Accommodation Scam In London

hiya all,

unbelievable that those people can just make new sites over and over
just had a question, now I know that I've lost the money, that's all done and over with.
But I just thought, when you open a bank account in the UK, don't you have to use Identification as in passport or ID-card to do so?
If that's the case, these people shouldn't be that hard to track down for the police should it?
maybe it's not that easy, but I just wish someone would stop these people before more people become their victims...

Hi Sarah and welcome

I wish it was that ^^^simple

Scammers are often able to convince victims to open bank accounts for them or they may be able to hijack another person's bank account, they may get away with using fake, forged or stolen documents or they can convince another victim to receive and forward money on their behalf.

Most commonly they will ask their victims to send money by Western Union which is far easier for them than any other method and allows them to remain completely untraceable with no effort at all.

thanks Ralph for explaining that.
I know that, in Holland you need to be registered if you want to rent out your apartments as holiday apartments. That's to keep fraude away.
They should do a rule like that everywhere. Although obviously people can fake having registered as well
Just such a difficult matter isn't it? I mean, on gumtree.co.uk there are loads of advertisements that lead to false apartments, so unfair of people to do that

Hi, I'm a first year international student who is looking for an apartment to rent next academic year. I came across http://www.crestons.com/ while browsing through rightmove.com, an accommodation website. I tried to verify the company's authenticity through http://www.companieshouse.gov.uk/ and the results don't look very optimistic.

Name & Registered Office:
CRESTONS LIMITED
7 PEOPLE HALL 2 OLAF STREET
HOLLAND PARK
LONDON
W11 4BE
Company No. 06271659



Status: Active
Date of Incorporation: 06/06/2007

Country of Origin: United Kingdom
Company Type: Private Limited Company
Nature of Business (SIC(03)):
7487 - Other business activities
Accounting Reference Date: 30/06
Last Accounts Made Up To: 30/06/2008 (DORMANT)
Next Accounts Due: 31/03/2010 OVERDUE
Last Return Made Up To: 06/06/2009
Next Return Due: 04/07/2010
Last Members List: 06/06/2009
Previous Names:
Date of change Previous Name
27/02/2008 MORGANS PROPERTY AGENCY LIMITED
18/10/2007 ELITE PROPERTY SERVICES UK LIMITED
30/11/2007 OAKLEY ESTATE AGENCY LIMITED
22/06/2007 SHARPS PROPERTY SERVICE LIMITED

Can anyone advise me if this company is trustworthy or is it a potential real estate scam? Any help is much appreciated.

Hello cleverbulb, and welcome to ScamWarners.

Crestons appears to be a legitimate independent estate agent. I don't know anything else about them, however, so cannot say any more than that!

For some extra peace of mind, when choosing an estate agent's in the UK, you can check whether they are a member of a professional body such as the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA), or the Guild of Professional Estate Agents (GPEA), or the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) and, as such, are abiding by a code of practice. The websites of these associations have a search facility to help you locate member estate agents.

Hello,

I am trying to find a one bedroom flat or a studio in london and I came across this site:

http://www.roomsandstudios.com/

Do you know if they're a scam? I checked there address on google maps and they appear to be in a residential street. My gut instinct says they're a scam only cause I've never heard of them before, but their requirements seem a bit legit (asking for 2 references and 1 months rent as a deposit).

What do you guys think? Can you help?

Thanks.

Lasai

Hi Lasai and welcome to Scamwarners

Could you please post an email address and some of the early emails from this person, it will make it much easier to give you an accurate answer.

I haven't emailed them yet as I'm still sort of a bit wary! But I have just emailed them about seeing one of their rooms. I will post a reply as soon as I get it.

Thank you.

Welcome to scamwarners, Lasai.

At a quick first glance, the website appears legitimate:

Domain Name: ROOMSANDSTUDIOS.COM
Registrar: TUCOWS INC.

