A young Greyville woman desperate for a flat closer to work fell victim to a couple who conned her out of a deposit and rental for what she believed was the perfect Morningside flat.
The woman, who spoke to Berea Mail on condition of anonymity, said she and her flatmate had been looking for a new place to stay for nearly three months, since hearing that their flat in Greyville was to be sold.
“I’ve been a bit desperate because we needed to leave by the end of August. I wanted to get a place closer to work, so wanted a flat in Morningside,” the young receptionist said.
On Tuesday 27 August, she found what seemed like the perfect flat advertised on Gumtree. The advert said the flat was available from 1 September.
“It really seemed perfect, had two bedrooms, built in cupboards, a fitted kitchen with stove, a balcony and parking. I immediately contacted them through the ad and got an sms to say that the flat was at Rapson Court on Rapson Road and I could view it at 5pm that day or Thursday,” she said.
The woman called the number to ask for directions and was greeted by a Nita Ndubani who owned the flat. “She said Samantha, the current tenant, would be there to show us the place. Samantha seemed to be expecting us and the flat looked fine and is very close to my work, so I was happy.”
Later that evening she called Nita to let her know they were interested and was asked to call back the next morning.
“When I called on Wednesday morning, she asked me to sms my email address so she could send me the application form for the flat. I filled it in and faxed it to her but she smsed me later to say that it wasn’t complete and both our details needed to be on the form. My flatmate was away so I could only resubmit after we both signed the forms on Friday,” she said.
The women smsed Nita on Friday night to check if the forms were in order and whether the application was successful but received a call back from a man who said he was Nita’s husband. “He asked me if we were ‘going to behave’ in their flat because he didn’t want young girls causing a disturbance and having the supervisor call him.”
A few minutes after the call she received an sms saying they had approved their application and asked again for her email address to send a draft of the lease.
On Saturday the relieved woman printed out the lease and realised the name was wrong. When she contacted Nita she said it was a mistake and not to worry and just to add her name on the side. After faxing the lease back to the owner, she was instructed to pay both the deposit and the first month’s rent, a sum of R8300. The money had to be paid on Saturday if she wanted to move in Sunday 1 September, or she would lose the flat to another interested party.
“I didn’t think, I was just happy that I got a place and didn’t realise she had been pressurising me the whole time and even called me while I was in the bank making the deposit. When I finished I tried calling her but she didn’t answer.”
The woman did not worry too much after calling in that first hour because Nita had always called back.
“I was so busy packing up my belongings on Saturday that I didn’t worry too much as I had paid my deposit and done everything she had asked. It was only on Sunday morning when I did not hear from her that I became worried and decided to go to the flat with my flatmate,” she said.
When she arrived to move in, the previous tenant was in the process of moving out and the woman did not think anything was amiss. “I smiled and greeted her. When her sister came in, she asked if I was Gugu. I said no and they said there was another person harrassing them telling them that she wanted them out as she was moving in on the same day. They also explained that a property letting agency was handling the property. I was confused and then it hit me that it was a scam.”
The woman took down the details of the letting agency and reported the incident to the Berea police.
“The letting agent’s name was Wanita. The woman I was dealing with was Nita, so they obviously knew it could be confused and that is why Samantha let me in to view the flat thinking the agent had sent me.”
The agent apologised and said the flat was vacant but advised the women to go to the police.
“We tried calling Nita’s number but it has been switched off since Sunday. My flatmate and I have spent all our money and still need to move out. It is depressing to lose so much money, even though it is my fault because I didn’t meet with them. They are so clever and convincing!”
The young woman said she thought she had escaped a similar incident earlier last week when she responded to an advert on OLX for a two bedroom flat on Musgrave Road for R3000.
“It sounded too good to be true so I called to check. The man confirmed the flat was available and said I could view it the following afternoon but I was working and told him I couldn’t. He started calling me and harassing me to view it. He even said if I couldn’t get to the bank during the day, I could withdraw the deposit at SPAR or Checkers at night. I suspected it was a scam, but never imagined I would get caught so soon after.”
The woman advised prospective tenants to be more aware and to rather go through agencies to avoid being the victim of a con. “Be very wary when using Gumtree and OLX, I learned the hard way!” she warned.
