gair rhydd - Issue 902

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gair rhydd

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CARDIFF'S STUDENT WEEKLY

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ISSUE 902 SEPTEMBER 28 2009

9 0 0 2 s rd a w A ia d e M t n e d tu S n uardia G r a Ye e th f o r e p a sp w e N t n e Shortlisted for Stud INSIDE: Your new-look Quench brings you the latest FEATURES FASHION INTERVIEWS MUSIC FILM TRAVEL GAY FOOD PHOTOS BOOKS ARTS Exposed: The rogue landlords using internet scams to ...and more!

Safe as houses? get students paying for houses that don’t even exist Emma McFarnon News Editor

Students should be wary of bogus landlords trying to trick them into giving up their bank details to secure properties that do not actually exist, police have warned. The con typically involves advertising “bargain properties” on free listing websites, such as Gumtree. Victims are told by the “landlord” that the property can only be viewed if they give their bank account details, after which their money is then stolen. Detective Sargeant Chris Felton, from the Metropolitan Police’s Fraud Prevention, told the BBC that the property adverts typically have no telephone numbers and provide only

a free email address such as Hotmail or Googlemail. “If you are being asked to send money up front without being certain the property exists, then you need to be very, very careful,” he said. “Think once, think twice, ask some friends, get some advice and if you’re ultimately not happy don’t send any money.” One local student, who wishes to remain anonymous, told of how she was conned by a man claiming to be a letting agent. “My mum owns a four-bedroom student property and we posted an advert on the website, Gumtree. A man named Omar Amin called us and said he would let our property, had a list of students looking for a house and would match our current agency fee. “He was so charming and laid back, and anything odd I put down to

him being relaxed. But he soon started letting me down, arriving late or not turning up to meet me. “One girl was fooled by the advertisement for our house, paid him a deposit, turned up to move in and he didn’t show. She can’t get hold of him now, neither can I. Luckily the only money I lost was the fee to change the locks, but she has no money to place a deposit on another house, no place to stay. I wonder, how many other students have been conned by our property?” The National Union of Students (NUS) has advised students to use their universities for accommodation guidance. Ben Whittaker from the NUS said: “There are plenty of houses out there ... Go to your universities, your students’ unions. Even if they can’t accommodate you they will often point you in the right direction.”

Edward Dolding, Welfare Campaigns and Communications Officer at Cardiff University, said: “There are a number of issues about landlords giving a disproportionate display of what they offer. The private landlords list available through the University offers checked houses, but it’s sometimes used as a front. “Often students will ring the landlords to enquire about the checked property they saw advertised, and landlords will say that specific one isn’t available but some others are. Students need to understand that those other properties haven’t been approved by the University.

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Nominated best magazine at the Guardian Student Media Awards 2009

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FASHION: THE NEW VINTAGE


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