One of the difficulties I had during the summer I spent trying to wrench back my deposit was not knowing who I was dealing with. http://www.findmeaflat.com had an office, a phone number, and a face: Mark.
But Mark was never authorized to make decisions. Those could only be made by John. And John was never around. It helps to know who you're dealing with _ and who to hold accountable _ especially when you're trying to right a wrong. So who are these people?
It never hurts to run a DNS query on a site _ I should have done it before signing up with these fraudsters, but I didn't. In this case, I've learned nothing new. http://www.findmeaflat.com is registered in the name of "Flat, Findmea" (har, har) but the actual registrant appears to be a certain george@findmeaflat.com. The site has also been live since July of 2004, suggesting that while this may not be a fly-by-night operation, we could be looking at a whole universe of unhappy landlords, tenants, and buyers.
So who are you, Mark, John, and George? And how many people have you taken advantage of?
Monday, February 12, 2007
Find Me a Flat?
If you've stumbled upon this blog, the chances are you're either considering working with the estate agents at http://www.findmeaflat.com, or have already made the mistake of doing so.
I did not long ago, and was cheated out of a £1200 deposit. This site serves a dual purpose: 1) to chronicle my attempt to get my money back and 2) to warn off anyone else naive enough to trust in these fraudsters.
A quick story:
I arrived in London knowing little of the city and not planning to stay long. I found my first flat through an online posting. The ad was put up by http://www.findmeaflat.com, and on a crisp winter night I was ushered into the apartment by Mark, a short young man with slick hair and an even slicker car. The flat wasn't the one pictured in the ad _ in fact the picture advertised is still on their site, but I took it anyways, paying £900 or so a month for a bright, cheery, newly refurbished studio in Whitechapel. The deposit was around £1200. Mark was solicitous, if a little evasive, but I trusted him. Six months later, it came time to move. My landlord wrote me a letter saying the flat was returned in impeccable shape, and I wrote to Mark to collect my deposit.
That's when Mark disappeared.
Two months later, I finally cornered him in his Vestry street office, rapping on his window as he came back from a viewing. Flustered, he let me in, saying he had no idea why I had not received his cheque, making a million apologies for not being in touch. He finally handed me an envelope _ with a cheque for £400. I said it was unacceptable. Mark said there must have been some mistake. He promised to clarify it.
I never heard from him again.
Several weeks and dozens of phone calls later I received an e-mail from John, Mark's colleague. He said I would not see the rest of my deposit again. He threatened to sue if I ever tried to retrieve the rest of the money.
I was unimpressed, and decided to sue him in turn. Over the next few months, we'll see how just how easy it is to bring London's property fraudsters to justice.
I did not long ago, and was cheated out of a £1200 deposit. This site serves a dual purpose: 1) to chronicle my attempt to get my money back and 2) to warn off anyone else naive enough to trust in these fraudsters.
A quick story:
I arrived in London knowing little of the city and not planning to stay long. I found my first flat through an online posting. The ad was put up by http://www.findmeaflat.com, and on a crisp winter night I was ushered into the apartment by Mark, a short young man with slick hair and an even slicker car. The flat wasn't the one pictured in the ad _ in fact the picture advertised is still on their site, but I took it anyways, paying £900 or so a month for a bright, cheery, newly refurbished studio in Whitechapel. The deposit was around £1200. Mark was solicitous, if a little evasive, but I trusted him. Six months later, it came time to move. My landlord wrote me a letter saying the flat was returned in impeccable shape, and I wrote to Mark to collect my deposit.
That's when Mark disappeared.
Two months later, I finally cornered him in his Vestry street office, rapping on his window as he came back from a viewing. Flustered, he let me in, saying he had no idea why I had not received his cheque, making a million apologies for not being in touch. He finally handed me an envelope _ with a cheque for £400. I said it was unacceptable. Mark said there must have been some mistake. He promised to clarify it.
I never heard from him again.
Several weeks and dozens of phone calls later I received an e-mail from John, Mark's colleague. He said I would not see the rest of my deposit again. He threatened to sue if I ever tried to retrieve the rest of the money.
I was unimpressed, and decided to sue him in turn. Over the next few months, we'll see how just how easy it is to bring London's property fraudsters to justice.
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