21^st Jul 2019

The Sunday Times published a harrowing story yesterday (Sunday 7th July) of a Foxtons' estate agent who was sent anonymous and terrifying calls on her phone, warning her to expect acid being thrown in her face.

The agent received the calls following her warning to landlords that there is a gang operating in the area illegally sub letting properties.

One of her friends told the tabloid paper that the agent is “severely traumatised”.

The agent was working with a group which had to investigate the gang when the police decided not to carry out their own inquiry.

According to the Sunday Times story the criminal ring was described as a “sophisticated gang” which targeted luxury rental properties.

They rented properties which were then sub-let and proceeded to pocket the unsuspecting tenants' rents which of course was unbeknown to the landlords.

The landlords received an initial few months of rent from the criminals and then payments were stopped as the gang took full advantage of the lengthy eviction process.

One landlord said: “They stopped paying the rent after two months but it took me almost a year and cost me £70,000 to evict them.”

The newspaper reports that the police labelled the gang's scam as a civil matter, consequently a group was formed of letting agents, landlords and neighbours to investigate the criminal ring themselves.
The gang went to exceptional lengths to con the tenant referencing and checking processes. The article told readers of how a fashion consultancy boss discovered that the criminals had forged payslips, bank statements and references using her company's name.

Patrick Bullick, managing director of a London estate agency, said that it is an ever increasing epidemic which is “rife” across the city.

Bullick said: “The rise of Airbnb and other letting sites has facilitated this criminality. Thousands of properties are being misused in this way in central London.”

The deputy leader of Kensington & Chelsea Council, Kim Taylor-Smith, said: “It cannot be right that criminals roam the districts of London and the police just look the other way.”

Richard Merrick of PIMS, said: " Since when is it that a private business which is defrauded and its employees are threatened with an acid attack by a criminal gang, that it is not a police matter?

" Landlords and agents are merrily treated by the government as businesses and are made to contribute more than enough to its coffers. So why cannot a police force recognise this?

"It is utterly ridiculous ."


News Archive »