Think Twice Before Using a Fixer or Runners When You Move Abroad

Fixers – you know the type, you arrive in a new place and they are the guy (or girl) who miraculously materialises and offers to solve all your problems.  Usually well-dressed if not downright sartorial, speaking English of a level unusual in the place you are in and seeming to know everyone in authority, the fixer seems to be a god-send.  But I subscribe to the adage that if it looks too good to be true it often is.

I have seen a lot of fixers at work, in fact in the city where I live there’s a veritable tribe of them.  We even take bets on which one will attach to which new, lucrative, expat managed project.  To give them their due, some fixers actually do a reasonable job, they magically get documents out of government departments in fewer days than anyone thought possible, and seem to smooth the way in all kinds of potentially difficult situations.  They often go on to become the indispensable right-hand of the expat who hired them, preventing the need to learn the local language or work out how things need to be done.  They are a welcome cushion against the difficulties of local life, and what they say is often taken as gospel.

So, if fixers are able to do so many things, what do I have against them?  As I will demonstrate in this report, a fixer or a runner may become so indispensible in your life that you cannot function without them – or more likely, you’ll reach a point where you no longer need them but will find them impossible to shake off.  You are their life-blood – or rather, your money is.  And because they wield so much power over you, you may get to the same point I did where I had to employ a second fixer to get rid of the first one!

Now, let’s back up a minute and look at some of the things fixers do.  A fixer speaking your language means you don’t have to learn, which saves you time and effort, right?  Wrong, by not learning even a smattering of the language you are putting yourself entirely in their hands.  It’s the fixer that tells you what the government official is saying, perhaps glossing over the fixer’s own mistakes in the process.  It’s the fixer that tells the government official what you are saying, perhaps conveying what he thinks you should be saying, or making promises on your behalf.

A fixer getting things done quickly can only be a good thing, or can it?  Perhaps there is a reason why things take so long, perhaps the documents he has secured for you through his own contacts are not actually legal, perhaps money has changed hands, opening you up to future charges of corruption, or approaches from corrupt officials who know that you will pay - your fixer may have told them you’ve got plenty of money, after all, he runs your bank account because you can’t read the bank documents.

You may think I am exaggerating, but you’d be amazed the information, power and control over their clients (victims) which a fixer can come to wield.  And even when you become a bit concerned about what’s going on, or catch the fixer out a few times in a lie or some dodgy dealing, how do you get rid of them?  They after all likely know everything about your life, finances, and business dealings in the country you are in, and about anything slightly underhand that may have gone on to get your business up and running, whether or not you knew about it – after all the fixer was probably your agent who made it happen.  Trying to rid yourself of the fixer who seemed so great in the beginning can get quite nasty, I have even seen expats spend time in jail, lose land and businesses as a result of falling out with a fixer.

Personally - my husband and I ended up at the local police station, accused of various offences by our fixer after I refused to sleep with him!  On the way in I managed to call a second runner I’d met who walked into the police station soon after us and clearly wielded some power there, (and a gun actually).  So, I escaped jail, and I escaped the first fixer.  Fortunately for me, the higher powers that be then decided that my second fixer would have heart problems and leave the country for an operation – never to be seen again.  But that’s what it took to rid me of the problem I had inadvertently signed up for when I accepted anyone’s help in the first place!  By the way, in this particular instance, the country I’m talking about is in Europe!!

So what’s my advice?  Moving to a new place, new language and so on is challenging and you need all the help you can get.  But look for it from reputable sources.  It may cost more in the short term, but look for professional help, go to a lawyer, an accountant, a company the specialises in what you need to do.  And familiarise yourself with what is required, and with a bit of the language.  It’s the best way to protect yourself and your investments.