by Michelle
Tue Oct 19, 2010 11:25 am
Hi there Michelle, you have received a reply to your Gumtree posting "ROOM WANTED" (ad# xxxxxxx) from <[email protected]>:
Hello
My Single room modern flat to rent in Cambridge. near tube station and you can rent my flat as long as you pay your rent at when due. Here are the necessary things you need to know about the rent and deposit.
Rent : £200 pcm
Security Deposit: £ 200.00 (Returnable at the end of a month stay in my flat)
Utility bills inclusive ( water, gas, council tax, TV license and wireless Internet) Utility Cost : £ 0.00 pcm
However, my flat is fully furnished in and out. At this stage that you want to rent my flat, i need to know some few question about you. Can you take care of my flat as it is? How many months do you intend to rent and pay for? Do you have references in UK?
Kindly reply for further information and i would like to know where you are coming from to stay in my flat.
Regards
Mr/Mrs Debra Willis
+447024069345
Thanks for the reply and the sincere interest you have in my flat. I
am willing to rent out my flat to you but it is unfortunate that my
past bitter experience of inviting people to come and view or reserve
my flat without any form of confirmation of their financial ability
and not keeping up to time as at when scheduled, has brought about
great loss to me. I have traveled all the way from Ireland to take
some interested candidates round my flat because that's where i work
with M. Gould (Scunthorpe) Ltd.
Some outside tenants do not have the money to pay the rent and yet
they disturb the the landlord to arrange a viewing with their friend
or relative who are in UK, also some do not meet up with the
appointments which has led to the dismissal of some landlords in
office by their employers.
Henceforth, my lawyer and i have decided to carry out a simple test on
financial ability to pay for my rent before coming for viewing. I
would not ask you to send your bank statement. At least 1 month rent
and security deposit which is £ 400 which is refundable after your 1
month stay in my flat, would be required from you to transfer through
Western union money transfer. You can make the transfer with your name
as a sender name and your partner or friend in UK as the receiver.
Once you have done this, scan the receipt to me so that i can forward
it to my lawyer to verify if it's truly genuine and available in your
friend's custody, after verification, then we can proceed for the
viewing. Note that my lawyer must confirm the transfer valid before
the receiver picks up the money. Nevertheless, i will refund to you
the cost of transfer when we meet.
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.
