MY KNIGHT IN SHINING ARMOR IS COMING..HES JUST STUCK IN TRAFFIC

March 1st, , In Living in the Pink , by Lindsley. The poetry within you wants to get out So let your voice be heard and shout! As adults, we learn to cope — with life, stress, sadness, tragedy. We are taught that in order to be an accepted member of society, we are expected to keep our emotions and feelings private. However, some keep them … Continue Reading. February 6th, , In Living in the Pink , by Lindsley.

February 1st, , In Living in the Pink , by Lindsley. January 28th, , In Living in the Pink , by Lindsley. Wow did I go dark for a while. I have been going through a bad divorce are any of them ever good?

But I have been writing and now, as begins, my writing muscles are flexing and working … Continue Reading. Today, I woke up grumpy.

But I did because, you see, my husband has been driving me crazy lately. February 11th, , In Living in the Pink , by Lindsley. Hey you fabulous single ladies! January 4th, , In Living in the Pink , by Lindsley. What I do is make some goals for myself for the year. They are a range of small and easy to big and lofty. I began to panic and paid as many bills as I could before the account was empty again. When he reappeared, I asked him to get my money out of the building society to pay me back. First he said he was too busy to go, then he told me the building society manager refused to let him have it.

And then there were further stories about selling the company. And so it continued - one delaying tactic after another. I was frightened to alienate him and feared that if I upset him, he wouldn't repay me.

It never occurred to me at that stage that he had no intention of paying me back. The lies went on until he went out of the country on business, supposedly to sell the company - again. At this point, I went to see a solicitor. He immediately realised what I was not yet ready to accept - that Peter had no intention of paying me back. He told me that the company was just a false front to get my money. My lawyer's enquiries revealed that Peter didn't even own his house.

My lawyer then advised me to dissolve the partnership and to write to all creditors advising them of the situation. I also realised why all the post had been directed to me. That meant I signed for everything. And I subsequently found out he had sold the Porsche - even though it was not his to sell. At this point, Peter disappeared, so the creditors came after me.

See a Problem?

Some were very supportive and wrote off debts but others threatened court action. I discovered Peter had done this before, to a previous girlfriend, though on a smaller scale. He had never put one penny into the company. There was no stock. Every day I woke up feeling sick, scared to look at the post. I wanted to stop him being able to do it to anyone else. My solicitor advised me to call the police, who told me that there was a criminal case of obtaining money by deception. But it went backwards and forwards to the Crown Prosecution Service, with varying results.

By this time, Peter was living in Spain. Then, a year ago, when he thought it was safe, he came back and the police interviewed him. It was, he said, an innocent business venture that went wrong. He told them I knew the risk.

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But the police charged him. I spent three traumatic days at court, giving my account and reliving something I'd tried hard to put behind me. He denied all three charges, two of obtaining money by deception and one of the theft of the Porsche, but was convicted on all counts.

I feel at last he's being punished for what he did. Has it left me scarred? It affected my life for a long time. I had a nervous breakdown, I lost a great deal of money and my self-esteem. I find it hard to trust men now. But I will not be a victim. I have rebuilt my life. I've met someone new who's a wonderful guy. We've been together for three years now and I've moved to get away from the whole incident. What have I learned? That conmen are very clever and good at what they do. I'd never met one before and didn't realise how plausible they can be.

Fraudsters are at their most persuasive when they convince you they are your friend, or even better, your lover. They get you to trust them and then rely on them so totally that caution evaporates. Top fraudsters so insinuate themselves in your affections that you leave decisions to them. Jane Hope is not the first infatuated woman to be caught like this. And sadly, she is unlikely to be the last. It's the female equivalent of the rich man who marries a woman with a long track record of lucrative divorces - only to find himself being taken perfectly legally to the cleaners after only 18 months of marriage.

Donna Bradshaw, an independent financial adviser at IFG Financial Services who specialises in advice for women, is not surprised.