TONY HETHERINGTON: Is £30,000 ‘whisky’ investment a glorified IOU?

Tony Hetherington is the Financial Mail on Sunday’s top researcher, taking on readers’ corners, uncovering the truth that lies behind closed doors and delivering victories for those left out of pocket. Below you can read how you can contact him.

Mrs PT writes: I made inquiries via the internet, looking for an Isa. I received a call from Nicholas James Finance Ltd, based in Canary Wharf, East London, offering an investment in whiskey casks.

I made the investment and everything seemed fine.

Then the same salesperson called again several times and suggested that I might be interested in investing with Linc Drinks Ltd.

Whiskey was mentioned again and I invested £30,000, which I was told was the minimum.

I thought everything was fine until I received a message about your article on Linc Drinks.

Tony Hetherington replies: In October I warned that Linc Drinks was offering loan bonds to raise £3m, predicting the company would be worth £150m by December and could be taken over by drinks giant Diageo, the owner of Guinness. I said then that this was complete nonsense, and I say it again today.

You didn’t even know your money was going into loan bonds, which are nothing more than IOUs that can later be converted into shares in Linc Drinks, which is unlisted. You thought you were being offered more barrels of whisky.

And you should never have gotten loan bonds in the first place. Nicholas James Finance is not authorized by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to sell investments to the public. Legally, it can only take advantage of a loophole that allows dealing with people who are rich enough or experienced enough to take big risks. When I explained this, you said to me, “I was not asked anything about my financial situation, whether or not I am a wealthy individual, or experienced enough to be able to assess the risks I was taking.” If you knew you could suffer a total loss, you would never have invested.

You tried calling Jack Blackburn, the salesperson at Nicholas James Finance, but there was no answer. You reached the owner of the investment company, Ashley Wilkinson, and he told you that Blackburn had left the company after being suspended.

Wilkinson is a business partner of Amit Kochhar, who was involved in setting up the marketing of the Linc Drinks loan bonds. Kochhar was also behind the sale of notes at cannabis company Cannadex. Investors in Cannadex complained when interest was not paid, then were told their loan notes had been converted into shares that were not publicly traded. Does this sound familiar?

I took all this to Ashley Wilkinson, but he made no comment. You are not the only investor who has done business with Nicholas James Finance and been sold Linc Drinks loan bonds without being asked about their investment experience. Someone told me, “I never had any kind of warning about investing. I was told all the money was safe and bonded.”

The FCA told me: ‘We have banned the mass marketing of these high-risk products to ordinary investors because they are only suitable for experienced investors who understand the risks and for those who can afford to lose all the money invested.’

The FCA very rarely names companies as targets of its investigation, but has made an exception in the case of Nicholas James Finance. A spokesperson said: ‘We are actively investigating this matter. We would welcome any evidence from concerned investors.”

I have provided some evidence to the FCA, and now I will prove even more. Anyone who has dealt with Wilkinson’s company and is concerned about their money, go online to fca.org.uk/contact and report your experiences. And watch this space as my own research continues as well.

Why has my Isa payment disappeared?

KH writes: I opened an Isa with Cynergy Bank and paid £15,000. I wanted to add another €5,000, but couldn’t log in with the account details provided by the bank.

I called Cynergy and was told I could transfer £5,000 from my bank. I made the transfer but didn’t get confirmation so I called again.

I was told I hadn’t answered their security questions correctly so I still don’t know where my £5,000 went.

Tony Hetherington replies: You told me that you knew the answers to all the personal security questions, so you suspected there was a problem with the user ID. You knew that your own bank had sent the £5,000.

I asked Cynergy for an explanation. One of the security questions you were asked was: ‘How much is in your Isa?’ You replied £15,000. But the person you spoke to knew there was £20,000 in it because Cynergy had received your extra £5,000. So the exact question you wanted to ask about the balance sheet was the question that caused the problem. Cynergy tells me it has contacted you to establish digital access.

If you believe you have been a victim of financial misconduct, please write to Tony Hetherington at Financial Mail, 9 Derry Street, London W8 5HY or email tony.hetherington@mailonsunday.co.uk. Due to the large number of questions, personal answers cannot be given. Only send copies of original documents. Unfortunately, these cannot be returned.