I’m so annoyed with myself. I’ve been ‘done’ out of £180 and there doesn’t seem to be anything I can do about it! I saw an ad on Marketplace for internal doors which seemed ideal. The seller kept hassling me to decide, he had several others wanting them, etc, said he was setting off and was on the motorway and so on. My husband didn’t want to get them and refused to cooperate which made it worse.
Anyway, they’re rubbish, the cheapest possible, already been done to take the hinges and doors but they don’t match up with our frames. Two of them have no wood on the bottoms, one has a gouge and to top it all they aren’t the size he advertised them at!
Without much hope I messaged him later to offer him petrol money to come and take them back and give us our money back. Of course, he’s just blocked me now. I’d already screen shot his pages and photo but I don’t know his address just the town he lives in.
Is there anything I can do? I know I’ve lost the money but I want to do something to him! I don’t suppose the police will be interested. I’m going to message each of the selling pages he uses to warn people not to buy off him but is there anything else? I can’t stop crying about my stupidity and the lost money. I know people have lost more money but we are pensioners and can’t afford to lose £180!
Gransnet forums
House and home
I’ve been well and truly ‘done over’!
(83 Posts)Oh, that's awful, Luckylegs. Some people are so unscrupulous.
I don't know much about Marketplace, but if he has advertised them as one size and they are actually another, he must be guilty of something.
There is some advice here that might be useful.
I don't suppose you paid by credit card? If so, you might have some protection from your bank, as the amount you paid was over £100.
It's maddening when husbands don't co-operate, too. It would be easier if you had his support and sympathy - after all, it was an honest mistake. Can you tell him this, and see if he can squash his annoyance at losing the money in favour of supporting you? If that will just make things worse, however, maybe leave him to stew .
Luckylegs, that is awful, and I feel sorry for you.
Surely he must be liable for fraudulent advertising, or something similar.
Sending you and a hug.
If you bought through Facebook Marketplace you can leave negative feedback I think.
This is another types of scam, the seller arranges to meet you in a lay-by doesn’t give you time to check the items and then disappears with your money.
Apart from negative feedback there is little you can do im afraid,
can you make the doors presentable and resell them? You won’t get as much for them as you paid but it might be better than nothing.
Just a thought, if there is no alternative to meeting someone somewhere other than their home, take a photo of their vehicle and their photo, they might complain but if they do, then walk away.
Luckylegs you have my sympathy.
Unfortunately there are so many scammers out there. On our local NextDoor forum, someone posed as a single mum wanting to sell a games console to 'be able to buy Christmas gifts for her son'. They (it was a couple)
were subsequently exposed by the person who transferred the money and no console was forthcoming.
Me too, I bought a nest of tables advertised as oak, it was the cheapest most awful pine, luckily I had the presence of mind to say so (politely, through gritted teeth), I was so cheesed off having driven to pick them up. All you can do is warn other people.
Marketplaces of all kinds attract oddballs and scammers.
We have a local 'Swap And Pass It On' page which is for miscellaneous junk items that may be of use to others. Mostly people pass on broken things that someone else might be able to strip for parts and use to repair one of their own, or things that can be repurposed or upcycled. Otherwise it's half tins of gloss paint, spare rolls of wallpaper and so on.
No money changes hands, and once a week there is a chance to offload items that are taking up space and someone might want. Coffee tables, kitchen appliances, that sort of thing.
Anyway, I have noticed that it is the same couple of people who always 'bag' the freebies. Every time. I struggle to believe that one person can genuinely need all of this stuff, yet the resale value can't be high, so I don't know what they do with it, particularly now that boot sales are (presumably) not happening.
It's against the spirit of the group, and whilst in many ways it doesn't matter, I know it puts people off advertising things at times. There's a difference between giving items to someone who gets pleasure out of recycling them and donating them to someone planning on having a boot sale down the line.
You could try your local trading standards office for advice?
Sorry this has happened to you, but being brave enough to post your experience on here is a warning to others.
When buying large items from second hand websites, don’t pay until you collect them and can see what you’re buying.
So sorry to learn of your predicament. We always look for reviews of companies online before purchasing anything and look at TrustPilot too. DH was looking for a new iPhone 12. He found one that was so much cheaper than from Apple. Before he ordered, I suggested he look for reviews on the company first. Anway, it had just one star rating and awful reviews. Goods came from China. He bought a genuine one from Apple. Came following morning.
Does Marketplace have any safeguards in the same way as ebay does? Could you contact them? At the very least they could refuse further posts by this person
Name and shame him on facebook and ask others to share it. Make sure you mention the town.
