Crystal Harrison, Star Writer

A 30-year-old woman claims that after making a down payment on a house for rent in the Kingston 3 area recently, she now has reason to believe that she was conned out of her $30,000 as the so-called homeowner has since disappeared.

Jodi-Ann Sammy* told THE WEEKEND STAR on Wednesday that after seeing the house being advertised for rent in the print media on May 1, she and a friend went by the advertised address to view the house.

"We saw the advertisement in the paper the Sunday saying one bedroom house for rent inclusive of light; and I called the number and a lady answered the phone saying that I should call back in 15 minutes time because somebody else is viewing the place. Eventually, we went by the place and we saw an old lady about 50 or 60 years old telling us that we can get the keys for the place by Wednesday to rent but the only problem with the place is that there is a problem with the roof," Sammy said.

Sammy further reasoned: "I paid $15,000 on the Sunday and the following day I made another $15,000 payment. In total, the woman collected $30,000 and from the Wednesday of that same week I have been calling her cellular phone and each time that we call the number we have been getting voicemail". Eventually, Sammy visited the house last weekend after making several futile attempts to contact the the so-called homeowner by phone.

"When we went by the house we didn't find the woman; but we spoke to some neighbours who told us that they don't know anyone by the name of Barbara White, and so we made a report to the police and we eventually found out that several other persons have made similar reports in regards to that same house."

The Kingston Eastern police are investigating.

*Name changed