Bogus buyer strikes twice

At least two pubs on the market in Lincolnshire have been the target of a scammer who tried to grab cash for a bogus survey.

Licensees at the Wheatsheaf and the Ship, both in Boston, were offered the full asking price for their freehold pubs - but were asked to hand over £750 for a building survey.

Sensibly, both sellers asked to see credentials and proof of funding and the trickster disappeared. GA-Select managing director Graham Allman, who had been instructed to sell both pubs, came face to face with the female trickster, whom he described as medium height with medium-length hair and aged 30 to 40.

The woman said that she had been given money by her mother to acquire a portfolio of quality freeholds - but had lost thousands to sellers pulling out at the last minute and refusing to pay for surveys.

Alan Hall, licensee of the Wheatsheaf, said that the scammer's story was rushed and inconsistent: "She looked tarted up and was smoking cheap cigarettes. She sat us down and said she had fallen in love with the pub and wanted to give us the full whack - which we thought was odd in the current climate. She didn't ask to see the accounts and was evasive about her address, claiming she was staying with friends."

Jane Waring, of the Ship, was fed an identical story by the mystery blonde and became suspicious straight away.

Graham Allman said: "She gave the same spiel and fake numbers and references to both pubs - this is a scam. With a lot of vulnerable UK pub owners desperate to sell we need to be on the look out for this sort of thing."