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Kathy Hawes

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my expertise in the industry

Kathy's Recent Activity

I think having really detailed references actually helps more than anything - we have found so many submitters, it is rife in London.

From: Kathy Hawes 20 November 2019 11:32 AM

We have been doing this for years at LetRef!!!! We track IP addresses, check out companies applicant's work for, domain names, even check out all referees, always collect supporting docs - passport/proof of address, banks statements etc., this just proves you need to use an expert referencing company and not a tick box one that exists to sell insurance! Fraud has increased immensely and you need to know what to look out for. The tenant fee ban will give these fraudsters a free rein to try with several agents concurrently. It's not just technology you need but experience and expertise.

From: Kathy Hawes 08 July 2019 10:41 AM

Couldn't agree more with you Mark Tidridge, the fraudulent tenants are using more and more sophisticated ways of getting through. For example, companies can achieve a high credit rating by submitting fake accounts to Companies House, you cannot just take a positive company credit check alone to give you a green light to enter into a company let. Fake passport are getting better, fake bank statements will still show income in and can be accompanied by fake payslips, only experts can recognise the tiny inconsistencies. Some referencing companies carry out full checks without collecting photo ID and proof of address, this is utter madness in my opinion, the applicant's are, in effect, self-credit checking in those cases, all they need to do is type in a wrong house number and they won't be found. There are so many layers involved when carrying out referencing - expertise and experience, tracking IP addresses, talking to people, ensuring the referees are genuine, examining all docs, carrying out Land Reg checks on landlords when necessary, I could go on and on. Many of the fraudsters will rent properties to sublet, take a years' rent from the subletter then disappear, some do this to carry out serious crime and rent several properties under fake identities in order to do so. Using tick box referencing companies is a very risky business.

From: Kathy Hawes 05 July 2019 10:23 AM

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