Room for Rent and other rental scams
by Michelle Fri Aug 13, 2010 5:50 am
Date: Thu, 12 Aug 2010
From: [email protected]
Subject: still avaliable
To: Michelle


Thanks for the reply.I would love to meet you, get to know you and show you round the flat so that you can see what you are renting but I have been having problems with time wasters who could not keep to there end of deal.Its really time wasting because i am a very busy person and do not really have much time to waste. To me, every seconds count.because i am presently in the studio doing some live recording and icant make or receive calls due to the nature of my job,but have my Laptop here to reply to emails.viewing will not be a problem, Anytime during the week in the evening would be a good date for our meeting.
The rent is still very Low considering the current economic climate in London..

Can you please answer the following questions?


-Are you really serious about the renting the flat?
How many are you to occupy the Flat?.
-If you love the flat when you see it, will you make the payment to hold it against your move in?


Date: Thu, 12 Aug 2010 21:17:55 +0000
From: [email protected]
Subject: Thinking of viewing
To: Michelle

why I am asking these questions is basically because of my experience with my last tenant. Morgan moved into my flat in JUNE:2008,on commencing the tenancy, he paid a total sum of £537.50 in rent hoping that he would pay up the balance unknowingly he provided a fraudulent employers reference to convince me of having a stable job!
Although i served him with Section 8 and Section 21 Notices and obtained a Court Order for possession of the property, he was reluctant to move out or pay any of the rent arrears.County Court bailiffs got him evicted and his total debt to date is £1,263. (Quite much).
I will prepare all the necessary documentations i:e Contract Form:which we will both sign after being satisfied with the flat.
Payment will be made after signing the contracts and keys will be handed over to you once contract is made.
Please,understand that i am NOT asking you to pay me BEFORE you view the flat.The neighborhood is safe and i guess you have heard much about this area?it is a safe, clean area.

-Your rent begins on your move in date..
-Viewing is never a problem.
-Proof of ownership and Documentation will be shown upon viewings.
-There is no minimum or maximum stay.
- Rent include Council Tax,electricity,gas,internet, e.t.c
-Its 700pcm and 700 refundable deposit.

Kindly get back to me about an idea on what we can do so that we can arrange a meeting for viewing.

Thanks while hoping to read from you.
Regards


The thief will tell you that you can rent his accommodation only if you can prove that you have genuine interest. He will ask you send money by wire transfer (normally Western Union) to yourself or a member of the family to show that you have sufficient finances and that you are not a "time waster".

Another variation of this scam is that you need to send (by Western Union) money in order that the keys and other documents can be couriered to you

He will ask you to send him the transfer details.

Make no mistake ! Western Union Transfers can be picked up virtually anywhere in the world and with the minimum of identification. They are almost impossible to trace once the money has been collected. You will never get to see the accommodation or your money again.

If you are reading this because you are looking for property to rent, and you are in contact with this thief you are probably searching Gumtree or similar listing sites. If you receive any requests from 'Landlords' asking for some kind of payment by Western Union before viewing, then it will also be a scam. Please forward the mail to me at the address in my signature line and I will investigate and list them if necessary.
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by Knish Sun Sep 04, 2011 10:06 am
Hi,

I received the same e-mail as a response to an inquiry for a different property in London. The only difference was the e-mail address- the guy e-mailed me from [email protected] , not [email protected].

This is the first e-mail I received when I responded to his ad:

Hello
Thanks for your mail. I am a very young comfortable professional,26 who works in a recording company as a studio manager.I would like to rent out a double bedroom Garden Flat with Broad Band Internet to a very easy going person at 700 per month including all bills.available now for you to occupy.not shared apartment..My apartment is very comfortable fully furnished flat of brand duplex flat.Located in quiet residential area {Hartland Road, Camden Town NW18DB} only 150yards from one of London's main attractions. Camden Lock, 31 Harland Road, Camden Town NW18DB. There are 5 supermarkets near by, pubs, bars, restaurants, health clubs, theaters and only one mile from Grand Lodge of England and the west end is only 2miles away by bus or Underground. Camden Town is situated on the Northern Line and St Pancreas.Station which is only 1.5miles away from the property.At the top of the road, only 150yards away, you can get a bus to Oxford Street,Hourse Guards Parade, Westminister and on to Victoria station and Gatwick. is fully furnished with digital home cinema, hi-fi system, VCR, DVD player, phone, fax, computer, cable/satellite, internet access, wardrobe, cupboard, Hanging wardrobe, safe deposit box, radio alarm clock, hair dryer, fully air-conditioned, central heating, intruder alarm, fire alarm and more. Large fully equipped kitchen, 2 toilets and unlimited wireless internet.
I dont want any problem for myself.., i need to know the person that will occupy my apartment that is, the person that willl take care of my apartment like theirs because am letting the flat out because am presently in manchester working. It is not compulsory that i rent out the flat but if i can get a reliable and tidy person that will take care of my flat for me i can let it out.so i need to know them better i.e what you and your partner do for a living.
Rent Includes

Electricity
Gas
Water Charge
Council Tax
Lease
internet


Waiting to read from you.

Reading that he lives in Manchester (where I also live) I suggested we first meet here. This was his response:


Thanks for the reply.I would love to meet you, get to know you and show you round the flat so that you can see what you are renting but I have been having problems with time wasters who could not keep to there end of deal.Its really time wasting because i am a very busy person and do not really have much time to waste. To me, every seconds count.because i am presently in the studio doing some live recording and icant make or recieve calls due to the nature of my job,but have my Laptop here to reply to emails.viewing will not be a problem, Anytime during the week in the evening would be a good date for our meeting.
The rent is still very Low considering the current economic climate in London..

Can you please answer the following questions?
-Are you really serious about the renting the flat?
How many are you to occupy the Flat?.
-If you love the flat when you see it, will you make the payment to hold it against your move in?

why I am asking these questions is basically because of my experience with my last tenant. Morgan moved into my flat in JUNE:2008,on commencing the tenancy, he paid a total sum of £537.50 in rent hoping that he would pay up the balance unknowingly he provided a fraudulent employers reference to convince me of having a stable job!
Although i served him with Section 8 and Section 21 Notices and obtained a Court Order for possession of the property, he was reluctant to move out or pay any of the rent arrears.County Court bailiffs got him evicted and his total debt to date is £1,263. (Quite much).
I will prepare all the necessary documentations i:e Contract Form:which we will both sign after being satisfied with the flat.
Payment will be made after signing the contracts and keys will be handed over to you once contract is made.
Please,understand that i am NOT asking you to pay me BEFORE you view the flat.The neighborhood is safe and i guess you have heard much about this area?it is a safe, clean area.

-Your rent begins on your move in date..
-Viewing is never a problem.
-Proof of ownership and Documentation will be shown upon viewings.
-There is no minimum or maximum stay.
- Rent include Council Tax,electricity,gas,internet, e.t.c
-Its 700pcm and 700 refundable deposit.

Kindly get back to me about an idea on what we can do so that we can arrange a meeting for viewing.

Thanks while hoping to read from you.
Regards,

It seemed suspicious to me, so I copy/pasted a part of the e-mail in Google, just to find that many people before me had posted the absolutely same e-mail.

I hope no one gets fooled into this.

Good luck to all those people out there who, like me, are looking for a new place in London.
by Katharina Mon Sep 05, 2011 3:55 am
Welcome Knish, and thank you for posting this warning - another scammer's email address which can be found by a Google search. :=)

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