by Michelle
Tue Nov 23, 2010 8:40 am
From: alexander hodge <[email protected]>
Date: 22 November 2010 16:26
Subject: RE: Reply to your ad: Studio flat to rent, Petticoat Square, City, E1
To: Michelle Banks
Hi Again,
Thank you very much for your answer.So for a viewing or want me to reserve my property down for him/she will have to show me a proof of there seriousness in the property,well this is what you will have to do for me before i can come down for the viewing.
At this stage that you want to rent my flat, i need to ask some few questions from 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? It is unfortunate that my past bitter experience of inviting people to come and view my flat without any form of confirmation of their financial ability and not keeping up to time as at when scheduled, this has brought about great losses to me. I have traveled all the way from Netherlands to take some interested candidates round my flat.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 residing in the city, also some do not meet up with the appointments which has led to the dismissal of some landlords in office by there employees.
I would not ask you to send your bank statement. You will pay cash to western union cash collection (£1000) would be required from you to transfer through Western Union Money Transfer. You can make the transfer with your name as a sender and your partner,mum,dad, or friend in the UK premises as a receiver..
Once you have done this, Scan the receipt to me and if you do not have scanner, you may write out the details on the receipt as i will send 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 and you can as well tell the receiver to pick up the money.
I will give you back the transfer fee when i meet you... you don't lost any money.
NB: PLS DO NOT MAKE PAYMENT TO ME OR IN MY NAME, WHAT I NEED IS JUST AN EVIDENCE THAT YOU HAVE THE CASH AVAILABLE IN WESTERN UNION ACCOUNT UNTIL THE DAY YOU SEE THE FLAT.
You must understand exactly:
1)You have a look at the place after you have the WU payment prove done.
2)If you like this i make the contract wit you.
3)You could raise money from Western Union and pay me cash the rent.
I expect a reply with your decision a few hours if you agree with the above maintained ...
Best 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.
