Expat ‘homeless’ after broker cashes rent… goes missing

No sign of apartment promised; Dh70,000 paid in one cheque which has cleared

Parag Deulgaonkar

Published Monday, September 10, 2012

Syed Farid, a Pakistani expat, is in a state of shock after he rented an apartment in Dubai Marina, paid the entire rent in a single cheque, but can’t live there.

He claims he was cheated by a real estate company out of the Dh70,000 that he paid as rent for the apartment in the Emaar Six Towers in Dubai Marina.

Farid started his search for an apartment and scanned properties though a popular online listing portal.

“I got in touch with a person who had posted an online advertisement for a unit in Emaar Six Towers.

“The guy took me to meet an agent working in a registered brokerage firm, who showed me the apartment and subsequently, we finalised the deal.”

Emirates 24|7 has withheld the name of the brokerage firm, as the victim is yet to lodge a complaint with the authorities.

On September 1, Farid issued a cheque of Dh70,350 — Dh67,000 rent in a single cheque along with a refundable security deposit of Dh3,350, in favour of the company.

“I gave them the cheque on September 1 and it was cleared the next day.

“They told me they would clean, paint and sanitise the apartment and then, hand it over to me.

“But I never got the keys.

“I tried calling them over the phone, but no one answered.

“I went to the company office on Sheikh Zayed Road on Saturday, but it was shut,” he contends.

Farid states the brokerage firm did provide him with a copy of their license from the Dubai Department of Economic Department and the Real Estate Regulatory Agency (Rera) registration as well.

“They even gave me a copy of the authorisation letter that allowed them to rent the apartment on behalf of the landlord and collect cheques in their names from the tenant.”

Emirates 24|7 called on the company landline several times, but it went unanswered.

On Friday, Rera chief told this website that that property owners and renters should deal only with licensed companies.

"Let them make sure with whom they are dealing and check out the licence of the company before they deal with them," Marwan bin Ghalitha said.

Last week, we reported that at least two companies, one of them Shamyana Entertainment, are accused of duping hundreds of landlords as the post-dated cheques issued by them bounced.

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Comments

Alfred 15 September 2012 14:19 0 0

Sharjah residents do not experience these scams.

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TC 11 September 2012 06:25 1 0

If any agent is advertising a property and has the keys to take you there, surely the liability is on the landlord for giving them the keys. So in these cases where people have the keys and even renewed, the landlord pays. He trusted the agent so he takes responsibility.

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K 10 September 2012 23:32 1 0

People and companies do this just because they don't trust each other and they know that a bounced cheque is a criminal offence here. Credit card payments are more secure than cash or cheque payments because you can claim money back in case someone lies to you and does not provide what was promised.

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Syed Farid 10 September 2012 17:22 2 2

Hi, Guys I dealt with a RERA certified agency and signed the contract at their office.It was a big company, well set up office with a large staff.So Joseph i did all the above and yet still. Regards, Syed Farid

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Ben 10 September 2012 16:55 1 1

I think this type of scam shows the need to move away from cheque-based rent payment. We (both the tenants and the landlords) need a system that protects both parties, such as the direct debit system in the UK. Sure, it means that the landlords won't get their cash in one go. But at least it protects them against scams like the one committed by Shamyana Entertainment. And it also means tenants get much fairer payment terms.

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Suresh Kumar 10 September 2012 16:22 12 1

The main problem of rental market is dealing thru agents only. Sometimes there are 3-4 queuing in line to loot tenants for easy money of commission. I found Sharjah is much much better place where most of the landlords deal directly. This saves tenants hard earned money also.

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Ahmad 10 September 2012 15:09 1 1

But the guy already got a copy of their license and documentation! So what was he supposed to do? Also, why not create a department in RERA to receive all payments from tenenants, to filter and regulate the payment and ensure the safety of both the prospect tenants and the landlord owners to avoid more trouble. i.e. Think outside the box to ensure ethical practices by as many people as possible... without overcharging them. Good luck!

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Joseph 10 September 2012 13:14 2 11

moral lesson - only deal with RERA registered agents.

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mimi 10 September 2012 13:06 4 5

It is not a small amount for an average expat to lose!

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KRISHNA 10 September 2012 12:58 4 3

insist on meeting agents at their office,ask for a copy of the trade license, rera regn & broker id card. we insist that clients come into our offices & complete paperwork / payments for every transaction to avoid such issues. Transparency is the key and clients are equally to blame!

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Derman 10 September 2012 12:02 1 3

Agents are not clear regarding the owner and propose all kinds of initial methods such as poa schemes

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nathan 10 September 2012 11:16 2 2

A close friend is also caught up in a rental mess , the company is now well know as it has scammed 100s in dubai with the one cheque four cheques scam. before he went with the company, I did check with rera and the company had a valid licence and all the agents had rera numbers... i would still advise to always check on the rera website, but also only deal with the big agencies... there are only 3-4 that are big and realiable.

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godwin 10 September 2012 08:57 2 2

Even i was duped by a company in Karama. The owner fled with the security deposit he happened to managed 150 buildings in the city & just vanished.

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