Rent Scam

By gotya, on June 22nd, 2009

Have you unwittingly been involved in a scam or fraud? Did you get taken? I am writing articles on various scams and frauds so that the world at large gets to know about them and is more cautious when entering into a business or personal agreement.
Here’s one that happened to me!

I have a townhouse which I rent out to supplement my income. My tenant decided to buy a house and moved out so I advertised the townhouse on the internet. A few people answered the advertisement including an “agent” who said they had a tenant for me. They came to see the townhouse, were happy with the terms, and agreed to sign a lease which was produced by the “agent” who insisted that they would collect the money each month and manage the property for a small fee of R195.00 per month. It was agreed that the first month rent would be “agent’s commission”. The tenant moved in and the agent got the first month’s rent as “commission”. The second month’s rent was paid to the agent who said they needed to hold onto it as there were some repairs that needed to be done. I agreed that they could get a handyman to repair the windows and deduct the costs from the second month’s rent but that I would get a plumber and electrician to do any other work as it was still under guarantee as the townhouse had been totally renovated. I sent a plumber (who waited two hours for the agent in vain) and finally the plumber reported that there was nothing wrong with the plumbing! (This was just a ploy for the agent to send a bill for a plumbing job that would not be done!!) I became quite suspicious and asked the Agent to send me the following:

An invoice for the commission paid (I need this for SARS to claim expenses against income)
An invoice for the repairs done to the windows
The balance of the second month’s rent to be paid into my account deducting the invoice for the repairs.

I was assured that this money had been paid into my account. No invoices were forthcoming.
I persisted, phoning on a daily basis to see where the money was and eventually was told that the money had been paid to the wrong person and that as soon as it was returned, they would pay me!! I am still waiting. Now I cannot get hold of them and when I phone the original phone number I was given the lady answering says she will take a message and they will get back to me.

I then decided to check on the “agency” and discovered that it (and the so called individual agents) was not registered with the South African Estate Agency Board. The company is disclosed as a PTY Ltd on the lease but is actually a cc. The agent then started changing cell phone numbers and only with persistence did I manage to find the new cell phone numbers. However, as we I write this, they have changed their numbers again. The “office” that they claim to operate from is actually an answering service who have no idea where they can be reached physically. The agent also tells me that she no longer works for the agency and has no idea where they are! She is not responsible for any of the dealings that she had with me because in her words, she no longer works for them and I should contact the owners. I asked for details and cell phone numbers of the tenant so that I could arrange for the next month’s rent to be paid directly to me. This was not forthcoming, so I had to go to the property and wait for the tenant to arrive home one evening. We then discovered that the tenant had been told a totally different amount of rental to pay the agency and it had to be cash. We have since, written up a new agreement, and arranged for the money to be paid directly into my account.

I continue to pursue this matter and will get a physical address soon to deliver a summons. However, be warned, these guys are definitely on the take, check out any “agent” that says they will rent out your property on your behalf and manage the process thereafter. There is no need for me to give you a name; they will change the name as fast as they change their cell phone numbers. Insist that you meet them at their offices to sign any leases…. Don’t fall for the “we will come to you” ploy. I am R10 000 down on this agreement, luckily I pursed this early but I can image that they would get away with at least three or four month’s rent before it comes to light that the rent is not being paid.

City: Johannesburg

Country: South Africa