Personal finance: My dumbest investment

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A hint of a takeover led me to buy shares in a hotel group. Company B took them over and paid with shares. I should have smelled a rat. At a Christmas meal at one of Company B's hotels we sat in a deserted dining room, chewing on lukewarm, elderly food, stayed overnight and were charged for two extra tea bags. Whew! I wrote to head office with these sad stories. Shortly after, company bigwigs cleared out.

Moral: when you smell a rat, run. DO, Essex