Letting Swindlers

[Blue Crystal]

I learned that there are some gangs of swindlers that somehow get a copy of the keys of a house or flat and by pretending being their owners they make a fake agreement and take the money of the rent and deposit of their victims and then “disappear”.

 

How to avoid being a victim of them ?

 

I thought that paying the first rent and deposit by nominal cheque ( the name of the owner must be mentioned on the cheque so that he is obliged to show an ID in order to get paid by the bank ) instead of cash would prevent someone being conned.

 

What do you think about this preventive measure ? Is there even a more secure procedure?

[Kentish Lass]

I have heard of this happening. Unfortunately, I think one of the best ways to avoid such swindlers is to use a letting agent, but of course, some of them appear to be not much better because of their habit of charging exhorbitant fees.

 

One little check you could do - do a search on the land registry to obtain an office copy of the title - it costs about £4 I think, and will give you the name of the owner of the property. It will also tell you if the property is mortgaged. Your landlord is always the property owner (even if you rent through an agent and the agent signs the AST, the LL is not the agent, the LL is the owner).

[Blue Crystal]

Kentish, what about paying by nominal cheque?

 

Is this a good measure ?

[Kentish Lass]

I have no idea whether this will help or not. This is not my area of expertise. The use of cheques is dwindling fast such that there are a number of retailers who no longer accept them. I am not sure that banks are that strict these days about such things.

[bedlington83]

How to avoid being a victim of them ?

1. Go to the land registry website and find out who owns the property

2. Ask the person that is letting the property to prove their ID

3. Ensure that the people in 1 & 2 are the same

 

If you're going through an agent, ask them to ask the landlord to prove that they are who they say they are

[JimmySpangle]

Well, that won't work. My mother rents out my brothers flat. Different name.

[bedlington83]

In that case, your mother is acting as your brothers agent. Your brother is still the landlord

[Blue Crystal]

What about asking the landlord his bank details so you could pay him through a BANK STANDING ORDER from your own bank account.

 

This way you would have a proof that you gave money to him to pay for the rent and deposit and also you would have his name and other details.

[AngelofSol]

No good there either. If they are crooks then getting their bank details won't really mean that much. These guys when they pack up are notorious for closing accounts.

[blitz]

You still have to provide quite a bit of ID for opening a bank account, so the police could then track it if for a fraud case. This would be the same as a cheque though. Its not a guaranteed way to get your money back either way

[Kentish Lass]

Well, that won't work. My mother rents out my brothers flat. Different name.

 

If it came to law, your brother IS THE LANDLORD - your mother is simply his agent.

[bedlington83]

Didn't I say that in post #7?