Rent + Agreement Fee + Caution Fee Scam.

The landlord seemed friendly. The agreement looked straightforward. Before he could move in, he was asked to pay: rent + agreement fee + caution fee.

He transferred the money. Everyone was happy. Then the problem started. A few weeks later, there was an issue with the property. The tenant believed the landlord was responsible.

The landlord disagreed. The conversation became: “You damaged it.” “No, I met it like that.” “Your caution fee will cover it.” “But we never agreed that this would be deducted.” Now imagine having that conversation after ₦300,000 has already left your account.

The problem wasn't necessarily that one person was a bad person.

The problem was that there wasn't a strong process protecting both sides from the beginning. There was no neutral place holding the deposit. There was no clear process for what happens when both parties disagree. There was no simple system saying: this is what was agreed, this is what happened, this is what can be deducted, this is how the money should be handled.

How do you deal with this?