Bogus letting agents rent through Airbnb to fleece would-be tenants
Bogus letting agents rent through Airbnb to fleece would-be tenants
When Ruth Allmark found a flat in a smart part of west London where the room rent was £780 a month it looked like her dream had come true. The letting agent said the deposit would be £1,000, and told her she needed to make the payment swiftly as he had other potential renters clamouring for it.But the dream became a nightmare after Ruth, 24, paid the £1,780. It turned out the agents were bogus. They had obtained the keys to the flat by renting it off its owner through the website Airbnb for the weekend only, placed an advert on SpareRoom.co.uk saying it was available for long-term rent – and then fleeced anyone who came to see it.Usually an Airbnb renter returns home to find their property in perfect order. But the owner of the flat, in Kensington Gardens Square, returned to find various “tenants” knocking at her door and expecting to move in permanently. In total, five people were scammed, netting the fraudsters £8,500.It is not the first time homeowners have rented out their property through Airbnb, only to find disaster on their return. Rachel Bassini let her New York penthouse to what she thought – judging from his photo – was a friendly man with a wife and children. But the guest hosted a huge party, trashing the apartment and leaving it with used condoms, human faeces and damage costing $2,000 to repair.One blogger reported how his home was systematically stripped of its valuables, while in California a guest claimed squatting rights in the property.The sophistication of the fraud that saw Ruth lose £1,700 was extraordinary. The two fraudsters – they gave their names as Bartolomiej and Vlad Malesa – created a fake letting agency with a false address in London’s Sloane Square. Prospective tenants were given genuine assured shorthold tenancy agreements that listed the agents’ names, phone numbers and addresses – which all evaporated a week later.Ruth Allmark.Ruth was told her deposit would be protected by the government-approved mydeposits.co.uk website, and given a form showing the firm had registered with the scheme – again, entirely bogus. She was even sent a follow-up email by Malesa with details about the inventory check and move-in date.“I went to see a two-bed flat where a room was advertised and the person there, Valerie Botoloma, said she was the landlord’s personal assistant; she was all dressed up and she had all the appropriate forms,” Ruth says. “I double-checked things, asking about the deposit protection scheme. It all looked official and I signed and sent a deposit of £1,000 and the rent of £780 for one of the rooms. I’ve not seen the money since.“It turns out the owners had gone away for the weekend and had put it up on Airbnb. They complained to Airbnb afterwards, who paid for the locks to be changed, but that was all. I have reported it to Action Fraud, who say the perpetrators have done a great job of false addresses, bank accounts, etc and they haven’t got anywhere. I have had to take on a Saturday job to help pay off the debts.”An Airbnb spokesman said: “Over 20 million guests have had a safe and positive experience on Airbnb, and we have zero tolerance for these sort of abuses. We’ve permanently banned these guests from Airbnb and we’ve offered the host our full support. We haven’t seen this sort of activity before on Airbnb, and we’re investigating further.”But there’s a curious twist to this story. After paying the money Ruth rang the bogus letting agents, but got no reply. When after repeated calls she still heard nothing her suspicions mounted, so she contacted her bank, Barclays, asking it to put a stop on the transfer.“I was told not to worry as the transfer had not gone through. I even asked for my balance, which proved the money had not been sent.”Yet when she checked a week later, she found the money had been transferred. Ruth has since been fighting Barclays to have her money returned, and her case is currently with the Financial Ombudsman Service. Barclays said it is “unable to locate any calls that show the customer advised Barclays not to make the payments.” Ruth says: “I am surprised they are denying I ever called – that’s absolute nonsense!”Ruth says she decided to tell her story both as a warning to potential tenants, and to alert homeowners considering letting through Airbnb. But Although the fraudsters used Airbnb, the scam has been around for many years. Landlord Action has warned of bogus tenants who pose as the landlord and sub-let properties, then do a runner, with no cash ever paid to the landlord.One way a tenant can protect themselves is to do a Land Registry check to confirm that those who say they own the building actually do own it. Go to landregistry.gov.uk for more information. All landlords must be part of a registered tenancy deposit scheme. One way to check a landlord is legitimate is to ask for the details of which scheme they are registered with, and then check with that scheme.