Rental Scammer - [email protected]

Putting the ad out there so you all know to beware!!
http://toronto.en.craigslist.ca/tor/apa/3940281388.html

The guy goes by the name of David Niemec.. he's extremely suave and recycles his messages as I learned upon discovering a bunch submitted by other users prior to signing up for this site. He sent two detailed email correspondence, providing ludicrous information I'm not particularly interested in. For your own amusement and discretion continue on.

Hey,

Thank you for your interest in my apartment located in 33 Bay St, Toronto, ON M5J 1B7. The apartment is in excellent condition and it's just like in the pictures, very clean and very well taken. Honestly from point of view I'm sure that you will rent it on spot. I'm not looking to make a business or a profit with the apartment, I'm just trying to find a good and trust person to take good care of the place. The apartment has 1 bedroom and 1 bathroom. It is furnished but if you want you can use your furniture and deposit mine in the storage unit that is located near the building not far away. The rent is 860 CAD/month with everything included (heat, hydro, water, electricity, cable and internet-full package from Rogers, 2 parking spots, laundry in-suite, washer and dryer). You will have full access to all the amenities of the building. Pets are allowed. I stayed in the apartment with my wife for 3 months. I'm a civil engineer and I work for a company that has an auction for a project in construction in London, United Kingdom, so my accommodation period in England will be about 4 years. Everything in the apartment is new so there will be no need for repairs.

Thank you and look forward hearing from you!
David

PS : I attached you all the pictures that I have with the apartment ( as you can see everything is in absolutely perfect condition ) . - He attached 29!

Then the following email came through after I gave him the impression I REALLY WANT THE RENTAL.

Hello,

Thank you for your reply. As I told you before the rent for 1 month will be 860CAD and damage deposit 860CAD ( last month) with no extra fees and you will have full access to all the amenities of the building. The price will not increase for the whole period that you will stay there. I would also like to know how many people will live in the apartment and also which rental contract do you prefer- 6 months or 1 year rental contract with option of renewal. The monthly payments can be wired to my Canadian Bank Account (TD Bank) or we can setup a payment method that is suitable for both of us.

The apartment is in excellent condition, you only need to receive the keys and the contract so you could check it out, and see if you like it. Since at this moment I'm in London, United Kingdom and obviously we need a safe way to complete this deal.The solution is a worldwide third party company called RentRelay (http://www.RentRelay.com) ,they will provide assistance in handling the payment and delivery of the rental package

We use this company to see that you are an trusting and serious person. They will provide assistance in handling the payment and delivery of the rental package . With this procedure you will be able to check the apartment before I receive the payment. Please be aware that is NOT necessary for you to register with RentRelay given that I'm a registered user for 4 years and I've made over 30 transactions with them so far. They are really professional and they have great services.

My phone number is +44 203 289 0991 (if you are calling from Canada you may need to dial 011-44-203-289-0991). You can call me or e-mail [email protected] anytime you wish.

Let me know if you are interested so I can provide with all the steps of this transaction . You need to know everything about this process before we get this started. I think is right for both of us.

Thank you and hope to hear from you soon!

David

I've reported him to The Rent Board of Canada. Be on the lookout folks.

Hi Sunkissed and fellow board members,

My name is Shamim Ahad and I work in Client Services for Rent Relay Inc. I wanted to thank you for posting this warning to others. We posted a fraud alert concerning David Niemec last week on our website and our Facebook page, in addition to fielding calls and email inquiries. David Niemec is not and has not ever been a client of ours. We strictly process rent payments and do not engage in property management activities such as showing properties or giving out keys.

Here are links to information we've posted as public service announcements in response Niemec's activities:

http://www.rentrelay.com/how-to-protect ... rty-fraud/
https://www.facebook.com/rentrelay

Rent Relay Inc. (http://www.rentrelay.com) is a legitimate Canadian electronic rent payment processor - We founded our company to help combat rental fraud and we employ several layers of security, identity and property verification when signing up new landlords and their respective tenants. We operate strictly in Canada with Canadian landlords and properties.

We have taken this matter to the authorities here in Canada and we are collecting evidence. We would sincerely appreciate it if people could forward any information they may have to fraud[at]rentrelay.com. You may also send me any questions you may have to the same email address.

Sincerely,

Shamim

Shamim thanks for your response, I'm glad to have received it. To be honest, I wasn't sure about Rent Relay's legitimacy after David's spectacle.

Just because someone posts claiming their legitimacy, does not necessarily mean that they are the real person. Scammer's use this tactic all the time for "recovery scams". We usually spot them immediately and let people know via this website... Always use caution.

In this case, I can confirm that the poster with username rentrelay is indeed legitimate and a representative of the company rentrelay.com

Welcome to ScamWarners rentrelay

Rent Relay do not offer an escrow service as can be seen by the warning posted here and on their website. They do offer a convenient means of paying rent but will never offer to hold cash in return for keys. They do not offer viewings of property.
This quote was taken from their website

Rent Relay is strictly an electronic rent payment processor. We never engage in any property management activities such as showings or key deliveries.