Investors in Liverpool hotel chain Signature Living have told the ECHO about their "horror stories" of trying to get money from the company - but boss Lawrence Kenwright has vowed they will get their cash back.
The ECHO has been contacted by several investors complaining about how they have been treated by the growing hotel firm, whose venues include the Shankly Hotel and 30 James Street in Liverpool.
They have shared similar stories about how the returns on investments (ROIs) they were promised after investing in Signature had been delayed.
And they have complained that it was "impossible" to get hold of the company to complain.
Signature Living today announced that it was selling two of its most high profile hotels, 30 James Street and the Shankly Hotel.
Last month Signature said it was buying out all the investors in 30 James Street.
It has already bought out the investors in its first ever development, the Signature Hotel in Stanley Street.
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Mr Kenwright told the ECHO that only a small number of his 1,000 investors have ever had any problems and insisted the company was communicating with its investors.
And he said investors would get all the money they are owed once the properties are sold on.
One buyer told the ECHO they had started legal action in an attempt to get their deposit on a Signature property returned.
They said they were: “Never paid on time and have to dig a hole right through the earth to get each payment weeks after it was due.”
They and other investors told us it had been tough to get hold of anyone at Signature to ask about payments.
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One called their dealing with Signature a "horror story", saying they had made "countless" telephone calls in an attempt to get their ROIs.
Another said: "It is almost impossible to speak to anyone there and no-one returns calls. The many emails I have sent go unanswered."
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Mr Kenwright told the ECHO that every investor would get their money back and said those who had contacted us were only a small proportion of the company’s investor base.
He insisted the company had been talking to its investors, but said he would get in touch with those who have contacted the ECHO.
He said: “I will assure you that we will get in touch with those people and there won’t be an issue.
“What you’ve got to understand is that we've got over 1,000 investors in total. That's a lot of investors.
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“And you're going to get situations where ‘money didn't hit my account for whatever reason or the exchange rate wasn't right, or you said you were going to give me 8% and you're only giving me 7%’....
“All these situations and mispayments, when they do happen, all get rectified. And they will all get rectified when they're all bought out at the end.”
Mr Kenwright said he would be telling investors again that Signature would buy them out to give them any money owed.
And he said that Signature had completed its developments and shown a track record of paying back investors.
