by Con Warner
Thu Sep 15, 2011 5:34 am
From: Debbie Sellars <[email protected]>
Date: Sun, 11 Sep 2011 11:11
To: Con Warner
Subject: RE: Simple2Rent Property ID:11250 at Goodge Street W1T 2PG
Hello,
My flat is still available for rent and i am more than willing to
have you in my flat. Here are the necessary things you need to know about the
rent and deposit.
The Rent : £200.00 pw (£800 pcm)
Security
Deposit: £ 1500.00 (Returnable at the end of your first month stay in my
flat)
Utility bills inclusive (water, gas, council tax, electricity and Wi-Fi
internet)
Utility Cost : £ 0.00 pcm
However, i need to ask 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? Can you provide references?
Kindly reply
for further information.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Regards
This person asks for proof that you are able to pay the deposit and rent due to a string of time wasters.
This proof is in the form of a Western Union, MoneyGram or bank transfer either to him, his lawyer, your friend or a family member.
Sounds safe. It's not!
At other times, this person asks for a deposit payment via Western Union or Moneygram with the promise that they will send the keys through a courier company.
In either case, if payment is made and you give this person the details, they will collect the money.
You will not hear from them 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 Craigslist, Gumtree or similar listing sites. If you receive any requests from 'Landlords' asking for some kind of payment 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.
Thanks for getting back to me. I am more than willing to have you in my flat. However, it was 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, 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 British Steel Ireland Ltd.
Some outside tenants do not have the money to pay the rent and yet they disturb the landlord to arrange a viewing with their friend or relative who are in London, 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 , would be required from you to transfer through Western union. 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 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.
Note that the transfer must be confirmed valid before the receiver picks up the money and also, i will refund back to you the cost of transfer when we meet.
Kindly reply if you have more questions to ask.
I look forward to reading from you.