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on september 11, wuhan resident zhang qi (pseudonym) reported to a reporter from jiupai news that she had viewed a house twice through an agent during the rental process, but did not sign a contract with the agent and rented another house on her own. afterwards, the agent asked for hard work fees and said, "i also know which house you live in, and i can find it out with a simple check."

zhang qi felt threatened and deleted the other person's wechat account. the other person then tried to add her back on wechat several times, saying that he wanted to talk in person.

the intermediary told the reporter that the two parties had agreed to sign a contract, but the other party went back on their word. he felt that his efforts were in vain, so he asked for hard work fees. he explained that he did know which room zhang qi rented, but he just suspected that the other party skipped him and signed a contract with someone else. he did not mean to threaten, "i did not say i would come to your house and beat you up."

however, the agent also admitted that the house zhang qi finally rented was not the one he recommended.

zhang qi's chat record with the agent. photo/provided by the interviewee

【1】tenant: i didn’t rent the apartment after viewing it. the agent blamed me for wasting his time, refused to pay me, and threatened me

zhang qi told reporters that she contacted the real estate agency through 58.com. she first learned about the housing information provided by the other party on wechat. she felt that a house near qilimiao was very affordable, so she made an appointment to view the house.

she said that on the morning of september 10, she asked a friend to go to the house to see the house. although she was satisfied with the basic conditions of the house before going there, she found that the bathroom was leaking and was a little hesitant to rent it. she said that the agent said that it could be repaired that afternoon and suggested that they sign the contract quickly or pay a deposit first, but her friend said that she could not make a decision on her own and left after seeing the house.

"at noon, the agent kept sending me messages, asking my friend to take me to see the house again." zhang qi said that she and her friend viewed the same house again that afternoon. at the scene, she was not satisfied with the security conditions in the community, and when she learned that short-term rental was not possible, she was a little hesitant.

“before i had made up my mind, the agent called the landlord directly and said that we wanted to sign the contract, but the landlord was not there, so the contract could not be signed.” zhang qi said that she gave up on the spot and would sign the contract tomorrow after she had thought it over.

she then said she was going to look at a property in another community. "the agent forced me to tell him which one it was to see if they had the one i wanted. then he said i could go and look, and if i liked it, he would ask me to sign. i felt like he was a weird guy."

zhang qi said that after leaving that afternoon, she went to other places to look at houses and signed the contract. in the evening, the agent sent a message to inquire about the matter and learned that she had rented another house. the agent then asked for her hard work fee.

the chat records show that the agent said, "please give me some hard work fee. i will confirm with you that everything is acceptable before i come here." he also said, "i also know which room you are staying in. i can find it out by checking."

zhang qi believes that the first step in renting a house is to confirm online that you can accept the basic conditions of the house, and then you can make a final decision by visiting the house in person. online confirmation does not mean that you must rent it. "who stipulates that you must sign after you have seen it? there were other agents who took me to several communities to visit houses, and in the end i didn't sign, but they didn't ask for hard work fees, let alone threaten me." he said.

after the intermediary was deleted, he sent a friend request again. photo/provided by the interviewee

at the same time, she felt a little scared when she saw the agent said he could find out where she lived, so she deleted the other party. however, the other party did not seem to give up and tried to add wechat again many times, saying that he wanted to wait for her to get off work and chat in person.

[2] agent: i agreed online that i would only take you to see the house if you wanted to rent it, but the agent went back on his word. i am not free labor.

on the afternoon of september 11, the reporter contacted the intermediary, who initially denied asking for hard work fees. after learning that zhang qi had provided the chat records, he changed his words and explained that he was also very angry about the matter and felt that he was being tormented by the tenant. however, his experience was somewhat different from zhang qi's.

the agent said that the other party was sure to rent the house before the inspection. photo/provided by the interviewee

the agent said that he took zhang qi to see the house only after both parties agreed on wechat that they wanted to rent it. he said that after viewing the house in the morning, zhang qi's friend couldn't make a decision and took the initiative to take zhang qi to see it again in the afternoon.

"after viewing the house in the afternoon, she said she could sign the contract, so i called the landlord, but the landlord was not there. i told her to pay the deposit first, but she suddenly changed her mind." the agent said that he felt that zhang qi was going back on her word and he felt he was being cheated.

regarding the claim that he could find out where zhang qi rented a house, the agent explained that it was not a threat, but he just suspected that the other party had skipped him and signed a contract with someone else, so he wanted to protect his rights. "i didn't say i would come to your house and beat you up. if i was threatening, i would just tell you to be careful."

however, the agent also admitted that the house zhang qi finally rented was not the one he recommended.

zhang qi told the reporter that the agent has not contacted them again. "if they continue to threaten or harass me, i may call the police."

jiupai news reporter song weiqi