E280 CDI - Surely this is a bargain?

[st4]

As you say, I'll have some fun first...did you see my reply above...

Aye, ask him for his bank details to send the money too if he prefers a bank transfer (he will), and then ask for him to provide a £50 fee to you to cover the "foreign transfer costs" and get him to send it via WU or paypal

 

[PXW]

Ad has been taken down from PH. Would be very wary of 'reverse scamming' - fine to have a bit of email sport, but I wouldn't try to extract cash (not that it's likely ot succeed anyway, but...)

 

[bpsorrel]

Had the same thing a year or so ago with an '05 CLK 320cdi on Autotrader for £8K!. After emailing the guy (no phone number given) I got the reply that the car was based in Switzerland as the family and car had moved there. The car was not needed any more and as it was RHD it had no value in Switzerland (!!!) so hence the ad in UK Autotrader! He wanted a £2K deposit and then would ship the car over to me!! LOL!! How stupid did he think I was! )

The ad stayed on Autotrader for a long time - I wonder what happened in the end?

 

[vijilants]

This has now been going on for years and they basically prey on the fact that everyone loves an absolute bargain and the fact that a lot of people would rush this through to stop anyone else from beating them to the "bargain of the century".

What i'd like to know is how may people have actually lost money on these scams, as I bet that there are plenty that have fallen into this trap.

Has there ever been any investigation into this scam on Watchdog or any of the TV consumer investigation programmes ?

 

[renault12ts]

Here's his reply:


Since I have a written contract with the shipping company they will handle this sale for me and they will act as a third party between us. I can give you the website of the Spanish shipping company where my car is held and you can get in touch with them.They will explain the entire procedure regarding payment and shipping. I also hope that the car being in Spain is not a major inconvenience for you.I know that at this price I will find a buyer in no time, so this isn't a major inconvenience for me.
Best Regards

PH also sent me a warning.

 

[vijilants]

Now ask him for the vin number and he will probably tell you that the papers are in the container with the car so he cannot supply it.

Thats what the last one told me when I was winding him up

 

[wemorgan]

Sounds like an amusing game to play............until the heavies get sent around.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

What i'd like to know is how may people have actually lost money on these scams, as I bet that there are plenty that have fallen into this trap.

Has there ever been any investigation into this scam on Watchdog or any of the TV consumer investigation programmes ?

I know someone who fell for a scam of this type about 6 or 7 years ago - a caravan advertised on ebay for £8k, but with a real value of £12k plus. Supposedly it had been taken to Cyprus when emigrating, but hadn't used it since. Selling back to the UK to maximise sale price - no value locally, etc.

The buyer was given a shipping number and website address to satisfy themselves that it was on it's way to the UK before placing the deposit. Supposedly a professional looking website, popped the number in the appropriate box, and it's status popped up on screen.

Lots of emails exchanged along the way, all answered quickly.

They paid £4k deposit by Western Union. Emails stopped. Web address stopped working. Caravan didn't arrive. Ebay didn't want to know as the deal was done outside of ebay. Police didn't want to know, and so wrote to someone very senior - response was pretty much: "You were stupid".

A successful and intelligent bloke got caught. All the signs were there, but a combination of not being scam savvy, trusting and keen for a bargain meant that they learnt the very very hard way.

 

[vijilants]

Personally I think that all scammers that are caught need to be given a really good kicking

I really can't stand people that swindle others for money.