Hi All
I hope this serves as a salutary lesson although most will agree I've been rather stupid.
A kind Mk5golfgti member answered my recent wanted ad for a set of Xenon's for my Ed30. I'd already been through the process of buying from 2 sellers only to be thwarted at the last hurdle when the first seller and then the second managed to damage the lights whilst packing them up to dispatch them. In the 2nd case the seller returned my money immediately, whilst no money had changed hands in the first case.
Thinking I must be cursed, i left the Xenon quest for a few weeks only to have a reply pointing me to an ad on Pistonheads for a set of Xenons. They were in Scotland and Andrew wanted £450.00. The ad had a phone number and an email link. I was away working so i emailed Andrew in Scotland and not hearing anything back texted the next day. Andrew texted back promptly saying they were still available. I asked for some photos of the lamps, and after a little confusion because of Blackberry v iPhone picture messaging, saw a set of reasonable Xenons complete with ballasts and bulbs etc. Andrew said they were in good condition and the only reason he was selling was he had damaged his R32 front end and was breaking the car. Fair enough I thought.
I offered Andrew £400 and he countered with £420 including dispatching the lights, which I thought wasn't bad. He said he couldn't take Paypal so could I send it to a Bank Account. I was a little concerned but I asked for a postal address which he gave me. The bank account wasn't in his name - the alarm bells rang again but he assured me the account was his brother in law's as he had lost his bank card.
I really should have seen the warning signs here but I sent the money to the account 'Andrew' gave me and waited for a response. After chasing him again he eventually responded saying the money was in the bank and he was sorting out the delivery. I telephoned him again asking for the delivery company and tracking number which he said he'd get me.
I didn't hear from him again.
I texted him asking for a refund (ha ha) and he was legally obliged to fulfil his side of the contract we'd made. I then sent another message that I'd have no alternative to hand the matter to the police.
I spoke with the Pistonheads Classified advertising Manager hoping to trace Andrew through their records - but the ad was a FREE AD where Pistonnheads take no details from the seller as they don't pay for placing the ad including pictures. No comeback for the buyer, easy money for the unscrupulous thieves out there.
The Pistonheads guy said they'd ban 'Andrew' from the site - and an hour later I received the biggest kick in the head - an email from Pistonheads entitled:
"URGENT WARNING: 'VW golf xenon headlights' (3645155)
Hi,
Our records show that you recently replied to the advert 'vw golf xenon head lights' (3645155) on PistonHeads.
This advert has since been removed as we have reason to believe that it may not be genuine.
We strongly recommend that you ignore any contact from the 'seller' and under no circumstances transfer any money.
For more information please see our fraud warnings page:
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/warnings.asp or
http://www.vstag.co.ukSorry for any inconvenience this causes.
Thank you for using our site and best of luck finding your new car.
Regards,
The PistonHeads Team
The email I'm presuming was a system generated one after I spoke with them and they banned the seller.
I've learnt my lesson. If something seems a little dubious, its because it most probably
IS dubious and one should follow one's instincts. If a deal seems too good to be true, its because it is.
WALK AWAY! There is a huge market in 2nd hand car parts in the UK more often sold by honest traders. Unfortunately, there's a number of people like Andrew who exploit the unsuspecting (like me). Don't be caught out.
PR
