I’ve been well and truly ‘done over’!

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.

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.

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.

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.

If you bought through Facebook Marketplace you can leave negative feedback I think.

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.

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 .