A conman is using Kempton Express’ logo in contracts he hands out to people he tries to con into renting property from him.
Express became aware of this when contacted by a woman trying to rent a property in Terenure from the man on April 5.
The man, who presented the ID of Mancinci Leonard Mgqibi to the woman, advertised the property on OLX on April 4, stating it was in Terenure Estate on Oranjerivier Drive. Whether this is his true identity, is not known, as the potential tenant never met him.
“We were very interested in the place and called him immediately. We asked him if he could maybe bring down the rent from R5 500 to R4 500, as that was our budget. He said it was fine and that his wife would show us the place the next day.
“We could move in immediately after paying the deposit,” the woman said, who wanted to remain anonymous.
“I was cautious from the start and asked him to email me the rental agreement first. We struggled the whole day to reach him on his cellphone and eventually he sent the contract, that was when I knew something was wrong.”
Upon receiving the rental contract, the resident saw Kempton Express’ logo as a header and immediately phoned the newspaper to find out whether we were in the property rental business. Kempton Express is not.
After becoming aware of this, Kempton Express tried without success to call the man.
According to the resident, Mgqibi also had several other ads on OLX with the same number (063 025 6963) but different names.
“Everything he provided us with didn’t make any sense at all. The ad on OLX said it was a first floor apartment and that the rent was R5 500. After he had sent the contract it stated the rent was R6 200 and the photographs of the unit he sent us were completely different to those in the ad.”
Express warns everybody who is looking for a property to rent to keep an eye out for scammers and to make sure all the paperwork is authentic and legally drafted.
This woman was lucky that she smelled a rat. She could have lost thousands.
Here is a link to the original ad on OLX https://www.olx.co.za/ad/private-rental-ID16fBMU.html#ed2665f67c
