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Landlord does not send the keys although we have a contract
Dear all,
I have an urgent issue. I signed a contract for a short term lease of an apartment, however the landlord does not live in Brussels and had to send me the keys. We concluded a contract, and agreed that as I send him the deposit (500EUR) and one monthly rent he will immediately send me the keys. However, once he received the payment he started saying that he was cheated before and that's why wants me to pay him another monthly rent in advance. I have to move in in five days time, and I am starting to think that he is a scammer and trying to cheat me. Please help with opinions, if you had any such experience. All help is much appreciated.
Best regards,
Stefan
Dear Stefan,
Unfortunately it really seems a scam. They use that story very often and try to cheat people. And he requested you to send the money by western union right?
I am really sorry to hear that. Only sign a contract and transfer money after seeing the apartment and meeting the landlord.
I wish you good luck and all the best,
Zé Pedro
Stefan, this sounds rather strange, do not send him any more money and tell him that.
You could set up a sort of security account, 'compte locatif' or a 'compte bloqué' where the money can be held but no actual payment is made.
I assume you have not actually seen the apartment at all; only the photos that were in the ad? Unfortunately it seems very likely that you have in fact been scammed. This scam has been going on for many years in dozens of big cities around the world. Some steps to take (to make sure what is going on):
- go to the address where the flat is supposed to be. Check the name that is on the downstairs bell belonging to that flat. Is it the name of your prospective landlord? You could also try ringing the bell and seeing if anyone answers. It's quite possible that whoever lives in the flat has no knowledge of it being for rent in the first place.
- look at the first e-mail you received from this person, copy a sentence or two and put it to Google, It is likely you will get as a result pages that talk about this scam (these scammers have ready-made e-mail templates which they use, only changing minor details.
Whatever you do, do not send him any more money.
Further to my previous message, this site has an excellent resource of e-mails used by these scammers, plus e-mail addresses that have been used in the past by the scammers. Take a look and if the email address used by your prospective landlord is one of these, you can be 100 % sure that it was indeed a scam.
http://www.eu-rentals.com/includes/scams.php
If so, you can report it to the police (but you must accept that they won't be able to do anything and you will not get your money back). But at least you would know for sure, and can start looking for another flat,
Scam.
Go and talk to the police before you do anything else and see if you can set up a sting. I doubt it though.
Nobody EVER rents to people without meeting them face to face and showing them round the property.
Only ever transfer money to a Belgian bank account via bank transfer. Never ever send money out of the country.
Stefan, when were you looking for accommodation? I don't like hearing about injustice, you are welcome to stay a few weeks for free at my house, if the dates are convenient, whilst looking for somewhere else, if that helps you. I'd want you to meet me first though. We're in east side of Brussels.
Serious offer, but you'd have to post an email here (make one up for purpose).
