From: [email protected]
To: Michelle Banks
Subject: RE: Request for your Offer at Starflats.co.uk
Date: Wed, 29 Jan 2014 16:29:38 +0000
Thanks for your interest and concern you have over the renting of my apartment and we can arrange for a viewing as soon as possible. Tomorrow by 5pm will be perfect for me. My flat is not a shared flat and only a maximum of two individuals are allowed to stay in my flat. All bills are included in the rent and pets are allowed so your pet won`t be a problem.
I appreciate your sincerity and concern over my flat,because i have so many interested persons online but they are not trust worthy of their financial ability, so i have to be very careful in having a good tenant. I liked your self expression and feelings over my flat and i appreciate it. Housing benefit are not accepted and will only be accepted if you stand as a middle man. I have had so many bad experiences from my previous tenants like not meeting up to date as they promised, so i would not want to go through such again.
It is unfortunate that our past bitter experience of inviting people to come and view our flat without any form of confirmation of their financial ability and not keeping up to time as scheduled is no more, it has brought about great loss to us. I have traveled all the way from Ireland to take some interested persons around my flat because that`s where i work with Ashcom Systems Ltd and they did not show up. 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 here in Bristol, also some do not meet up with the appointments which has led to the dismissal of some landlords in office by their employees.
However, i wouldn't want to collect any money from you as long as you have not sign a contract neither have i took you round my flat. I would not ask you to send your bank statement or any amount of money to me. At least 1 Month rent and security deposit which is £400(all bills included) and £800 which is refundable after your first week stay in my flat, it would be required from you to make a transfer through Western union post office and the only way i can help you, is for you to make a transfer of the deposit to your closest friend or relation. You can make the transfer with your close relation or friend's name as the receiver and your name as the sender to your destined address in UK.
Once you have done this, scan the receipt to me and if you do not have scanner you can write out the details on the receipt and send it to me as i will forward it to my lawyer to verify on the online website if the transfer is valid and after verification, we proceed for reservation/viewing. If my flat is okay for you when you arrive, you will go and pickup the money, pay for the rent and move in as soon as possible or at your own convenient time.
Also, i will refund the cost of transfer to you without any deduction when you come for the viewing tomorrow by 5pm because that's when i will be free and don't forget that all this are to confirm your financial ability as a reliable tenant and afterwards the viewing will commence immediately.
Kindly let me know your opinion as soon as you get this message.
Hope to read from you soon and do have a nice evening.
Best Regard
Mr Anderson
This person asks for a deposit payment via Western Union or MoneyGram to an escrow company with a promise that he will send the keys through a courier company.
Sounds safe. It's not!
The emails claiming to be from the company are fake.
At other times, he will ask 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 or MoneyGram payment to a lawyer,a friend or family member.
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.
All the details such as names, addresses, pictures etc. that the scammer uses in order to back up his story, are stolen from elsewhere.
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.
