r/Leeuwarden • u/Dismal-Stuff3413 • 19d ago

Need advice (potential scam)

I agreed to rent a room from another tenant and already paid money toward it. I later realised I wouldn’t be able to register at the address, which is important for me as an international student, and I’ve also been told the tenant may not actually be allowed to sublet the room.
He’s told me I need to find someone else to take the room before I can get my money back. I originally posted the room here, but after seeing everyone’s concerns I took the post down because I don’t want to put someone else in a bad situation.
Has anyone dealt with something similar in Leeuwarden or know who I should contact for help getting the money back?
UPDATE:
He gave me back half of my money. Should I still forward with reporting him?

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7

u/Snotaap 19d ago

Tell him that if you don’t get your money back, you’ll report him to the rental agency and the police. This is classic extortion.

Dutch law has a lot of leeway in case of good faith. And seeing you paid for a deposit in good faith to later discover that you would be unable to rent the place due to subletting, this would fall under that segment.

1

u/Dismal-Stuff3413 19d ago

I have gone to the police about this and they said it’s a civil dispute

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u/CivSNL 19d ago

DM me.

1

u/PeterdeBeer22 18d ago

Then go to the building owner. They may not know it's being illegally sublet so you may as well rat the tennant out to avoid this happening to others. Consider it learning money and avoid scams in the future.

1

u/klootviolen 17d ago

Contact the Huurteam Leeuwarden at the Zuidergrachtswal 3 through their website

2

u/InternationalTap6823 19d ago

Once the recipient took possession of the money it was his/hers, legally you have to proof the money is yours if you want it back. You can try and ask for the money back through your bank if the recipient refuses to refund, sometimes it holds more weight then just you asking directly, but the truth is that once the money left your account nobody but the accountholder the money went in can send it back (Unless it turns out to be a scam, but that could take years to prove in court and will probably end up costing you more then the refund)

Source; i have 6 years of experience at the fraud department of a big bank and have dealt with situations like this in the past. I have to note my knowledge on the subject is from 2023 but as far as i know no major laws have changed since then that could outdate this info, but i welcome corrections.

In all honesty; these cases are rarely worth the effort you put in. Sometimes its best to accept the loss because you didn’t have all the info regarding the laws that deal with subletting and registration.

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u/MrRyaan1 19d ago

What’s the address, Have you gone there? How did you find him?

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u/Dismal-Stuff3413 18d ago

A friend gave me his number

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u/xTerenz 19d ago

Well sounds like you have to go kick some ass(es). 

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u/boterbabbelaartje 18d ago

Als hij er verder geen probleem van maakt dat je geen andere huurder kan vinden vrees ik dat je het geld kwijt bent..