Pensioner takes dogs for walk... and returns to find locks changed and a family living in his home (Link w/Pictures.)

By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 12:01 PM on 22nd September 2010

A pensioner who took his dogs out for a walk returned to find a family had moved into his home.

George Pope, 72, was unable to get into his council house because the locks were changed.

Mr Pope left his home in Barking, Essex, to take his dogs out to nearby Parsloes Park last Thursday, September 16.

The arthritis sufferer, who needs a stick to walk, started feeling ill and decided to stay at a friend's house until he was well enough to go home.

But when he returned to his house on Saturday morning, he was stunned to discover his locks had been changed.

He claims a man then walked up the path to his house and accosted him.

'I said, "This is my place". But he said, "This is our property and we intend to stay here unless you go to court". It made me feel ill.'

He added: 'I have been shaking ever since. I get panic attacks. It's just terrible.'

Mr Pope immediately called the council and police.

But he claims they told him the new occupants could not be evicted because they were themselves victims of a scam.

Mr Pope said police claimed the residents, who he believes are from Lithuania, had paid £3,000 to a bogus estate agent to rent the property themselves for six months.

The retired Dagenham Ford worker, who was forced to stay with friends, said: 'Police told me it looked like a civil matter.

'But the squatters were using my home, my gas and my electricity - it's absolutely disgraceful.'

Mr Pope went back to his house on Monday morning to find all his belongings had been thrown out.

Neighbours then helped the him gather up his documents, photographs and clothes.

Mr Pope suspects illegal estate agents of occupying buildings and letting them for money.

'I had been out for just two-and-a-half days. Someone must have been watching me,' he said.

'The rear door had been levered out with screwdrivers - that's how they got in.

'My neighbours are now too frightened to go out anywhere in case the same happens to them,' he added.

A Met Police spokeswoman said: 'Police are investigating a civil dispute where there may have been fraudulent sub-letting of the premises.

'Anyone with information concerning the person who has fraudulently advertised this property for rent and subsequently changed the locks should contact Barking and Dagenham Police.'

Mr Pope, who has lived in the house for four years, was able to move back into his home last night after the family fled but said he is now scared to be there because next door is also being occupied by squatters.

He also claims some of his possessions, including a washing machine and an electric cooker have been taken and that the electricity system has been tampered with.

'The wiring has been ripped out and there are burn marks,' he said.

'The whole experience has been really traumatic.'

A Barking and Dagenham council spokesman said council officers visited the house yesterday and found it to be empty, allowing Mr Pope to move back in.

'The council’s repair service changed the locks and Mr Pope was able to return to his home,' he said.

'This was a highly unusual situation and we are working closely with the police to try and determine exactly what happened.

'By taking quick action we have been able to restore Mr Pope to his home without the need to apply to court for an eviction notice. This would have been a very lengthy process.

'We are also aware of a housing association property in this street that is also being squatted.

'We have contacted the housing association concerned and have asked them to try and resolve the situation.

'We are extremely pleased that Mr Pope is back in his own home.'

I guess what's most crazy about it is that they couldn't just call the cops and have them kicked out right away...just because they paid someone else for the property?

The key here is the UK.

http://www.landlordzone.co.uk/squatters.htm

Squatters have rights in the UK. I'm not sure about the US. I've never really looked at squatting laws here. Try googling about the homeless man that was awarded possession of a 4 million pound piece of land in the UK.

Squatting is when someone occupies an empty or abandoned property without the owner's permission

Except in this case it wasn't an empty or abandoned property.

Dave Moorhouse was elated when he was informed that a microchip provider had information on the whereabouts of his stolen dog. This joy soon faded when the company informed him that it could not divulge the Jack Russell terrier's location because it would breach the Data Protection Act. Last week a court agreed with the chip company and refused Mr Moorhouse's request for a court order compelling them to reveal the name and address of the new owners. Steven Wildridge, managing director of the chip company said: “This is not a choice, it’s an obligation under the Data Protection Act. If the individuals involved do not want us to pass on their details to the original owner then we cannot do so unless compelled to following a criminal or civil proceeding."

Scammer offers to rent woman her own house

A Renfrew, Ont., woman recently spotted a rental property on the classified ad website Kijiji that looked like a rare find: a fully furnished house for only $1,000 a month. The catch? It was her own house.

The Limlaws put their house up for sale privately before discovering someone had posted a mirror listing offering to rent the property. (CBC)
Ann Limlaw found out about this latest online scam after privately listing her house for sale earlier this month on two real estate websites, Propertysold.ca and MLS. The listings included both details and photos from both inside and outside the home.

Last week her son, who was looking for a place to rent with his girlfriend, came upon a rental ad on Kijiji offering her home for rent, not for sale, using the very same photos.

"I was absolutely stunned, I couldn't believe it.... I thought, no, this cannot be happening," said Limlaw.

After determining that both websites she had listed her property with had nothing to do with the rental ad, Limlaw decided to contact the "renter" through Kijiji.

Through a series of emails, the scammer laid out a story: the family was leaving in a rush for missionary work in Africa and couldn't sell the house, and was now trying to rent it.

Drive-by viewings only, 'renter' says
Included in the deal: utility costs and all the furnishings, right down to the utensils in the kitchen. Limlaw was invited to view the house on her own, but was told she could only drive by and not enter.

After asking more questions, the scammer stopped responding, and Limlaw notified authorities.

Ann Limlaw said people have been driving by her house for a week checking out the property, but she doesn't know if they are looking to rent or buy. (CBC)
Kijiji also took down the ad, but not before a number of people started driving by the property to check it out. One man interested in renting the property even came to her door on Monday, days after the ad had been removed.

Propertysold.ca confirmed to Limlaw that a similar incident had happened in London, Ont., and Ontario Provincial Police Sgt. David Crilly said that although it was the first time he'd seen this particular tactic, the pattern would be similar to other online scams.

"The scammer would probably say, 'OK, I have a number of people that are interested in the place, send me $1,500 or a $1,000 ASAP or wire it to my account and the place is yours,'" said Crilly.

Crilly said potential renters should be on the lookout for advertisements that seem too good to be true and that suspicious deals should be checked out with Phonebusters online or by calling local police.