Tony Hetherington is Financial Mail on Sunday's ace investigator, fighting readers corners, revealing the truth that lies behind closed doors and winning victories for those who have been left out-of-pocket. Find out how to contact him below.

K.P. writes: Have you come across Smith & Partner Limited, known as S&P Gallery?

It cold-called my elderly and semi-literate stepfather and convinced him to buy 17,000 of art that is held in storage and which he cannot access.

Tony Hetherington replies: Smith & Partner and its online art business throw up far more questions than answers. It sells limited edition prints as investments, but refuses to explain how some of its claims can possibly be true. Your stepfather says that after his initial investments, the company told him his original purchases had rocketed in value by 3,000 within weeks.

He was persuaded to put in more money, almost 7,000. I asked Smith & Partner to say which prints had shown a 3,000 profit in such a short time, but it offered no answer.

You might think your stepfather could take his prints to a qualified art expert and get them valued, but this is not as easy as it might seem.

S&P advertises that customers can 'own a rare asset and display it'. And its terms and conditions say the price includes delivery. But when your stepfather raised this, he says that S&P replied that his prints must be held in storage.

Your stepfather dealt with two different salesmen at S&P, and insists that...

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