Dear Claudienne

We live in England but our parents own a property in Spanish Town, in Jamaica. Our two older siblings (brother and sister) have tricked our parents into putting their names on the title deeds of their property in Jamaica amongst other fraudulent matters. Please note that the United Kingdom-based offences are being investigated by the UK police at present in terms of fraud and abuse of position. However, the UK police have no jurisdiction in Jamaica.

Could you kindly provide us with answers to the following questions:

1. What is the process in Jamaica for removing two names from my parents’ property deeds/title?

2. Are there particular forms and fees to pay?

SS

Dear SS

An attorney at-law has informed us that for your siblings’ names to be removed from the title, proof would have to be provided that the property was fraudulently transferred to them.

On the advice of the attorney, Tell Claudienne also spoke to the Land Titles Division of the National Land Agency (NLA).

The Land Titles Division said that only persons registered on the title as owners (in this case your parents) could have your siblings’ names removed from the title.

The spokesperson said that the matter would have to go to court, and the services of a lawyer would be needed to have their names removed.

She said that the fraud should be reported to the police in Jamaica, because if the matter goes to court the judge will need to see the police report.

The spokesperson said that for a transfer of ownership of a property to take place in Jamaica, a transfer of land form must be completed. She said that for the transfer to take place, a Justice of the Peace (JP) must witness the signing over of the property by the previous owner to the new owner (s). The transfer of land form must also be signed by the JP and stamped with the JP’s seal.

She said that whether your parents were adding your two siblings’ names to the registered title for the property they own in Jamaica, or were removing their names altogether to make your brother and sister the sole owners of the property, the transfer of land form would have to be completed and signed before a JP.

The attorney-at-law we consulted said that you could also get a lawyer to lodge a caveat in the court to prevent the transfer of the property from your siblings to a third party.

Good luck.

Dear Claudienne

I live in the United States and my mother lives in Manchester. I help her to pay her bills.

In October 2013 she got a Jamaica Public Service (JPS) bill for $24,143.25. She said that when she pointed out to the JPS office that she could not have used so much electricity for that month, she was advised to have an electrician check into the matter. She said she paid an electrician to check and he told her that the meter

was OK.

In November 2013 the electricty bill was for $34,551, and by December the bill was $53,000. She went back to the JPS and pointed out that based on the appliances at the house she could not have used that amount of electricity. She was told that the meter readings were correct and that in addition to paying the $7,000 that she usually paid monthly, she would also have to pay an additional $10,000 monthly until the $53,000 owed was paid off

The JPS told her that they would send an electrician to investigate her complaint.

She told me that the JPS electrician visited her house in April 2014 and at that time advised her that the meter was OK and was not malfunctioning. She was advised to take her bills to the office in Mandeville to try to have the problem sorted out.

Although her light bill is now back to normal (between $5,000 and $7,000 monthly), the JPS is insisting that the $53,000 must be paid. The JPS has told her that in addition to her normal monthly light bill, she must pay an extra $10,000 monthly to clear the $53,000 they insist she is owing.

I think they should take liability for the error and reimburse her the additional amount she has so far paid on the $53,000 debt.

Could you please check into this matter for my mother?

LS

Dear LS

In an effort to understand why your mother’s light bill escalated then dropped, Tell Claudienne spoke to your mother several times. According to the JPS, the light bill dropped after your mother got an electrician to correct a problem at the house. However, your mother told us that the electrician said that he found no problem.

We note that the senior JPS manager in Manchester has visited your mother’s house. When he visited the house he opened the meter and showed her that it had been tampered with. We note that the meter has been changed and that in addition to her regular monthly light bill payments, the additional amount she is required to pay monthly to clear the $53,000, has been reduced from $10,000 to $5,000.

Good luck.

Have a problem with a store, utility, a company? Telephone 936-9436 or write to: Tell Claudienne c/o Sunday Finance, Jamaica Observer, 40-42 1/2 Beechwood Avenue, Kingston 5; or e-mail: edwardsc@jamaicaobserver.com. Please include a contact phone number.