Complaint Review: Magna Financial - Internet

I have been using Magna Financial since the initial introduction by Wady Properties back in November 2016 when I purchased my property in Tenerife. I never usually go on to write reviews, but I happened to come across this complaint last night and I had to reply, only because my experience was great with these guys and they deserve only praise. They not only offered me a friendly, bespoke service, but they also manged to save me over £3,000 in comparison to my UK bank, which helped pay towards other costs I had.

Of course, moving large sums of monies overseas is always a daunting prospect, especially when you have only spoken to company you never heard of before. When I went on to review them on the net, I was happy to see only positive comments on both google and Trustpilot as mentioned on their response, here. Their friendly and professional approach was a delightful experience and I am still using them to date for my monthly pension transfers.

Magna Financial(a.k.a. First Rate FX) merely  implicates  itself in trying to discredit me.

 Magna proudly  admits paying commissions to realtors like Wady Properties  to refer potential clients to its currency "services."  Considering how I -- and doubtless many others -- have been  overcharged, this is nothing other than a sleazy  conspiracy to commit petty fraud , but so customary as to be considered standard operating procedure.   Magna brags that is has worked closely with Wady Properties "for years, " and continues to solicit other realtors on its website. It trusts that none of its victims are likely to complain, being mostly retirees who only desire a peaceful retirement without legal complications.

Aside from vaunting its "fantastic reputation,"  note that Magna  fails to refute  a single charge made in my complaint, including:

1. The exorbitant fee, compared to local banks and other services (even claiming Magna  charges no fee, but is  performing a free service for its clients.)

2. The unsolicited daily emails and phone calls, documented in my files,  from Saeed Abbassi,  Managing Director of First  Rate FX.

3. The deceptive phone call from Saeed Abbassi,   supposedly just  to obtain the address of my bank but actually  to "prove" very cunningly that I had  consented  to  the terms of the trade in advance -- by slipping in some  rushed, inaudible details I was not able or  intended to comprehend.  Mr. Abbassi misrepresented the purpose of the call in order to deceive me. He then rapidly slurred the net amount of the trade(which I was able to discern later only  by listening multiple times).   It was analagous to the fine print of a legal contract, but fine print that had been deliberately blurred so as to become illegible.  The actual details of the trade, including not just amounts but rates, were only revealed to me in an e-mail days after the trade had been completed. 

Richard Cassell, Ph.D.

Tenerife, Spain

2. 

I am writing in regards to the ‘false’ accusations made Mr Richard Cassell.

Firstly, I would like to mention that we are a well-respected company with close relations to many lawyers and estate agents all around Europe.

In this particular instance, involving Wady Properties, whom we have been working closely with for a number of years, recommended and never urged Mr Cassell or any of their clients in this matter, to speak to us, so to hear how we can help them with their money transfers.

 Furthermore, Mr Cassell’s lawyer is also a client of ours, who we have had a long standing relationship with. Both the lawyer and the agents still to this day, recommend their clients to speak to us, as we have proven to add great value when it comes to obtaining completive rates.

 Our work ethic certainly does not promote ‘aggressive’ telephone calls as all we do is explain our services and why/how we can help them. We never force any clients to do anything and the choice is completely up to them, whether they feel comfortable to proceed with our services.

Another area we fully concentrate on is fully clarifying all deals with clients on recorded lines. This is one of many requirements for our type of business; dealing with peoples’ funds. We have to follow our industry protocol.

We even sent a copy of the recording to Mr Cassell, which clearly highlighted how many Euros we were purchasing for his Dollars and made sure he agreed to proceed; which he of course did.

Obviously, we never like any client to end their relationship on a sour note, so as a goodwill gesture, we ended up reimbursing him, to which he was grateful for. We did not have to do this, but the fact he was quite irate at the time and also the fact that we want to maintain our fantastic reputation, we were happy to do so.

Lo and behold, he still went on to this site to file another report adding further derogatory comments. This is the first and last time that we will be dealing with the likes of Mr Cassell.

We work alongside these agents and lawyers for the benefit of their clients solely.

We, have performed umpteen transactions on behalf of clients, reviews of which can be found on trusted sites like Trust Pilot and even Google. This is living proof, so it’s rather frustrating when a certain individual has his own ideas of how he thinks we work.

Should any fellow readers wish to speak to us directly, please feel free to get in contact.

On Jan. 20, 2017, Magna Financial repaid a portion of the excessive commission they had charged me for conversion of USD to Euros.   They made no admission of guilt, claimed they could not restore the amount paid to their business partner, Silvana Straccia, owner of Wady Properties in Tenerife, Spain and required me to drop the  the matter. I had previously filed a complaint with Ripoff Reports(sent in December, 2016 but posted on Ripoff Reports on Feb. 1, 2017.) When they started receiving alarmed inquiries from their  clients about the posting, they called my home to demand  that I retract my complaint. Their legal department  sent a confession  for me to sign and forward to Ripoff Reports, blaming myself for the ¨misunderstanding¨and exonerating them completely.  I refused on the grounds that I had filed my complaint long before they offered a settlement and had not violated our agreement.  Also, that their account was palpably false and, in effect,  suborning of perjury.   Ironically, this forced  confession would have entitled them to demand a refund from me!

Richard, Tenerife, Spain and East Hampton, New York