Pinoy couple tricked into paying rent in UAE apartment

A Filipino couple fell victim to a scam in the United Arab Emirates, losing at least 6,000 dirhams (P69,860) to a “real estate agent" offering them a “reasonably priced house." The couple, who paid 6,000 dirhams as down payment, was horrified to find the house was also “leased" to two other families and two bachelors who were similarly duped, according to a Gulf News report Saturday. “We were asked to pay 40,000 dirhams for the apartment, but we asked the agent to lower the price. He agreed to lease a studio apartment for 35,000 dirhams, and asked us to give him a deposit on the spot," the report quoted the Filipino mother, Janet, as saying. Making matters worse was that a man claiming to represent the landlord asked them to vacate the apartment because the landlord had not authorized anyone to lease it. “After we moved in with the other family, a man came over to tell us that he represents the landlord, and asked us to vacate the apartment because the owner has not authorized anyone to lease it on his behalf," Janet said, according to the report. The real estate agent has since disappeared, it added. The scam Janet, a school administrator, said she and her husband saw an advertisement in May for the one-bedroom apartment in a villa. After contacting the real estate agent, they went to view it and paid 1,000 dirhams. “We never had a reason to suspect foul play because the agent had the keys of the villa and showed us a contract that he claimed was signed by the landlord," she said, according to the report. The agent brought a signed contract and collected the down payment of 5,000 dirhams, which was part of the first installment of the rent, and told them they could move in. At the villa, Janet and her husband learned there were two other families who had rented the same apartment and were also apparently duped as well. One of them even paid the rent in full, while the other paid 14,000 dirhams, the Gulf News report said. “One of the families had keys but the other didn’t, so we agreed to share the apartment with the family who had the keys," she said. Two more men showed up later at the villa and claimed they had paid deposits for the same apartment. — JE, GMA News