A former breakfast TV host has been left reeling amid claims a £10,000 diamond ring was stolen from his home by thieves who were posing as house-hunters.
Ex-BBC man John Nicolson put his plush four-bedroom home in an upmarket area of Glasgow up for rent last year.
The property on offer for £1,800 per month generated a lot of interest including from a family of five who arranged to view it through a letting agency.
But within minutes of them leaving, John discovered one of his partner’s most precious items of jewellery had gone missing.
Staff from the agency were asked about the disappearance but cleared of any involvement and the focus of the investigation was placed firmly on the mystery family. Police have so far drawn a blank on their investigation.
Former Watchdog reporter John who works for America’s ABC News is laying the blame for the alleged theft at the door of the letting company.
John claimed: “To me it’s clearly been a mistake by the letting agents. They let strangers wander around my house on their own with no supervision.”
It was last July John received a call from Clyde Letting, a subsidiary of Glasgow-based Clyde Property, saying they had prospective tenants for his home in the west end.
The company had let the house out before on John’s behalf.
John said: “They only gave me 20 minutes’ notice but I was keen to get the property rented out soon.
“Previously, they had shown people around when I wasn’t at home. But by chance I was home this time.
“I waited in the kitchen while the agent showed them around the house. But as soon as I saw the family I felt something wasn’t right.
“It was odd that a ‘family’ of five people an older man and female with three teenagers were all available during a weekday.
“They didn’t ask any of the usual questions about what the nearest schools were or what the council tax bill was. They seemed intent on getting upstairs to the bedrooms on their own.
“After they saw upstairs they came down and immediately went out the front door without saying anything.”
Minutes later, John went upstairs to check and realised a diamond ring, gifted to his partner by a friend who worked in the Italian fashion industry and worth around £10,000, had disappeared.
Police were called an investigation was launched.
However, John’s home insurance firm have refused to pay out saying there had been no break-in, leaving John in limbo.
John added: “I’ve now raised a formal complaint with the property ombudsman and am asking them to investigate.”
According to the official code of conduct for letting agents, potential tenants being shown around rental properties must be accompanied unless the owner states otherwise.
A spokesman for Clyde Property said: “If we are found to be in breach of rules or our contract we will abide by the ruling and that includes paying any penalties or compensation.”
A spokesman for Police Scotland added: “I can confirm a report was made by a John Nicolson in respect of a stolen ring from his property.
“A number of inquiries were conducted however the ring hasn’t been recovered. Should any new information come to light it will be acted upon.”
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