As merlotgran says. Could even sign up on the FB groups to which the town relates and post on there too - there are some rotten gits around
Sorry to hear this Lucky, I think a visit or call to your local police station may be worth a try. They should be able to find him, he may even be known to them if he makes a habit of this sort of thing - sounds as if he might.
I hope Karma catches up with this lowlife.
Never pay for used stuff up front, only after you have seen it.
I have spent the day trying to join all the various groups in order to warn people not to buy anything from him in between bouts of crying. I’m devastated at my stupidity and naivety. I really thought I had more nounce than that.
One girl from the same town happened to see my post on a site on Facebook and said as soon as I mentioned doors, she knew who it was. It turns out him and his girlfriend are well known for this scam. They ‘help’ people by taking unwanted items supposedly to the tip but flog them to people stupid enough to bite. Hundreds of people have come forward with tales of how they’ve been scammed. Someone from the same road has reported that the neighbourhood are fed up of the shenanigans and want us to email a local police officer and the housing association.
I don’t think the police will be interested but I’m going to try Trading Standards. All I want is this rubbish out of my house and my money back.
How did you pay Luckylegs? If it was PayPal you can raise a case and escalate it immediately on the grounds that goods are not as described. You may be able to use chargeback if you paid with a bank transfer or debit card. If it’s cash there’s not much you can do, but it is fraud and I would report it.
Obviously as we are stupid idiots, we paid cash, my H isn’t mad, he doesn’t do that but I am so mad at myself. H admits it’s 50:50 as he washed his hands of it and said get them in the end. I’m causing him some trouble on his various sites though, so I’m getting some satisfaction.
Dont get mad, get even. A woman told you who him and his girlfriend was. Let police know, because then other people may be saved from these people. Give police as much evidence as you can get. Police have a Fraud Squad, they will set up a sting. I can assure you they are making off with many folks money this way, not just you. Most of us have been scammed. I never buy anything on internet without checking reviews etc, relating to companies. Please do not feel bad, the bad ones are the sellers. Crimestoppers might like to know about them too
I understand your anger, but please be careful about spreading the news of your problem with these people on other groups, reset your privacy settings on FB and remove any details of where you live, try to make sure that they can’t find you or contact you via your own family and friends.
Some people are ‘cheeky scoundrels’ and some are low life criminals who have contacts and will not just sit back and let you post things about them.
If you feel you have a case then report it officially as soon as you can, just in case you are tracked by the people who scammed you.
Again don’t feel bad about being scammed, the ones who did it are in the wrong not you.
I’m pleased you’re focused on sorting this. I would be the same. Do you have family that can return the doors for you and protest loudly outside his house until the money is returned?
Also I recently found out Trustpilot is paid by some companies to reduce the amount of negative feedback. I was scammed and Trustpilot actually hassled me on behalf of the company about my negative feedback! Don’t trust Trustpilot.
Buyer beware is something we all need to remember plus if something is too good to be true it usually is. Sorry if that sounds harsh. It does NOT however excuse the man ripping you off. If you ring Age Concern and ask to speak to Consumer Direct they should be able to tell you the legal position. You could also get advice from your local community police officer.
It happens all the time. I bought a "remote control" toy dog that looked and behaved like the real thing in the promotional video. When it arrived it was just a soft toy. Quite a pretty one but certainly not worth the £20 that I paid! My boyfriend got a set of headphones and a soft toy!
Trading standards is definitely your best bet...all purchases have a 14 day cooling off period and if the goods are faulty they must be refunded or replaced. Having said that when my mother was scammed they were unable to recoup the £360 she was charged for an hour’s garden tidying (!).....but were able to stop them conning anyone else.
Comments from Facebook Marketplace; hope they might help:
“We're sorry to hear this happened. If you feel you were the victim of a crime, please contact your local police department. In addition, you can report the seller to us in Marketplace. To do that, visit the buyer or seller's profile, which can be found at the bottom of the product profile. Tap on the “Seller Info” section, and there you'll find a “Report” button. Facebook will review the case.
If you have any questions, please visit the following page on Facebook:
www.facebook.com/help/19612...
Hope this helps,“
“In addition, you can report the seller to us in Marketplace. To do that, visit the buyer or seller's profile, which can be found at the bottom of the product profile. Tap on the “Seller Info” section, and there you'll find a “Report” button. Facebook will review the case.“
Join the conversation
Registering is free, easy, and means you can join the discussion, watch threads and lots more.
Register now »Already registered? Log in with:
Gransnet »