Family in rent rort dilemma
A YOUNG couple are warning renters to thoroughly check potential landlords’ credentials after losing their hard earned savings to a scam.
Zoe McKenna and Zac Barwick moved to Cairns a few weeks ago to care for Ms McKenna’s mother and were desperate to find a rental property when a man called them after seeing their ad on selling website Gumtree.
Police are now investigating a fraud which cost the pair $1400 after they transferred the cash without receiving keys or paperwork.
“We are on a low income and we had managed to save up a lot of money. This guy rang and said he saw the ad and wanted to help us out,” Ms McKenna said.
“He seemed really nice. Everything he told us made sense, he said he owned the house. He told us the keys would be in a white envelope in the powerbox, everything was quite detailed.
“For a young family, we’re not people who have money to throw around, we thought we would never fall victim to this sort of thing.”
But, even after receiving a message wishing Mr Barwick a happy Father’s Day, the couple got to the Cooktown Rd, Edmonton property on Monday and could not find keys. Nor could they contact the man.
The property was listed online by Professionals Cairns South agent Filip Binst and the couple found his number when they realised something had gone very wrong.
Mr Binst said renting through a real estate agency was the safest way to go.