Fox Capital Investment, a Lagos State-based real estate firm promoted by Adewale Oshinaike, has adopted lies as a tool to delay the refund of N2,537,500 to Ajayi, a United Kingdom-based Nigerian woman, after a failed land transaction.
Fox Capital claimed in 2022 that it had a 10-acre expanse of land for sale at its Wondaland Estate located on Ikasi Family Land, Omu Village, in the Epe area of Lagos.
The advertisement came at the right time for Ajayi, who wished to be identified by her first name, as she intended to buy a plot as a gift for herself on her 40th birthday. She indicated interest in the land and commenced a payment plan spread over two years.
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“I finished the payment in August 2024 and I requested what the next step was supposed to be. I wanted to use the land as my birthday gift when I clocked 40,” Ajayi explained.
Until January, the company did not respond to Ajayi’s emails as she sought to know when her land would be allocated to her. When the company responded, it had already allocated a plot for her “on paper”.
“They sent me an allocation letter and a legal land document with a promise to get back to me soon. Their ‘soon’ became months. In January, they said they were still clearing the land,” said Ajayi.
A copy of the Deed of Assignment executed in Ajayi’s favour by Fox Capital.
The price of the land was N2,150,000. But with the ancillary fees after completing the original payment, everything cost Ajayi N2,537,500.
“I nominated a friend who would follow them to take possession of the land on my behalf and they agreed that they would inform her once the clearing was completed. But they did not get back to me,” Ajayi told FIJ.
Oshinaike’s company went mute again, despite emails from the buyer. This period of silence compelled Ajayi to contact the chief executive officer directly in March.
Both Oshinaike and Ajayi were members of the same youth organisation, and this played a major role in building her confidence in the company. But this fact was unknown to Oshinaike at the time.
Ajayi said the CEO did not respond to her messages. Because of this, she spoke to someone superior to Oshinaike in the youth group.
“He then flared up and said he did not like dealing with members of the club. And I said all I needed was land or money. He asked me to send an email to formalise my refund request. And I did in March,” she told FIJ.
On the one hand, a Deed of Assignment was executed in favour of Ajayi in the name of Fox Capital Investment Limited. On the other hand, she was made to pay into a Zenith Bank account owned by CountryHill Luxury Homes.
‘ALLOCATION ON PAPER‘
On December 20, an allocation letter signed by Theresa Alexander of CountryHill Luxury Homes was sent to Ajayi, identifying Block A, Plot 16, and measuring 600 square metres for residential purposes as her land.
To her persistent request for a physical allocation, CountryHill responded via email on March 13 that she already had her land “allocated on paper”.
“We want to inform you that you have been allocated on paper (sic), which is why you have received your allocation letter,” the email read. “However, due to economic factors, we are unable to proceed with allocations for individual clients at this stage. We require a certain number of clients to move forward with the process.”
CountryHill promised to revert to her “as soon as we can proceed” with further allocations. Kept in an endless anticipation of her land and regular inconsistent communication, the buyer ran out of patience and demanded a refund.
FOX CAPITAL’S RESPONSE RIDDLED WITH LIES
Responding to a list of questions sent by FIJ, CountryHill stated on July 22 that Ajayi’s request could only be processed within 90 long days, excluding weekends and public holidays as dictated by its refund policy, which had been “communicated to her”.
“She later contacted us requesting physical allocation. We explained that the most recent batch of physical allocations had already taken place on June 1, 2024, prior to her completing payment, and that she would be included in the next batch. However, she expressed dissatisfaction with the wait and opted to request a refund instead,” CountryHill stated.
“As communicated to her, refunds are processed within a standard timeline of 90 working days, excluding public holidays and weekends, and this timeline is still ongoing.”
That claim is a lie. Neither CountryHill nor Fox Capital told Ajayi about their refund terms and conditions. In fact, CountryHill did not respond to her refund request.
When FIJ confronted the company with a May 8 email where she asked when her money would be returned, the company went mute despite a reminder.
The company also said in the email that it issued a purchase agreement to Ajayi despite her failure to adhere to the monthly payment arrangement.
She made her initial deposit of N90,000 on August 27, 2022, and she was supposed to complete it in August 2024. Ajayi was out of a job for about three months, making it difficult to fulfil that obligation as required. Nevertheless, she still kept to the completion period by paying a lump sum in August.
But in its email, the company said that, despite the delay, it was magnanimous enough to issue the necessary documents to her to show its commitment to customer satisfaction.
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“Ajayi subscribed to a land purchase in our Epe estate through a former staff of our company, based on a 24-month payment plan. She made an initial deposit of ₦90,000 and was issued a Contract of Sale, which clearly outlined the terms of the agreement, including the completion date of July 31, 2024,” CountryHill wrote.
“However, Ajayi was unable to adhere strictly to the monthly payment plan and completed her full payment in August 2024 through a lump-sum payment. Despite this delay, and in good faith, we proceeded to process her documentation. A Deed of Assignment was executed in her name, and a Letter of Allocation was issued, indicating the specific plot within the estate reserved for her.”
When FIJ confronted it with its email of August 29, 2022, acknowledging her deposit on August 27 of the same year, CountryHill went mute again.
On Thursday, the company said it was “working on a thorough response” to FIJ’s follow-up questions. No response had been received at press time.
The post Adewale Oshinaike’s Fox Capital Investment Delays UK-Based Woman’s N2.5m Refund for 4 Months appeared first on Foundation For Investigative Journalism.