A national alert has been issued by Action Fraud, warning prospective tenants that fraudsters are claiming to be the owners of rental properties advertised online.
Before a viewing, individuals are asked to pay a deposit upfront, claiming that this money will be put into the tenant deposit scheme and will therefore be protected under government legislation.
After the money is paid, the prospective tenant receives a bogus email purporting to be from the Tenancy Deposit Scheme, confirming receipt of the deposit.
However, the money has actually been sent to an account associated with the fraudster and the tenant is left out of pocket and without the home they thought they had been putting a deposit on.
Sometimes, victims are also asked to hand over a month’s rent upfront.
Action Fraud is advising tenants to be on their guard.
The warning suggests that tenants can check if their deposit is protected by going on to the TDS website. The alert makes no mention of the other tenancy deposit protection schemes.
Pauline Smith, director of Action Fraud, said: “Devious fraudsters are targeting a whole host of victims, from university students to professionals, for their own selfish gain.”
Steve Harriott, CEO of the Tenancy Deposit Scheme, said: “Whilst the deposits are never actually protected through TDS, we’re keen to make sure consumers in the market are protected.
“The fraudulent activity includes large sums of money and we want to raise awareness to stop people from falling victim to this type of activity.
“If anyone has any queries or isn’t sure about whether or not the process they’re being asked to follow is correct, they can contact TDS who will be more than happy to guide them”.
Expect this from Letting Agents when the lettings fee ban comes in.
I can see agents that relied on high admin fees to keep afloat going missing with landlords deposits and rents. As they will see this as exit from the Industry.
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Isn’t checking the TDS website shutting the door after the horse has cleared off with all your money?
Surely there is some more practical advice available.
Use an agent leaps to mind, but I’m probably biased. Certainly they should be advised not to hand over cash and to take copies of id or something of that nature?
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Fraud yes but also stupidity on the part of the customer, who in their right mind would hand over hundreds of pounds to a complete stranger before even seeing the property?
Use a local respected high street agent where terms are clearly explained!
On another note what is the consequence when the crook is caught? Does the punishment act as a real deterrent?
The sooner landlords and agents have to be registered and licensed as in Wales, the better!
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happens alot with foreign students JC….they trust this country and the people when they arrive
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deposit legislation needs to be revised
a simple way to remove fraud, and potential liability on a landlord or agent, is to make the deposit protection the obligation of the tenant…they just bring you a certificate etc, and you can log in and check its been registered.
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For one of the same reasons the fee ban is coming in, buyers and applicants dont have an absolute choice when it comes to property sales or rentals.
Its not like other areas where they can walk into Asda, Tesco, Sainsburys, Aldi and buy different iterations of the same product, they all sell bread or coffee or teabags and you can choose who you buy them from.
75 King Street generally is only advertised by 1 agent for example so, if they want 75 King Street they are forced to accept that agent or person dealing with them and have to go along for the ride, maybe stupidity does reign supreme in some cases like paying for viewings is just silly.
I am not saying that there is an answer to this scenario because all agents advertising everything defeats the point entirely, also I am no way legitimising the fee ban as I think it should be cap as I would happily pay fees to an agent to process my tenancy application as they arent a charity. But when I looked for my property I looked through all the ads first and first threw away any agent charging over £200 per person for an application as after a certain figure to process my application you are just being greedy and cashing in.
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Jeepers, I currently charge £200 for a couple, including VAT!
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