Hi,

I own a property in Switzerland that I rent out. Since I am too far to "manage" it I also employ an agency to do so. You pay the agency (in Switzerland) who pay me. They also hold a caution (deposit) to ensure any damages are paid for when the tenant leaves.

The situation you described here most certainly sounds very unhealthy, agree with all the other posts- move on.

I'm so glad to read this now! I'm desperately looking for an apt too in Zurich and was in touch with this lady who progressively seemed a little looney. She sent me photos of her flat but it just seemed too good to be true.
She said she was in Italy for work but if i could do a Western Union transfer to a friend of mine so she could see evidence of money then she would send me contract and come to zurich to show me the flat...blah blah. I am new to the flat hunting experience but it was all to weird and I said no (and didn't send her a copy of my passport!!)....glad I listened to my gut instinct!

Hi Assiek,

Yeah mine is the same case. She is in Italy too. Probably same person
who is trying to scam with new comers.



Regards,
Ksheetu.

Hi I think i am communicating with the same person too. IF you hadnt posted this yesterday nothing would have come up in my google search. I figured it was a scam. It was much too cheap an apartment. Shame though, now I only have a week to find something affordable and centrally located!! thanks again.

A

By the way, there are at least three people doing the similar scam I have found in the last 2 days. Its getting ridiculous. Keep your eyes peeled people!

If anyone that you do not know and trust requests payment through Western Union, treat this with great caution. This is not a secure method of payment and they do not offer payment protection.

http://resources.alibaba.com/article...ent_Fraud_.htm

Always insist on a Mietkautionskonto, I had a landlord who was legit but wanted to drop the cash into one of his own personal accounts simply because he could not be bothered to arrange the correct account.

At the time I was not too worried about this as I got on with him well but my company insisted on the Mietkautionskonto. After several years of living in the apartment the relationship went a bit sour as he lost the plot a little, I was very thankful that the deposit was in a protected account.

well, I think it's high time that the two of you (preferably together) report this to the police or the public attorney's office. It's your civil duty to do so.

I think this should be made a sticky and posted in a prominant place once the issue is resolved.

Concur.....

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I had a similar issue. I did not know about this Mietkaution konto and while the landlord was legit, he just accepted cash and gave me a written letter with proof that i paid and that it was a deposit for the flat. My company did not get involved. While it was clearly mentioned on the contract that I had paid the deposit and I had a receipt, he did not bother to arrange the Mietkautionkonto. Big mistake but i did not know about this when i moved to Switz. The owner was a friend of a friend so i just did not look into the details.

This is unfortunately not a new scam in Switzerland / the expat forums.
See also the warning on Glocals:
http://offers.glocals.com/scamExamples.htm

Hi,

if you do not want your money to be bound in an account for the duration of your rental, you can take out bond insurance with SwissCaution (http://www.swisscaution.ch/en/questions-answers). Landlords must accept this sort of deposit and you don't have the massive outlay ...

You're getting hosed. The transfer should take place face to face. You can't un-wire money. There is absolutely no reason for you to forward money until you see the appartment. Think about it. He will need to drive to meet you anyways to show you the apartment. What if you did not like it? There is no reason to give him money until you see it. Swiss law requires deposits to be held in an escrow acccount in a Swiss bank.

You're getting scammed big-time. Don't waste any more of your time.

So folks, I have a related problem, i've been here a year, just moved out of first apartment and the ex-landlady is giving us some problems. June 2007, we sent the deposit to her bank account while abroad. Landlady said she would put it in the bank in the Kaution account. We have documents verifying we sent the money and thought that was that. Moved out 3 weeks ago, had the mieterverband help with inspection and had the inspection form signed. So we expected the deposit back, sent an email to the bank asking them to release money, and they say now there is no money in the Kaution account, she never deposited it! At the time of the deal we were not aware of the details and thought once we have a record and her bank account details all was well. Now she is not replying to the emails and is claiming ridiculous things like we stole her duvet! but thats a seperate issue which I wont go on about here...
anyone any similar experiences /tips, likely we will have to get the mieterverband involved to chase down the cash, is that their thing too?

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is the deposit mentioned on the contract ?

Yep it's mentioned in the contract, and we have a surety for lease document from UBS in English signed by our landlady.

Hi,

New to Switzerland. Found an apartment after a lot of searching. The landlord does not seem very trustworthy and he is asking me to send him the money using PostFinance. I checked their website and from what I gather they are not a bank but a payment service.

Am I right? Is this safe or should I fear a scam?

Thanks

Fear the scam. Deposits are paid into special bank accounts (in your name) that neither you nor the landlord can touch until such time that deductions for damage are paid to the landlord and the remainder released to you when you vacate the premises.

Hey, thanks for the quick reply. I'll definitely follow your advice. I am still a bit concerned about the rents as I am renting the apartment ab sofort but not moving in till later. Is Postfinance a bank or is it simply a payment service where the final recipient can be obscured?