Tendency not to follow the Tenancy Act
Once again there seems to be an issue with landlords, their renters, and how to properly evict someone.
A landlord recently took it upon himself to enter the house of a tenant and remove the tenant's possessions. The landlord is now facing possibly Criminal Code charges.
Let's take a brief look at some things a landlord cannot do:
• Enter a rental unit without giving 24-hour notice.
• Seize the property of a tenant without having a proper court order.
• Change the locks on a unit without a Residential Tenancy Branch order.
• Physically remove a tenant's items.
The RCMP urges all landlords to follow the Act in order to protect themselves.
We also remind you that the RCMP cannot evict someone on your behalf. If help is needed, you must seek the help of a court bailiff.
RCMP are, however, able to keep the peace while you or a bailiff remove the tenant or serve documents.
Vandalism is escalating
Throughout the summer weeks there have been numerous reports of vandalism, mostly spray painting, in the town of Clearwater. It is believed that the person(s) responsible for all the vandalism is also responsible for a cluster of garbage fires around town last week.
Clearwater RCMP recommend that anyone with any information regarding the vandalism come forward, before the fires, or ideas, get bigger and more dangerous.
Freeze online fraud
The most common type of online shopping fraud involves credit cards.
To avoid this happening to you, look for the following to make sure the site you are using is secure:
• A small lock icon in the lower left hand side of the page.
• URLs starting with https instead of http.
Every time you use your credit card online, you run the risk of credit card theft. Never give your credit card information in an email (or any other personal information, for that matter).
Many scams will ask you to update an account such as PayPal; this is a way to find out if your account is active. These emails are fraudulent.
The second kind of fraud you may run into is vendor fraud.
The product being displayed could be completely false or defective. The vendor might take your payment and not send the product.
The best idea is to use only trusted sites. Look at the vendor rating and consumer reviews to discover the reputation of the vendor.