Olivia Burke
A man has told how he has been left 'traumatised' after discovering his new family home was actually someone's Airbnb.
Manchester dad Ben Echianu, 43, claims he is now thousands out of pocket after being swindled by a 'heartless' woman who he believes posed as a landlord and promised to rent him the property.
The father-of-three, from Chorlton, explained that he blindly trusted the scammer who introduced herself as 'Amy' as he was desperate to find a place big enough to fit his kids after recently breaking up with his partner.
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He had spotted an advert on Gumtree for a three-bedroom property in central Manchester, which was up for £750 a month.
After responding to the ad, the dad said that Amy got in touch with him and explained that she owned the place, before inviting him round for a viewing on 19 June.
Ben, an NHS nurse, then decided to put a £2,000 deposit down on the semi-detached pad - paying half in cash and the other half via bank transfer.
He claims he and Amy then agreed upon a move-in date of 1 July after he signed a tenancy agreement.
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But three days before Ben and his children were due to descend on the home, the landlord suddenly stopped responding to his texts and calls.
Growing 'worried' for the fate of what was meant to be a new property for his family, the dad headed down to the address on 29 June to do some reconnaissance.
Much to his surprise, Ben saw 'other people' relaxing inside - and even more concerningly, the occupants, as well as the neighbours, had never heard of a woman called Amy.
Another resident told Ben that they believed the property was being used as an Airbnb accommodation. It can be found on both Airbnb and Booking.com for short-term rental by property management firm, City Superhost.
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"When I realised it was a scam, it was a shock," the dad, who is currently living with a mate, said. "I was really traumatised. Moving to this property meant so much to me.
"Low and behold, people were already in the property. I saw a lady lying on the sofa and when I knocked on the door she ran upstairs straight away and didn't want to answer.
"One of the lodgers asked what the problem was, I asked for Amy and she said she didn't know anyone called that and that this was a short-term rental."
Ben suspects the mystery woman moonlighting as Amy might have 'rented it in the past' and 'made a copy of the key', allowing her to sneak back in and pose as a landlord.
In hindsight, the dad realises the deal was 'too good to be true', as he said: "The price was way below what is normal there."
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According to a neighbour who lives next door to what was supposed to be Ben's home, the original owners have handed their pad 'over to a company that manages' its rentals.
The NHS worker reckons he will be able to claim the £1,000 he wired Amy back from his bank, however, he probably won't be able to recoup the £1,000 he paid in cash.
City Superhost share a similar sentiment to Ben, with a spokesperson saying they also suspect the scammer could have 'acted as an estate agent' during the period she had booked to stay.
"We're responsible for keeping the properties well maintained, well looked after and secure so when something like this happens our first thought is security and the safety of the guests and any future guests," a statement said.
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"We've got both sets of locks changed, we've spoken with the neighbour who has a camera and she's been very helpful and we're in communication with the police.
"Most people are here for genuine reasons, whether it's visiting friends and family, for tourism or events that are on. Like any industry, if you've got one person who wants to upset things then they're going to try and do it.
"City Superhost manages nearly 100 properties and this is the first time something like this has ever happened. We're Airbnb superhosts and 99 per cent of guests are fantastic and just want to use the property."
Airbnb says it has 'trust and safety teams' to identify fraud on the platform and it encourages users to report suspicious activity, while also running annual campaigns to warn users of third-party scams.
The online rental giant said it has removed a user from their platform following an internal investigation, while Gumtree urged people to report suspicious behaviour so their 'dedicated trust and safety team' can investigate.
Booking.com also called on users to utilise the 'guest management tool', which 'also allows partners to be able to instantly report guest misconduct', while a spokesperson also added: "When necessary we will block the responsible customer account on our platform."
Greater Manchester Police confirmed the incident is being investigated as an alleged fraud by the Action Fraud team.