented their recommendations.’ 

The company felt you misunderstood the Ombudsman’s decision and expected all funds to be paid to your bank account, instead of some being credited to your energy account. 

It insisted it sent £65 to your bank, but you were equally certain no such sum arrived. 

Taking a common sense approach, Green Star rang you after hearing from me, and offered £125 as a goodwill gesture to settle the matter, which you were happy to accept. 

The company has, by the way, changed hands since your unfortunate experience.

The Energy Ombudsman did not comment on whatever had gone wrong with implementing its original decision, so that remains a mystery.

If you believe you are the victim of financial wrongdoing, write to Tony Hetherington at Financial Mail, 2 Derry Street, London W8 5TS or email [email protected].

Because of the high volume of enquiries, personal replies cannot be given. Please send only copies of original documents, which we regret cannot be returned.