An Aberdeenshire woman says she has suffered sleepless nights, anxiety, and depression while trying to get her parents’ home back.
Lesley Pike spoke to Scotland Tonight about her ordeal following the collapse of Greenock-based legal firm McClure.
Her parents placed their bungalow in a Family Protection Trust arranged by McClure, paying more than £2,000. They were told this would protect the home from being sold to cover care home fees.
Under the trust’s terms, a board of McClure trustees and solicitors—one of whom left the firm in 2017—took control of the property and retained that power after her parents died.
When Lesley’s family tried to sell the house, she said: “The young estate agent told us it wasn’t ours to sell.”
She added: “We’ve paid nearly £40,000 to get the house to my nephew, where it should have gone in 2014 when my parents died.
“It has cost us thousands—money we don’t have—to get the family back on track. It has affected us financially, physically, and mentally.
“We’ve experienced sleepless nights, anxiety, and depression. It has been mind-blowing.”
Lesley Pike in legal battle after McClure collapse
Lesley from Aberdeenshire is among more than 20,000 people dealing with the fallout from McClure’s collapse in 2021 and the widespread selling of Family Protection Trusts.
She said: “We trusted the people my parents trusted and fell into that trap of thinking everything would be fine. We weren’t told what we were signing.
“We signed documents with McClure’s name on them without understanding what they were or what would happen.”
She added: “If someone my mother trusted—I hate that word now—brought a piece of paper, we would sign it. Now, we find our signatures on documents saying we wanted a trust.”
Scotland Tonight also features a former McClure employee who claimed managing director Andrew Robertson pressured staff to sign up new clients at B&Q.
A representative for Mr Robertson denied claims that clients were misled.
Scotland Tonight: Trapped in a Family Trust airs on STV at 8.30pm on Thursday, April 3.
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