Are these websites fake?

[GomerPyle]

There are a lot of scammers waiting to steal your money and you must be careful.

How you deal with the problem depends on your situation and what you are looking for. Some students have mentioned that they will stay at a YWCA or YMCA and look for a property when they get here. Another alternative is to contact a University in London as many offer accomodation that's not being used by students during the summer holidays. Some of those are centrally located and offer good value. If you need something better or longer term, you are in a better position to look for property yourself.

You could also use a reputable company in Italy and ask them to find you a property in the UK and rely on their contacts to avoid scams.

[burner85]

hi
this site http://www.nwalondon.co.uk/ is ok?

thank you

[GomerPyle]

We have to be cautious and fair and, like Michael, I cannot call any of these sites fraudulent. I just wouldn't have any dealings with them. There are some worrying inconsistencies, and this appears to be just another site that takes the same form as the others you've shown us. That picture of the hand holding keys is becoming a trademark of whoever is setting up these sites.

Companies House

The New World Accomodation Limited
Registered address:
1 Royal College Road, Camden, London, NW1 0RU UNITED KINGDOM
Social work with accommodation

Again we have a limited company failing to disclose its true identity on its website and with a misleading company registration. Why would a company want to function under the same name but without disclosing it is a limited company ?

There are reasons - none of them good for anyone having dealings with them.

There is also another version of the website, as with the other previous examples.

http://www.nwalondon.com/

[GomerPyle]

Okay burner. I think I have got to the bottom of the websites you have been referring to us.

It appears that they have mostly been set up through this company

http://www.accommodationforstudents.com/default.asp

which is a legitimate UK company.

Having said that, according to their company registration they are a company formed for the purpose of "Other computer related activities"

They charge advertisers a fee for advertsing their properties, and they can provide a website for the advertiser, which is why I discovered a large number of websites that took the same form. As far as I can see there is no vetting process or code of conduct by which 'AFS' accept any responsibility for what is advertised using their services and, of course, by definition this is property you would presume is suitable for students only.

I have seen another website, also for the student market, where it is indicated that they adhere to certain standards and code of conduct. That possibly provides a greater measure of security but again, this is accomodation for students only and this point is emphasised on the website.

It is virtually impossible for us to comment on the integrity and value of any person/company who has purchased an 'off the shelf' web site package like this and I'm not sure how anyone can. It would be best to assume that you are dealing with a complete stranger and proceed cautiously.

This is unlike the majority of cases we deal here where scammers have set up websites that have cost them nothing to set up and clearly only have one purpose. This is entirely different, but we cannot provide a seal of approval to any of those sites you have mentioned. We simply don't know.

[Ali Saigol]

CROWN LETTINGS ARE CRIMINALS! I booked a 3 bedroom apartment through Crown Lettings and gave a 500 pound booking deposit in cash months in advance. On the day of check in they informed me that the water heater wasn't worked and legally they could not rent the apartment to me. Once I verified there was no such law, I knew I had been conned. My family and I were homeless for days until we found an alternate apartment. Throughout this entire ordeal Crown Lettings showed no remorse. Unfortunately, I referred Crown Lettings to some friends who were also ripped off by them. BEWARE!

[GomerPyle]

You are legally entitled to a refund of your deposit Ali Saigol.

What did they say when you asked for it ?

[Michael]

I have received a response from crownlettings.com with an explanation regarding the issue:

We would like to bring to your attention that we are a private limited company registered in England and Wales July 2006, Company registration number is 05882754, VAT registration number 9415381.

This person has been our client since 2009: he and his friends stayed at one of our properties during the summer period and as far as we are concerned the rental was up to his standards, as he referred a number of friends to us and did want to rent a property again in 2010.

However, upon the inspection of the apartment's appliances we found the boiler to be faulty, thus, there was no gas/central heating or hot water. As a responsible company we were unable to rent the property to him or anyone else until the boiler was fixed.

The client was informed straight away and his holding deposit of £500 was refunded to him on the same day in cleared funds. Please find attached a compliment receipt signed by the client himself as proof he received it. <Image not posted because it contains personal info - Michael>

We understand that the situation was unpleasant for him, however, there is no reason for him to claim our company to be a scam.

I believe this to be an accurate description of what happened. Unfortunate events like this can happen everywhere, and so far I don't see a single reason to call this company a scam.

In the end this board doesn't deal with customer dissatisfaction with existing companies, and we are in no position to judge whether or not the optimal course of action is taken. Either way, the company is legitimate.