A woman who found her 'dream home' on Facebook claims she has been scammed out of hundreds of pounds by a 'fake landlord' who pretended to rent the property to her.
Ashleigh Connor, was left out of pocket after her dream move unravelled as an evil scam by a 'fake landlord' who stole £850 from her.
The 28-year-old has been forced to move back with her parents and brother, in a cramped two-bed bungalow after the scam had put added strain on her mental health, the Liverpool Echo reports.
Ashleigh had spent hours searching through Facebook for her new home in West Kirby, Merseyside. And when she stumbled across a property on the landlord's page, she thought she had found her dream move.
She said: "I was back and forth talking with him, he gave me all the details, he said what size the property was, discussed budget and asked who I would be living with.
"I'd be living on my own and had a budget of £500 per month. He said that was fine and the rent would be £500 which was in my budget and that I would need to pay a £300 deposit plus admin fee.
"I sent him all the details and he said I qualified for everything and accepted me for the property. He even sent me a lease agreement, it all seemed genuine."
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Ashleigh parted ways with the deposit and admin fee for the house, which totalled £350, which she says is common practice for rentals. She said: "He told me everything was OK and gave me a move in date of April 16 and that he would meet me at the property to give me the keys.
"Then on Friday [April 12] he messaged me saying he would need one month's rent up front before I got the keys. I had to borrow it off my mum because I didn't have it in my bank early. I sent him £500 by bank transfer."
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Again, Ashleigh says this didn't raise any suspicions as it was quite a normal process when renting a property from a landlord.
But it was after Ashleigh paid out her rent money that things turned sour.
She continued: "Then it started going weird after I sent the £500 rent. The next message I had from him he said he wanted another £500 from me, asking for another month up front, that would have been two months rent I would have paid him.
"I said no and he said 'I will speak to my attorney,' which made me start thinking because that's an American thing to say. I started talking to my sister about it, who lives in Banbury, and she found the exact property on Zoopla, and it was already let agreed. We spoke to the agent and they said they had never heard of this landlord.
"He told me 'I'm not a scammer' but it didn't seem right. He told me not to worry and he will speak to Zoopla.
"I believed him because I was so desperate to move because I have been living with my parents and my dads in a hospital bed so they [Ashleigh's mum and dad] can't share a bedroom, my brother is also living here. We're all cramped in a two bed bungalow. There is not enough room for everyone."
Ashleigh was further slapped with a £100 cancellation fee from the brazen 'landlord' when she admitted that she could no longer afford to rent the property and asked for her money back.
She said: "He then said 'I need another £100 for a cancellation fee.' There was nothing about a cancellation fee in the contract.
"I just want my £850 back and be done with it. He refused to send me the money. I've had to contact the bank. Luckily the bank are going to retrieve the money and I am stuck without a property."
Ashleigh is already struggling with her mental health and claims her living crisis is only added to the strain.
She added: "I have anxiety and depression as well so I am quite stressed. This has just ruined my sense of trust in a person."
The landlord has been contacted for comment
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