Updated Date: 21-apr-2009
Creation Date: 12-may-2005
Expiration Date: 12-may-2014

There are no 'bad' hits on Google, the address 73 Maygrove Rd London, NW6 2EG appears to be a mix of small(ish) businesses & flats etc., the phone number (+44 (0)800 619 2684) resolves to them (again, with no 'bad' hits).

As Ralph has suggested, an email from them would be helpful to say definitively that you are dealing with a legitimate organisation or not

Thanks, I'm waiting and a bit interested in their reply. I'll post it as soon as.

Hi,

I have been scammed and I feel disgusted. It is www.mayfair-rentals.co.uk and the scammer's name is Andy Norman. I sent the deposit of GBP 481 last week, I sent an email to him to ask about the transfer, and got no answer. I started to get suspicious that it would have been a scam, and after reading the posts here and found out that IT IS A SCAM!!! What can I do now? I am pissed off!! Stupid me! I did a research before I made the payment, I was too convinced that scammers only use Western Union. The company 'ACCOMMODATION PROPERTY MANAGEMENT LTD', register nº: 06816003. Is there no way to get my money back? Is there no way to get them caught??? AArrrrggghhh...


Thanks,

Marcelino

Welcome to Scamwarners, cuzzymadrid - & sorry to hear that you have been scammed.

How did you pay them, if not by Western Union? Did you perhaps send them your bank or credit card details? If so, I suggest you contact them & tell them you were scammed by this criminal.

Is there no way to get my money back? Is there no way to get them caught???

Sadly, the answer to both is NO! His real name is not "Andy Norman" but he is a Nigerian male, sitting in a squalid inet cafe - probably in Lagos! Even if you knew his real name, he is outside the jurisdiction of your police or law enforcement & sadly, the Nigerian law agencies do not seem to be interested in investigating!

If you have an email from him, could you please post it - with the headers (if you do not know how to get the headers, please ask any of the support staff here who will help you). That way, we will know for definite where he is operating & you may well save someone else from being scammed by him.

Hi Crispy duck,

I made a bank transfer last week, the amount was £481. I went to the my bank today to find out if there is anything they could do to cancel the transfer and retrieve the money but it is too late to do such thing . I strongly believe that this is an organised crime network, some are in the UK and the others may be in another country (Nigeria). And I wonder how could these thugs open a bank account and register a company in the UK? Is there no ID check? AArrgggghhh...
Anyway... here is the email I got from the con man, I use gmail.

de Mayfair Apartments <[email protected]>
responder a Mayfair Apartments <[email protected]>
para @gmail.com
fecha 9 de abril de 2010 11:18
asunto Re: Self Catering Apartment in London
ocultar detalles 9 abr
Dear Sir,

Our Leisure Place, in Mayfair, London is available on those dates.

The price for your duration is £805 for the 23 nights.

All bills, linen and towels are included in the price.

Payable is a refundable damage deposit, £200. This includes any
damage to the property and any outstanding telephone calls. If the
property is left in a mutual state and there are no outstanding telephone calls this will be refunded on departure.

In order to secure the property 35% payment is required with the damage deposit and cleaning fee. The remainder is due on arrival.
If you paid full on booking then subject to a 5% discount.

35% deposit is £281 plus the £200 refundable security deposit.

Total deposit required is: £481.

We will send you our booking form and Bank details, if you wish to proceed.

once we receive the form and payment then you will be booked into the property.

You can view more informations from our website: www.mayfair-rentals.co.uk


Let us know your thoughts,

Andy Norman.

www.mayfair-rentals.co.uk

Hello cuzzymadrid,

I've looked into the site and I think it's a very dodgy one. Can you provide me the headers of the mail you received from them? I believe you are using gmail - the headers can be found in gmail like this:

When reading the mail click on the downward facing triangle next to 'reply' at the top of the message, then select 'show original' or 'view source' or an equivalent to this in your language. A pop-up will appear. Copy the whole thing in the new screen here, and make sure you delete your own email account from it. You could also PM it to me, and then I'll post it for you. I will need the headers to build evidence against this site, in order to get it closed down.

Hi cuzzymadrid,

I've been scammed by the same people. I've sent you a PM.