Two cousins are now engaged in a legal battle over money which was paid to refurbish a four-bedroom dwelling house in St Ann.

According to one of the cousins, last year he gave his cousin who is a contractor $600,000 to refurbish a house he had purchased in St Ann. He said his cousin told him that it would cost $1 million to repair the house.

"The agreement was that I would pay my cousin the balance of $400,000 when the job was completed", he said.

"I have been living in England for 30 years and felt that it was time for me and my wife to return home. After I gave my cousin the money, he gave me a receipt and he wrote on the receipt that the balance of $400,000 was to be paid when the job was completed.

The deposit was paid

"The deposit was paid to my cousin in February last year, and I went back to England later that month. I called my cousin several times and he told me that everything was going all right.

"I came to Jamaica in January this year and, to my surprise, there was no repair to my house. I called my cousin in order to find out what was the problem and he has not come to see me. I even gave his brother a message to give him and he has not responded.

"After waiting for weeks to see him, I became fed up and got another contractor to do the job for me. I have decided to stay in Jamaica until the repairs have been completed on the house.

"I just cannot believe that my very own relative could rob me. I gave him more than half of the money for the job and he has refused to do the job. When I told some of my relatives what had happened, they described my cousin as a real 'shuffler'.

"They said, if they knew that I was going to give him the job to work on the house, they would have advised me not to do so. I work very hard for my money and just cannot afford for my cousin to rob me. He has a house and two motor cars, and I cannot understand why he wants to rob me of my money. What legal process can I take to get back my money?

Your cousin has taken your money and has refused to refurbish the house. It is now open to you to sue him for the money you gave him. Once the court makes an order for him to pay you, if he refuses, then you can apply for a writ of seizure and sale so that the bailiff can seize his goods to recover the outstanding debt.