*URGENT* FRAUD! Where do I stand?

Basically on Saturday I boguht some alloy wheels for a ridiculous low price off a car dealers forum. £250 via bank transfer into his account.

He said hes sent them and I should have them for Monday Afternoon.

Basically someone on another forum im on said he maybe a conman under investigation and that should provide the other forums with his details.

Basically im wondering where I stand if he is a conman? Have I basically lost that money forever?

Should I go to my bank first thing to try and stop the transaction or should I wait till the afternoon and see if they do arrive?

It seems really odd because hes on the forum selling more stuff and posting like any other another person

Sorry to hear about your situation.

Sime said:

Basically on Saturday I boguht some alloy wheels for a ridiculous low price off a car dealers forum. £250 via bank transfer into his account.

Click to expand...

Did any alarm bells ring here, leading you to take precautions against fraud when dishing out your money via BT?

Sime said:

He said hes sent them and I should have them for Monday Afternoon.

Click to expand...

Has he sent them via a recorded form of delivery/courier. Did you ask for and get a tracking number?

Sime said:

Basically im wondering where I stand if he is a conman? Have I basically lost that money forever?

Click to expand...

Now that you have assumed he's a conman and you've paid via BT, unless there was a proper contract then you could well have lost all your money. May be something that could be pursued in court though if it comes to that.

Sime said:

Should I go to my bank first thing to try and stop the transaction or should I wait till the afternoon and see if they do arrive?

Click to expand...

Does your bank have 24hr telephone banking? I would phone them right now. The worst that can happen is that your wheels arrive and you transfer the money afterwards. If he has sent them already, either he is taking you for a ride (excuse the pun) or the money has gone through already.

Sime said:

It seems really odd because hes on the forum selling more stuff and posting like another person

Click to expand...

He may be very experienced in what he is doing.

Possibly go to the bank and request that they hold onto the payment? If he's already sent them, then you can pay when they arrive. If not, then you don't lose your cash.

If the money's left your account, you probably won't be seeing it again.

First things first... ever heard the saying, "if something's too good to be true"...?

Anyway, you never know, they might turn up. If he's sent them, has he got a tracking number (if he used a courier, which he must have to send some alloys)? Failing that, some proof of postage?

Do you have contact details for this guy? Did you confirm these details before you transferred the cash? If not, I've got a great deal that you'll be interested in.

Chances of your bank cancelling the transfer are slim to none.

My advice would be to sit it out, wait until Monday to see if they arrive. If they don't then contact him on Tuesday asking what's happened to them. Although, saying that, if he only sent them on Saturday, I don't think you'd get them until Tuesday in any case. May have to wait till Wednesday.

If they don't turn up then you can either a) threaten to go round to his place and hope he'll reimburse you, or 2) take him to the small claims court. Of course, both of these require that you know his address - if you don't then you'll have to chalk it up as an expensive lesson learnt.

Somethign thats also pretty odd is the fact hes accepting pick ups

Quoted from the forum :-

"
Im in Dorset, right down south. collection is fine this weekend or can use a courier like parcelforce etc..

"

Has he got a long history of trading in parts, with satisfied customers?

Nop but aswell as the wheels hes selling a coupe of SETS of Angel eye headlights and a Nintendo Wii

Guess I have too much faith in humanity and that there a decent truthworthy people in the world

Not sure if im aloud to do tihs but here are the links to the threads...

The Alloys Thread

Angel Eyes

Nintendo Wii

But if you check his username ...Hes still posting regular advice / opinion posts...Odd...

JoeMama said:

Has he got a long history of trading in parts, with satisfied customers?

Click to expand...

Yeap, what about his feedback? (On the forum or e.g. on eBay)?

He's only been a member of that forum for 4 days. Someone even 'joked' that they must be stolen so he must have known he could have got a lot more for them. Doesn't look good tbh.

http://www.astraownersclub.com/vb/showthread.php?p=1586614

God im a dick...What do you think he sees how much money he can make before he gets caught and then moves the moeny or sumemt?

I mean I have his account number and sort code...is that not anything valuable? Surely need some valid details to get up an account?

Hmm...what about the other places you mentioned?

You need the OcUK detective team. I think Tefal and MP3KLA (??) come to mind..

He could be using somebody else's identity.

And to be honest, selling lots of ultra cheap stuff on a forum with only 9 posts does seem pretty suspect.

I'd report his bank details to the authorities now, and just tell them the situation and hopefully they'll keep an eye on him and see what happens.

That's all I can suggest for now... vv

pose as someone else looking to buy the wheels , pretend your in a rush.

if hes a conman he will accept your money again. say you want to pay on collection and you will be there tuesday

if your wheels dont turn up monday then go ask him where your money is

"andy" said:

pose as someone else looking to buy the wheels as quick as you can

if hes a conman he will accept your money again. say you want to pay on collection and you will be there tuesday

if your wheels dont turn up monday then go ask him where your money is

Click to expand...

That's some quick thinking & a good plan. OP: do as he says

cheers guys, getting a fe pms now guys, so its first come first swerved, will get the pitures sent out.

Click to expand...

Hope that was a typo for your own sake.

"andy" said:

pose as someone else looking to buy the wheels , pretend your in a rush.

if hes a conman he will accept your money again. say you want to pay on collection and you will be there tuesday

if your wheels dont turn up monday then go ask him where your money is

Click to expand...

probably not the best idea to go round a random persons house, who knows what he's like.

if he is a conman then hes hiding behind the internet , therefore hes probably a coward. asking him nicely for your money back shouldnt cause much fuss.

he can say yes or he can say no. if he says no then police or small claims court will help. in experience he will probably be just say yes as soon as you mention either of the aforementioned



i guess you could just not go at all though. atleast you will have his address that can be used to take legal action

The money still hasn't left the bank, it takes 3 working days for a bacs transfer, which is simply the bank holding onto the money to make as much profit as possible before transferring it. So if you ring up the bank they will be obliged to cancel it.

That's strange. I thought if it was from the same bank it was instant. I've also transferred money from, i think it was, Lloyds to HSBC and had an email telling me it went through instantly too and the HSBC customer confirmed it was in his account.
3 days in most other cases though.