[teepeeseller]

Originally Posted by applestone

Firstly, I am an investor but not in Bulgaria but hopefully my comments are applicable. Poor service, bad advice and shoddy support are never going to get 10/10 marks. The only way for a business, region or country to earn top marks from investors is to tell the truth, no matter how painful, so that people can make informed decisions. Short term gain can never outweigh long term relationships - stitch someone up and they will tell everyone they know - and then start looking at ways of telling everyone they don't know via forums etc. Spain, Bulgaria, Turkey - it doesn't matter where you are - the problems are just the same.

Of course it would be wrong of me to tar every property business with the same brush - there are always good and bad businesses in every sector. I am sure that there are many excellent properties, businesses and regions in Bulgaria to invest in. It is unfortunately sometimes difficult to find them!

With regard to the ability of individuals to express opinions, this is actually supported in european law. The Human Rights Act expressly allows indivuals to hold and share honestly held opinions and beliefs even if these are wrong! Providing it is reasonable for such beliefs to be held, individuals are generally safe from prosecution. To overcome this, threats are usually aimed at the forum owner as these are considered "the weak link". Such threats are often on the edge of "censorship", again illegal under european law but website owners generally do not have the time or money to test this in court and hence pull threads under duress.

In summary - until individual governments legislate against shoddy business practices in the building and development industry bad press will continue.

A voice of true reason - your points are all valid and thoughtfully presented. Good post - thanks