Derek Birtles, a British national who bought the apartment off plan as an investment, said changes Damac made after he signed his contract made the two bedroom apartment “unusable, unlettable and unsaleable”.

Mr Birtles claimed Damac reduced the size of parts of his apartment by 12 per cent from that described in the sales brochures and plans and, failed to inform him or other investors of the changes until the work was 85 per cent complete.

However, Damac’s CEO Peter Riddoch insisted cases like Mr. Birtles’ and others reported recently in the Khaleej Times are not typical, claiming the majority of customers are happy with the company. He also claimed Damac’s remaining properties would be completed ‘within the projected time’, despite letters sent to many investors warning of significant delays in at least two current projects. Marina Terrace, Damac's first residential tower, was delivered 14 months late.

Riddoch’s claims are in stark contrast to the experience of UK buyer Mr  Birtles, who said Damac not only kept him in the dark about the changes, but also refused to allow independent inspectors to assess the property. “Damac had up to Dh474,000 of our savings for over two and half years, failed to build what was promised, chose to not inform us of any changes either through progress bulletins or when requesting payments, and refused to do the right thing which was to compensate us fairly and part amicably on the basis that mistakes had been made.”

Alleging Damac is deceiving its customers, Mr Birtles was eventually refunded Dh477,000, but refused compensation for what Mr Birtles described as ‘free use’ of his savings for two and half years, in addition to the cost of money transfers from the UK, loss of interest and loss of any profit he would have made.

Birtles said many investors were unaware the design, floor plan and room dimensions of the 32 apartments Lake Terrace development had been reduced in size. “I simply want to raise awareness that the floor plans Damac used in their sales offices, brochures and floor plans in the sale contracts had failed to show the structural columns between the lounge and bedrooms resulting in the bedrooms being built up to a third smaller than expected, kitchen length reduced by 12 per cent, all internal doorways reduced in width from 1.55m to 1.20m,” he said .

After learning that the size of the apartment had reduced due to the structural columns, not included initially in the floor plan, Mr. Birtles tried to have an independent inspection of the apartment conducted by a private surveyor, but claims Damac refused to allow the inspector access to the apartment. “Having invested our hard earned money hoping to move into our dream home buyers are being kept out in the cold,” he noted, criticising Damacs policy of allowing customers to view the apartment only after 85 per cent of the payment is completed.

Mr. Birtles is one of a growing number of Damac investors losing patience with the developer over 'protracted' delays in handing over apartments and the standards of the finished interiors. But the company claims individual cases of disappointed customers do not affect its image. “Damac's sales growth is ahead of projection,” Mr iddoch said.

He added: “Most of the projects are more or less running as per schedule and will be completed within the projected time,” But he refused to comment on individual cases of complaints. “I don't want to highlight or debate over individual cases in the media,” he said, but admitted Damac is facing what he described as ‘hiccups and teething problems’ in completion of the projects.

Mr Riddoch said these ‘hiccups and teething problems’ were not actually 'problems', but 'challenges' and blamed them on the Master Plan developers who, he said, are struggling to complete the land infrastructure. “We keep our buyers fully involved at all times and keep them appraised of the project,” Mr Riddoch added.

He called investments in Damac properties ‘sound’, adding customers are happy with the substantial appreciation in values of the properties. “We have a high percentage of repeat buyers who are also investing in our subsequent projects,” said Mr Riddoch.

But investors like Mr. Birtles said overseas investors who purchase off-plan properties should not to be impressed by Damac’s sales pitches, glossy brochures and purchase incentives including free jaguar cars and free trips to the World cup.