by Michelle
Sun Jul 04, 2010 12:16 pm
2010/7/3 Linda Smith < [email protected] >
Hi
Thanks for your response to my ad.The flat is three bedroom apartment
but I currently have two rooms available now, my tenants just moved
back to their country so, the rooms are currently available.Here is
little details about the flat.
Flat address: Sandwich Street, Bloombsbury, London
Post Code: WC1H 9PR
Rent: £500 per month, all bills inclusive
Security deposit:£500 refundable after four weeks in the flat.
Minimum Stay: 1 Month(s)
Maximum stay:1 yr with the option of extending the contract after 12
months
Moving in date: the room is currently available but I'm flexible with
moving in date in case you don't want to move in now.
Flat amenities:TV ,CD - DVD - Video,Radio,High-speed Internet with
WiFi,Washing Machine ,dryer, Heating, Iron and Ironing board,Gas
cooker,Electric Kettle,Toaster,Dishwasher,Refrigerator, Microwave e.t.c
The pictures of the flat are hereby attached with this email.
Location: Ucl campus, university of London and soas. the London
school of economics, central st. martins, bbp law school, king's
college London and the aa school of architecture are a 10 minute walk
away.convenient transportation - 73 to oxford street, 214/205 to
angel, etc
About the flatmate: You will be sharing with professional female from
Australia, she's 23 year old and work in Finance.She's a very quiet
disciplined person, a stickler for cleanliness and organization. She
spend most of her time reading online and her other interests are
online games, board games,poker, crosswords, theater, swimming,
painting, housekeeping, gift wrapping, film making, stationery,
marketing, different cultures ...many many things actually
About me: I'm 42 year old, a registered pharmacist, I own the flat
but I don't live in it because I don't live in London. I live and
work in Manchester but I come to London one or twice in a month to
check on my tenants.
Cheers,
Linda
2010/7/3 Linda Smith < [email protected] >
Hi Michelle,
Thanks for your reply and interest. There's no problem having you view the flat but since you were not around at the moment that means I will need to hold unto of the rooms for you till your arrival.Before doing that I will need to be sure of your readiness and capability because I will not want a situation whereby I will secure the room for you and you will not turn up when you arrive.
This is what you will need to do in order to secure the room, you will need to make a transfer of a month rent plus security deposit (£500+£500=£1000) via Western Union Money Transfer using your friend's name as the receiver of the money while you use your name as the sender of the money so that when you arrive London your partner will be the one to collect the money and pay me after you have viewed the flat and ok with it.
You are doing this just to be sure of your seriousness and capability before securing the room for you because I will not want a situation whereby the room will be reserve for you and you will not turn up when you arrive...That's why I want you to do the transfer and you will need to email me the scanned copy of the transfer receipt for confirmation before securing the room for you.
I do not want you to have the feeling that I am asking for money before you see what you are renting because I know that payment is meant to be done after you have seen the Flat and okay with it that is why I said you should make the transfer to your your so that he will be the one to receive the money and pay me in person after the viewing.
You don't need to worry about the transfer charges, I will personally refund it back to you,I'm doing this just to make sure everything is perfect before securing the room for you.
Let me know if you are ok with this arrangement so that we can proceed.
Kind regards,
Linda
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.
