Guernsey Press

Rental scam cheats local woman out of £1,000

A WOMAN who paid £1,000 to secure a rented home only to find that she had been scammed is hoping that she will be able to get her money back.

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Jodie Bougourd, pictured, is warning islanders about a rental scammer after she came close to handing over money before becoming suspicious of the negotiation. Another islander, Carine Bichard, has not been so lucky and is £1,000 out of pocket. (Picture by Steve Sarre, 20977847)

Many islanders have reportedly being contacted by the same person under different names.

He uses Facebook groups to promote accommodation using photos taken from legitimate estate agents’ websites.

Carine Bichard saw one house, a two-bedroom property in Hauteville, on one of these groups and made contact with the man offering it for rent at £1,000 a month. He also wanted that much as a deposit.

After corresponding for a few days, she asked to visit the house but he told her that he was not in Guernsey and did not have anyone in the island who could let her in. She went along to see it anyway and arrived while a carpet cleaning company was there, so she was able to see inside.

She then paid the deposit by online bank transfer and it was then that her suspicions were aroused.

‘After I paid, he told me he was going to come to Guernsey to sign the lease,’ she said.

For the next week she kept trying to find out when he would be here, but heard nothing.

She paid another visit to the property, only to find it occupied by someone who had rented it through the legitimate local estate agent.

Mrs Bichard has contacted the police and the ActionFraud group in the UK, as well as talking to her bank.

She said they have been in touch with the bank to which she made the payment and she hoped it would lead to her getting her money back. ‘They told me that the other bank had 20 working days to come back to them,’ she said.

‘Other than that, I am not sure what is happening – they have his bank account details and his name.’

Another islander who came close to falling for the man’s scam was Jodie Bougourd, who saw a St Sampson’s property for rent at £1,500 a month – some £500 cheaper than it was being offered by local agent Cooper Brouard.

Miss Bougourd paid the house a visit, but it was unoccupied and she could not see inside.

As with Mrs Bichard, the man told her he did not have a local representative.

‘He was looking for £3,000,’ said Miss Bougourd, adding that this was the deposit and a month’s rent up front.

She offered to pay the deposit back in instalments with the rent. ‘I said I could only pay the first month’s rent and he said that wasn’t a problem.’

It was when the scammer asked for money before he would send her the keys that she became suspicious and, after a few more days, she said, he stopped answering her messages.

But when she posted her experience and suspicions on the Facebook group she discovered that many other people had been contacted about the same property by the same person.

‘I’m gobsmacked that somebody could be so cruel,’ she said.

‘It just goes to show you just have to be really careful when it comes to social media.’

Cooper Brouard director Matt Brouard said they had been contacted by police after the scam involving one of their properties came to light, and had received calls from several people who had realised it was not legitimate.

He said it was fortunate that nobody had been living in the property at the time, since many people had apparently gone along to view it.

‘The police came in to see us. I think they realised that catching these people is nigh on impossible and all they can do is raise awareness of it,’ he said.

‘It’s a worry,’ he said.

‘But I suppose it all comes back to that old adage “If it looks too good to be true, it probably is,”.’

He had thought about putting watermarks on property photos, but said that in order to make them difficult to remove they would have to be prominent and in the middle of the photo: ‘I think it’s a nice idea, but I don’t think the letting landlords and vendors would be very pleased about it – it would look pretty awful.’

The police have warned islanders to be careful when responding to private adverts of this sort, and to use established landlords, estate and letting agents where possible.

‘We are aware of a rental advert for a property in Guernsey that a few home-hunters have come across when searching online. Enquiries are ongoing, but it appears that this particular advert is a fake listing,’ said duty Inspector Karl Zierlinger.

BLOB Anyone who has lost money as a result of this, or any other scam, is asked to contact Guernsey Police on 725111 and ask for the Economic Crime Division.

BOX?

Police say there are several steps people can take to protect themselves from a potential scam attempt:

Never hand over any money before viewing a property in person

Visit the property with the landlord and take somebody with you

Research the property and if it’s advertised on other Estate Agents’ websites for more money, make further enquiries

Ask the landlord to verify their ID and to view safety certificates for the property for gas appliances etc.

Ask lots of questions, an honest landlord will know the answers

Ask the landlord to show proof of ownership

If it seems too good to be true, it probably is