I thought I'd got my dream flat - so did 23 others

I thought I'd got my dream flat - so did 23 others 25 minutes ago Share Save Add as preferred on Google Nicky Ford London investigations BBC Mide Awosika and two flatmates paid a £12,000 deposit to rent a four-bedroom property in Poplar, east London Last summer, 20-year-old Mide Awosika thought she had secured her dream flat ahead of starting a new term at Queen Mary University in London. She and two flatmates together paid a £12,000 deposit to rent a four-bedroom property in Poplar, east London. But when they arrived on moving day, there were no keys – and they found nine other people also trying to move into the same flat. The property had been advertised on major rental websites Zoopla and OpenRent. After a viewing in July, Awosika said the letting agent, who identified himself as Derrick Fringe, told them there was stiff competition and they needed to pay immediately to secure it. She said they handed over three months' rent upfront, plus holding and security deposits. She told us that just before the scheduled August move-in date, Fringe told them the existing tenants had refused to leave and bailiffs were needed. Then contact stopped. When Awosika went to the building the following day, she realised the scale of the problem and described how group after group arrived, all expecting to collect keys for the same property. She decided to set up a WhatsApp group to keep track of and share information amongst those affected. Neither Fringe nor the landlord who owns the property responded to the BBC's questions. Since then, Awosika said, 23 people have contacted her claiming to have been targeted in the same way, all linked to the same flat and the same agent. Figures from Report Fraud indicated the cost of rental fraud was a growing issue with reported losses almost doubling in the past five years. In 2021, there were 4,642 rental fraud cases reported leaving those affected £7.2m out of pocket. In 2025, 4,178 cases were reported in England and Wales and Northern Ireland - costing victims £14.5m. Among those who joined Awosika's WhatsApp group were Freazy Warr, 24, Nirrhit Pal, 23, and three other flatmates, who between them transferred £7,200 to secure the same property. They never received the keys either. "As the moving van was pulling into the road, we were told by a friend to cancel immediately because two other groups were already waiting," Warr said. "My lease was ending and I was terrified I'd have nowhere to live." He said the pressure of London's rental market had left them feeling vulnerable. "There are so few affordable properties," he said. "Students and people without a lot of money are pushed online, where it's harder to know who to trust." Nirrhit Pal (left) and Freazy Warr were part of a group of five would-be flatmates who lost £7,200 Two young professionals working in nearby Canary Wharf paid a £9,460 deposit to rent the flat. Satchit Warade and another tenant, who asked for her name to be withheld, said they were rushed into t