In danger of being scammed?

Tenant Discussion
1

Hi I received this from a prospective landlord and am wondering if I am right to suspect it’s a scam?

ell itg

To: Denise Geary

Sat 22/03/2025 08:48

The property was verified by the OpenRent, is exactly as in the pictures, You can move when you want, I will not charge you till you move. I can rent it for as long as you want. The rent will start once you move. Before I get paid, you will have 48h to think if you keep the property or not. In order to book the property you’ll have to deposit first month of rent + £500 as security deposit (refundable at the end of the lease) through OpenRent. You will not pay to me, you will pay to OpenRent agent account, you can pay by Credit Card/ or Bank Transfer, they will secure your funds till you decide if you keep the property or not. The security deposit will be returned to you at the end of the contract. To start I need your full name and tel number and a copy of your driver’s license or passport, then I can register the transaction with OpenRent and move forward, after that, OpenRent will contact you.

Please let me know your final decision
Regards

Thank you for reading this.

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4

Hi. Have had the identical email from same person inreguarding property in Long Whatton. Bungalow. I k ow this property and used to care for the lady who lived there whilst working for a care company. Total amount of rent appears to cheap for the month which also includes bills. Feel something right. Property not listed on Open Rent site when checked for details

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6

Sounds very much like a scam
You don’t pay rent and deposit to book a house you pay it the day you move in and sign the contract

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7

This is misleading. It’s the way @A_A does it, but many tenants will sign & pay in advance of the moving in day & that is how Openrent RentNow works.

However, via Openrent you should only pay the 1 week holding deposit via their website before signing the contract.

Make sure you are seeing their website & not a scam site.

In over 20 years as a Landlord, I have never signed a tenancy agreement on move in day.

8

In over 20 years as a Landlord, I have never NOT signed a tenancy agreement on move in day.

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9

And that’s fine. I was just highlighting that the comment was made as a statement of fact, rather than reflecting the reality that many landlords don’t do it this way.