Rental ******

<p>It is a crying shame and disgrace to humanity that ****** and ************** still exist in South Africa and that certain employees of large corporate estate agencies such as Engel and Volkers are in support of this.</p> <p>After finding a suitable cottage in Waterford Estate listed on property24 I contacted the agent Mrs Michelle Meyer and viewed the property on 22 October 2016 in the presence of the home owner, Mariel.. On October 31 2016 I called Michelle and informed her that I am interested in leasing the property and she confirmed that it is still available and therefore I sent through the required documentation. After sending the documents yesterday 1 November 2016, Michelle regretfully informed me that the property has been leased out over night by the landlord himself and that it is no longer available. This surprised me so I asked my white female friend to t phone Michelle and enquire about the property. Michelle joyfully expressed that the flat is still available and that she will be able to view the property this Saturday 5 November 2016. Michelle then went as far as to send an SMS with directions to my friend, a screen shot of which is attached below. Being outraged by this I immediately contacted Michelle and at first asked her if she is sure that the flat is not available and she responded by saying that “yes I am positive the home owner called me early this morning and confirmed” this was then the breaking point for me as Michelle was caught out in a blatant lie and I confronted her leaving her gasping for air and putting me on hold for 5 minutes. She then returned saying that there is a misunderstanding which I had no time to listen to and continued to confront her. She then put her manager on the line whom I informed that I feel discriminated against due to the fact that the flat is still on offer to a white person and not me. The Manager said that she will investigate and call me back, two hours later Michelle called me back apologising for the incident and stating that she was too embarrassed to tell me the truth initially, which is that the home owner only wants white people to live in his cottage and will therefore not accept my application. Her apology was no consolation for the ************** I had to endure.</p> <p>There is no excuse for the dishonest misrepresentation given from Engel and Volkers regarding this matter. By Michelle blatantly lying to me shows that Engel and Volkers are in support of their clients ******. What procedure did they take against the home owner when he expressed the rejection of my application due to the fact that I am a young Indian professional? Did they inform him that this act is against the South African Constitution? One would expect an elite corporate organisation such as Engel and Volker to discourage such actions especially in a time when this country is plagued by negative racial tension. Only since the confrontation has the listing been removed from property24 which is also a crying shame, why wasn’t this done immediately and the home owner reported? Instead Engel and Volker’s continued to source a suitable white candidate to occupy the property. This is absolutely disgusting behaviour by both parties and by no doubt needs to be brought to the public’s attention. </p> <p> </p>