Tenants Beware Of Gumtree Scam
Published: 29 July 2010 By MoneyHighStreet Staff Leave a Comment
The National Landlords Association is warning tenants to beware of a new scam on Gumtree, an online classifieds website.
According to the NLA a number of tenants have been defrauded by this latest scam.
Unsuspecting potntial tenants reply to advertisements on the website for UK rental accommodation.
After exchanging satisfactory emails, tenants are asked to send money to the ‘landlord’. However the ‘landlord’ doesn’t exist in the sense that when the tenant tries to make contact or collect the keys they are uncontactable – the tenant has been defrauded.
The ‘landlord’ appear to be bona fide and claims to be a member of the NLA – even using the NLA logo and a fake copy of their Tenant Check service.
Richard Price, Director of Operations at the NLA, says “Tenants, no matter where they are from, should not send payment to advertisers before they are certain that the advertiser is genuine.
Overseas applicants needing to secure accommodation before they arrive in the UK would be well advised to first seek the help of the employer or university they are coming to. They will be knowledgeable of standard practices in the UK and often have lists of accredited landlords and local letting agents.”
You can check on the National Landlords Association website to see if a prospective landlord is a member.
