FPI Property Investments, a property company in Carlswald, told Midrand Reporter that a pregnant woman came to their offices to collect the keys to a property she had paid to rent, apparently from the property company.
The company’s managing director Nicholas Foce explained, “We obviously didn’t know what she was talking about, as we didn’t sign a lease with her. She told us she saw our advert [on a property website] but ended up responding to a cheaper offer on the same property on another property website. After viewing the advert she was referring to we realised that someone had used our advert to scam her and offered… [it to her] at a lesser price.”
Foce said the woman told them that she has e-mailed the person who, she now realised, had scammed her. She had, unfortunately, already paid the first month’s rent and deposit.
Foce mentioned that, usually in a rental scam, the fraudster will place a bogus advertisement online which will be the bait to lure unsuspecting potential tenants. “Before placing the advertisement, the fraudster will do his research and obtain as much information as possible about the property. These advertisements often include photographs of the property and the fraudster will even go so far as to include ‘ready-to-sign’ fake contracts which he has drawn up using a false name and contact details,” said Foce.
FPI Property urged residents and property seekers to always be wary and investigate adverts and offers as much as possible before making the decision to deposit any money.
In another fraud incident, a woman who was looking for a two bedroom house in Noordwyk was scammed of R10 300 in April by a couple who sublet a property they were renting from someone else.
Sendy Chikanya said, “I didn’t know that the couple were subletting and after viewing the place, which they were still staying in, I deposited the money into their account.”
She revealed that the couple then vacated the house but left all their belongings behind and said they would come back to take them. She added, “After I moved in, the real owner came and told me that I was scammed by the couple as they owed him rent for many months. Luckily for me, the owner agreed to let me stay and pay the rent later. I have been trying to get my money back from the couple for weeks but to no avail.”
Chikanya said she went to report the case at Midrand Police Station and was referred to Randburg Police Station since she made the rental deposit from Randburg. She is yet to open a case of fraud.
When contacted by Midrand Reporter, the man who had sublet the house stressed that he would speak to the reporter on condition of anonymity. He denied that he and his wife had defrauded Chikanya and said they just had a rough patch financially. He defended his actions,”We did not tell her that the property is ours, we just have had a tough time financially, we told her that we will pay her soon.” When pressed as to why they sublet the property and took her money he did not respond.
The real owner of the property said the people who sublet his property contacted him to ask for their belongings. “I told them to come and take their furniture and other personal items, I am not holding them for rent. All I want is my money, those people owe me R32 000 in unpaid rent. I was about to evict them when they sublet the place and ran off.”
