KSFIOM Depositors Action Group

At 80 & 82, we’ve just had our life savings taken away...

Ron and his wife, Jean, are British citizens aged 82 and 80. Ron retired early on a reduced pension from his job in 1986 due to ill health and moved to Spain. They have been living off the interest from their life savings of over £200,000 which was with the Derbyshire Building Society. Now they must manage on a small pension and their cashed-in premium bonds.

Every Penny i had..

Angela – who did not want to give her second name – is originally from Essex. She left school at 17 and worked hard holding down several jobs and renovating flats in her spare time. Eventually selling everything, she moved to Los Angeles to fulfill her dream of studying drama. “Stupidly enough I put absolutely every penny I had in the world into Kaupthing, I don't have any other source of income. We are weeks away from being declared bankrupt and losing our home, I am numb and shaking. I am totally disabled by fear”.

I am terrified that this money will never be returned

I am a UK resident and taxpayer. I deposited a considerable sum of money (well over £50,000) to generate interest to pay the fees for my 92 year old mother's residential care home. My mother has no idea of this situation, thank goodness but I can only continue to pay the bills for a while longer. I am terrified at the possibility that this money will never be returned and don’t allow myself to think about it.

I cant tell my wife

I retired from my job in 2004 when my wife was diagnosed with an incurable form of leukaemia. The rate of progression of the cancer can vary greatly and is very dependent on the person’s immune system. As this is depressed, any illness or stress can cause the rate of cancer growth to accelerate. I have a considerable amount of my life savings in KSF IOM and could lose a large amount of it. I cannot tell my wife the full extent of our loss due to the effect it may have on her health.

Land fit for heros?

My Grandfather: was one of the old contemptibles who fought ALL through the 1st world war. Injured twice, gassed three times and died from the gassing in later years at home on the sofa. My Father: from a boy fought through the 2nd world war as soon as he was of age in the role of commando, injured and mentally scarred. Myself: in a "military role" cleared mines from Libya through Kuwait and Afghanistan and beyond..... still standing. The total result of three generations’ work, service and loyalty to the UK lost through the rash actions of the UK Chancellor. .

Life savings in the Derbyshire BS.

Ruth worked seven days a week for more than 20 years running a seaside pub to put aside the cash in a Derbyshire Building Society offshore deposit account. The 87-year-old widow, who has lost almost her entire £600,000 life savings, is likely to spend the rest of her days in a care home. Her nest-egg will virtually disappear because the Derbyshire’s offshore accounts were taken over last November by KSFIOM. She said: ‘I can’t believe this is happening. I’ve worked hard all my life and never asked anyone for a penny. I put my money in a building society I thought was safe.’

Ordinary teachers in international schools

Two lifetimes of teaching and, suddenly, nothing to show for it! My wife and I have £279,000 at stake. We are just ordinary teachers in international schools and thought we were two years from retirement - We have saved all our lives - no flash cars, no flash clothes, always careful. An entire product of two working lives; stolen. Easy looking in the rear view mirror saying; “you put it all in one bank!!” I have to spend the rest of my life looking at my wife knowing that is what she is thinking. I go through periods when I feel physically sick with worry and sink into a depression. I call my wife in England and she is in tears and distraught...

Our chance for children stolen..

Neither my husband nor I are wealthy. We have worked hard for every penny that we own(ed?). I have worked in the Middle East for the past 11 years and stand to lose my entire life savings of £160,000. I met my (British) husband in the Middle East and we married earlier this year. Our plan was to start a family as soon as possible – at the ripe old age of 41, my biological clock is ticking loudly! Since that nest egg has now been stolen from us, we can no longer afford to bring a child into the world. Even if we did, I can no longer afford to stop working. With hindsight, a more lucrative plan would have been to become a single-mother in the UK while availing myself of every possible benefit offered by the UK government

Pension vanished overnight!

After the clothing industry in the UK, went down the pan in the 80's, my husband and I followed the work to the Far East. We always said it was a sacrifice we had to make in order to set up our own retirement fund for when we returned to the UK. Right now we are within less than 2 years of doing just that - BUT we have nothing to retire on. Those 20 years’ savings were deposited in KSF (IOM) - it made simple financial sense to put it in a bank with a high rating, a parental guarantee and a higher interest rate, rather than in a bond or fund "which may go down as well as up". At this stage in our lives we were not out to "gamble" our money on the stock-market; we wanted it to be safe - hence a bank. Not having a UK address, we couldn’t bank on the mainland. We don't have enough working years to recover from this - we are no longer young enough to do that.

Special schooling in jeopardy

Our son is dyslexic and at just 7 years old was utterly miserable following years of neglect and ridicule in mainstream education. He used to wake up every night screaming at the top of his voice that he was the stupidest boy in his school and that he wanted to die. We decided to sell our house to raise funds to send him to a specialist school where he would receive the education and encouragement he needs. I placed a large part of these funds with KSF IOM in September - thinking we were getting the best return on our deposit in a safe, reliable bank. We are now living in rented accommodation. The whole package was intended to give our son reassurance and confidence in his future - he has been doing so well at his new school. I feel sick with anger and frustration. I don't even have the luxury of showing my worries as that would undo all the good achieved so far. Brave face on every morning, I have to find the way through.

Successful business faces ruin

Simon, who does not want to be identified for fear it would jeopardize his company further, owns a small business with 9 employees in the Midlands. He re-mortgaged his house to invest in expanding the business and, along with his savings and tax money, deposited all his funds with KSF IoM; a sum in excess of £400,000. He therefore has a large mortgage to re-pay with no funds to show for it and a business that, to date, has been successful but now has had all its funds removed from it. As for the future, it's fairly bleak. The survival of the business, his family’s livelihood and that of 9 other families as well rests on these funds being returned.

The Deaf Violin Player

My violin became my best friend…my soul mate as a youth and the light of my life throughout a career performing around the globe. During the ravages of cancer it was ‘she’ who gave me the will to fight and perform again. Even when I awoke one morning deaf as a stone ‘she’ gave me satisfaction from the joy of my students playing such a masterful creation. Finally, realizing I would never hear again, I knew I must release that magnificent voice to someone who could do ‘her’ justice; the sale would give me the means to start anew. Days after the buyer’s transfer was made, my bank, KSF IoM closed their doors. I feel a sadness like no other before, more visceral than discovering cancer had invaded my body, more bitter than the loss of my hearing, my profession, my passion. The bleakness is colder than the darkest corner of the universe.