By paNOW

Kijiji rental scam leaves hopeful renters without damage deposit, place to live

May 16, 2013 | 6:13 AM

A rental scam in Saskatoon left 24 hopeful renters out $1,100 each.

A Canada-wide warrant has been issued for the arrest of Jason Hartlen after he convinced two dozen renters in Saskatoon to give him a damage deposit for a rental property that he did not own.

The property was listed on Kijiji and looked ideal. Amanda Gall saw the listing for the apartment on the 800 block of Kingsmere Boulevard and quickly contacted the ad.

“The rental market is competitive. In a couple hours of posting the place could be gone. So we know that sometimes if you see a place you have to get it right away,“ explained Gall.

“There was no name or phone number but that’s not uncommon… and we got a message back with his name and phone number.“

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Gall and Hartlen arranged a time to meet at the property. Gall said that Hartlen met her and her husband at the door on March 17.

“He claimed he was the owner of it and that his currents tenants were going to be moving out at the end of the month of April,“ she said.

Hartlen showed them around and answered all of their questions about the building. He even said that he would be doing renovations to the bathroom before they moved in.

“He was very friendly, very polite. He knew exactly what to say. We never suspected him of anything at any time,“ she said.

“He wasn’t acting sketchy, he was so friendly. We were saying we were looking forward to him being our landlord.“

The apartment seemed perfect for Gall and her husband. They didn’t want to lose the opportunity to live in it so they told him they wanted it. He asked for them to sign a lease and pay a damage deposit, which seemed like standard dealings to Gall.

“It was a standard lease. Everything was there… you don’t think of anything when you walk into a place and he shows you it,“ she explained.

“I asked him how he prefers rent payments… he was like, ‘Oh no that’s not a problem I actually prefer to do e-transfers now.’ I just trusted him.“

They signed the lease, transferred the money, and didn’t think twice about the situation. Gull even arranged a time to hand over the keys on the first of May.

When moving day came, Gall and her husband showed up to the apartment with a rental truck full of all of their belongings. But when they went to move in they saw a sign.

“If you are here about the apartment it is a scam, call the police,“ Gall said.

“We were the eighth who had shown up that day.“

They tried to contact Hartlen but his phone had been cancelled.

After reporting the incident to the police Gall spread out her belongings through family members and had to stay with her sister until they found another place.

“Luckily I have family in the city. I don’t know what I would have done without my family,“ she said.

“Without a place to stay I don’t know what we would have done.“

She wasn’t shocked to see the number of other victims jump because everything about her transactions seemed normal. As for the $1,100 damage deposit, she doesn’t expect to see it again.

“There is no guarantee we will ever get our money back,“ she said.

news@panow.com

On Twitter: @princealbertnow