'My deceased parents' home became a drug den - then was illegally sold without my knowledge'

A man whose deceased parents’ home was used as a drug den, stolen and then near-demolished, has revealed his 10-year battle to unravel an astonishing case of identity fraud. Adrian moved to in the early 1990s, but when his parents passed away, he decided to keep their three bedroom, end-of-terrace house in Plumstead, south , as a base for when he visited Europe for work.

His visits were not always frequent - and during one particularly long period, the house fell into a state of disrepair and had been used as a drugs den. Adrian, whose name has been changed for the purpose of this article, was unaware of what was happening at the - until he received a phone call out of the blue from London police with even worse news.

A fraudster had managed to steal the property by changing their name, and selling it to a developer without Adrian's knowledge. Adrian had found himself the victim of identity fraud. On top of this, the developer who had unwittingly purchased the property had already started gutting it, which meant Adrian had also lost all the precious memories linked to his childhood home, which he had helped his parents purchase using his own savings. The developer was also victim to the fraud.

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Adrian said: “I learned that someone had changed their name to mine and made the sale to a developer who had started work on the house, gutting it completely. So not only did I not have a viable residence, I had also lost its contents which was more than just furniture, appliances, tools... but also the history of my family in the form of photographs, mementoes and personal items.

“Over a period of several years, multiple communications took place between London police and myself, as they tried to keep me abreast of their efforts to resolve the case, and even stated that the theft was related to a multinational money laundering case.”

He continued: “It was home to my brother and myself for many years as a post-war rental property from the local authority. I eventually moved out and had begun living in my new home in Gravesend before moving overseas with rare trips to the UK.

“The Thatcher administration permitted renters of then 'council houses' to purchase them and as I wanted my parents to enjoy their later years in the home which they had lived in for so long, I sold my house and used the proceeds to enable them to purchase theirs.“

Patrick, who lives on the same street as Adrian, had noticed the property decline in condition over the years - and in a bizarre twist, it was this neighbour who helped finally resolve this stressful situation for Adrian. Patrick heard a segment on 4’s You & Yours back in the summer of 2015 about a company called , which rewards members of the public for spotting derelict houses in their neighbourhood.

If the property you find meets the eligibility criteria, then you will initially be awarded a £20 voucher for or Amazon. But if YouSpotProperty goes on to purchase that home, then you get a 1% share of the property value, up to £10,000. Patrick very quickly wrote down the name of the firm, and later reported the house to the website.

He was rewarded a £20 voucher back 2015 and didn’t think any more of the situation until he was contacted this month to inform him that the house he’d reported had been acquired by YouSpotProperty.com, who went on to help Adrian solve the legal issues surrounding the property and eventually acquired it for £156,000.

Patrick was eligible for 1% of what YouSpotProperty.com paid Adrian for the house, which is £1,560, and will be put toward a large forthcoming dental bill. He said: “I’ve watched the sad deterioration of this house on our street for years. - it’s been the talk of the road. In fact ten years ago, it was in a better state, but subsequently it became victim to drug users, prostitution and a huge amount of fly tipping in the garden.

“It's sadly a bizarre situation which attracted the nastiest of people. We’re delighted the police have treated this as a serious matter and that the council eventually took action. My biggest wish, is that a family could have been living happily in this house for the past decade, not least with the UK’s housing crisis.”

YouSpotProperty.com co-founder Benjamin Radstone, commented: “This Plumstead former family home is one of the most extreme examples we’ve seen of how an empty property can spiral into a total disaster dwelling. Furthermore, and it seems extreme, but identity fraud over property ownership is not as uncommon as people may think.“

Antoine Djikpa, chairman of the International Association of Professional Probate Researchers, said: “This is certainly not only a UK-only trend. Due to globalisation over the past 50 years it means more individuals have immigrated to other countries leaving family and childhood homes (both in and out of probate) to fall into this poor state after long periods, unoccupied. There is often an emotional attachment to the property coupled with the pressure of sorting out masses of legal work which inhibits owners to take any immediate action. The result? Many more properties which could be otherwise occupied.”