National Fraud Helpline was asked to appear on the BBC’s Morning Live show to give advice and background on rental scams.
Senior Partner, Martin Richardson, was interviewed by reporter Matt Allwright about how to spot rent fraud and what more can be done to prevent it.
Our client, rental fraud victim called Alma Talbot, also featured on the show with her story of how she had been shown around a flat and paid £19,000 up front for a year’s rent, only to find it was a scam. Alma had been shown around the flat by the fraudster didn’t own the flat and ran off with all of her money.
We helped Alma recover all of her money within a week of her contacting us.
Mr Richardson explained how simple Google checks on people you are renting from with the word ‘scam’ afterwards is a simple way to flag up potential fraudsters.
He said one key tool to prevent rental fraud is a land register check which only costs £3 and shows you who really owns the property.
However, he said he believed that this should really be done by letting agents as a matter of course.
See a section of our interview with the BBC.
Paying rent is very often people’s biggest financial outlay so being scammed in this way can be particularly financially devastating for victims.
Some people are left homeless as they no longer have money to pay for a deposit on a genuine rental property.
If you have been the victim of property fraud our expert lawyers are here to help you.
Our aim is to help prevent rent scams. We have a whole page dedicated to the subject of rent scams and how to avoid them.
Have you lost money to a scam? Contact National Fraud Helpline. Call 0333 0033218 or fill out our Claim Form.