“WARNING! DON’T BUY AT EL CASTILLO GOLF RESORT (JUMILLA, SPAIN)” are the first words you read at a new website set up by a furious Briton called Alan Ablett who is fighting to get his deposit back from a developer who he says has not even started building his home.

“In Jan 20007 we put down a deposit on an apartment on the El Castillo Golf Resort (a deposit of almost 21,000€),” explains Ablett, originally from Hull, who moved to Spain with his wife 6 years ago. “ The property was supposed to be completed in Dec 2008 (this was supposed to be a development with 5 star hotel, 18 hole golf course, prestigious golf club, shopping centres, equestrian centres, paddle courts, gymnasiums etc) yet no building works have even begun yet due to the failure to secure building licences (only the show homes have been built).”

“There is no prospect of them getting building licences, and they have no intention of paying back deposits,” Ablett told Spanish Property Buff. “Apart from some show homes and the sales office they haven’t laid a brick.”

Ablett says he is in touch with around 20 other Britons who have bought off-plan and paid deposits, with nothing to show for their money.

Do a Google search on El Castillo Golf Resort and you will get numerous results, mainly of estate agents praising the resort and its surroundings.

“El Castillo is a superb golf resort situated on the outskirts of the wine-growing town of Jumilla, in the north east of the province of Murcia,” enthuses one agent’s website. “El Castillo Golf Resort is a luxury development located in the beautiful wine making region of Jumilla in the province of Murcia, Costa Calida,” says another. As usual, it is up to potential buyers to do their own research if they want to know the full story before they buy.