Just been scammed on Gumtree - how best to proceed?

[SanguiniusZ]

So????......

[mellowman]

SanguiniusZ said:

So????......

A few weeks back I finally got a call from the local police to sign another statement, as they wanted to ask a few other questions about the other links and scams myself and fellow PHers spotted in connection with this fraud.

Because of the scale of the fraud they were also adding extra charges, and needed as much info as possible.

This would then be passed to the Norfolk police leading the investigation.

As ever, I'll keep this thread updated!

[Efbe]

good work mellow. good that stuff is being done

[Face for Radio]

I had something similar via ebay many years ago. Payment sent and nothing received, but it was a cheque, and my bank were completely useless. The cheque I sent was to some sort of PO Box I think. I asked them where the money went and they said 'We don't know.' I said the money can't possibly just disappear into the ether after leaving my account, it has to go somewhere ffs, what is the account number and sort code? Useless.

Police. Useless, not interested.

After a period of a few months he put up another auction, this time for a car, and I got a mate with a bumpkin accent to phone him expressing interest and asking to come view. So I sent him a hand-written letter to his house saying that I expect the money back.

Got a letter a couple of days later with the cash inside.

Wishing you good luck OP.

[Efbe]

Face for Radio said:

I had something similar via ebay many years ago. Payment sent and nothing received, but it was a cheque, and my bank were completely useless. The cheque I sent was to some sort of PO Box I think. I asked them where the money went and they said 'We don't know.' I said the money can't possibly just disappear into the ether after leaving my account, it has to go somewhere ffs, what is the account number and sort code? Useless.

Police. Useless, not interested.

After a period of a few months he put up another auction, this time for a car, and I got a mate with a bumpkin accent to phone him expressing interest and asking to come view. So I sent him a hand-written letter to his house saying that I expect the money back.

Got a letter a couple of days later with the cash inside.

Wishing you good luck OP.

If this happens to anyone else, the bank ABSOLUTELY DO know where the money goes. They are also able to claw it back given the account is still open. If it isn't, they will be able to find out the details of the account holder, though they would probably not provide this to you.

[melhadfield]

Been following this thread with interest in the hope that I may gleen some inspiration in helping me go forward with a scam I was the victim of. I lost £850 after paying for a diamond ring which was never sent. Reported it to the National Fraud Centre and have a crime number. Reported it to my bank but they said they can't do anything as I didn't pay by debit card, I used on line transfer to the individuals bank. I called the police in Watford (the bank account is in Watford, NatWest) and they just referred me back to the fraud victim site. I have the ladies bank account details but not her full name or address, is there anyway I can find that out from her bank details?

[mellowman]

melhadfield said:

I have the ladies bank account details but not her full name or address, is there anyway I can find that out from her bank details?

I gather that it's pot luck whether you get through to the right person at the bank that'll treat the complaint seriously and move mountains for you you may have to be persistent and try different departments and escalate matters. I was told that they only intervene when the scammers plunder your money themselves, as opposed to you willingly sending them the money.

Secondly, you can effectively ignore the account name given in many circumstances, as it's the account number and sort code that matter - this is why it's not that easy to find out who they really are sometimes.

You could certainly try doing a search on the sort code to see what bank and branch it may be associated with. In my case it was a Nationwide account reserved for internet banking so had no associated local branch to start a general persons search on 192.com etc

There are some very helpful folk here on PH, so feel free to post up more details and see what assistance materialises.

Good luck!

[anonymous-user]

melhadfield said:

Been following this thread with interest in the hope that I may gleen some inspiration in helping me go forward with a scam I was the victim of. I lost £850 after paying for a diamond ring which was never sent. Reported it to the National Fraud Centre and have a crime number. Reported it to my bank but they said they can't do anything as I didn't pay by debit card, I used on line transfer to the individuals bank. I called the police in Watford (the bank account is in Watford, NatWest) and they just referred me back to the fraud victim site. I have the ladies bank account details but not her full name or address, is there anyway I can find that out from her bank details?

post some details I can have a look.

gumtree advert or mobile phone number

what was the item description ?

[Hol]

Efbe said:

If this happens to anyone else, the bank ABSOLUTELY DO know where the money goes. They are also able to claw it back given the account is still open. If it isn't, they will be able to find out the details of the account holder, though they would probably not provide this to you.

That will be true of BaCS or electronic transfers where the destination is known from the start, but a cheque is old fashioned and relies on he receiving bank to note the end destination account back to the sending bank.

As you can probably guess, Barclays don't allow Lloyds access to their internal books and records. Lloyds would only know that the money was received by Barclays and allocated by them.


But, if it was Lloyds to lloyds account, then yes lloyds would be able to look on their records to track it.


The above example assumes the client banks with Lloyds.

[Hol]

melhadfield said:

Been following this thread with interest in the hope that I may gleen some inspiration in helping me go forward with a scam I was the victim of. I lost £850 after paying for a diamond ring which was never sent. Reported it to the National Fraud Centre and have a crime number. Reported it to my bank but they said they can't do anything as I didn't pay by debit card, I used on line transfer to the individuals bank. I called the police in Watford (the bank account is in Watford, NatWest) and they just referred me back to the fraud victim site. I have the ladies bank account details but not her full name or address, is there anyway I can find that out from her bank details?

Sort codes are freely available via an Internet search. This will narrow down the search to the exact branch.

You could then send a copy of the same letter to both the branch manager and the local police authority including all the information and screen prints you have to date.
By making each party know the other is informed, it will be harder for either to dismiss the fraud.


Also, the eBay dispute system is weighted in the benefit of he buyer.

[melhadfield]

From: Gumtree Mail <[e-mail]>
To: meldhadfield <[e-mail]>
Sent: Mon, 11 Feb 2013 14:50
Subject: Re: mel replied to your ad: 1.12 carat solitaire diamond ring
certified- diamond colour D rare!!!


Sort code 602240 account no 72247681 natwest let me know when so I can post
royal mail next day delivery

On Monday, February 11, 2013, Gumtree Mail wrote:


ok, that's fine, let me know your bank details and I will transfer the cash
today.

---

Above is the detail that "Chris" sent me, presume Christine.
Bank is Watford Junction 7 Station Road
Watford
WD17 1AP
Must admit I haven't contacted Nat West, my own bank is Barclays and although they have a fraud reporting number on their website, they won't do anything as it was direct bank transfer, had I used my debit card then they could do something.
Din't know that ebay owned Gumtree, just wondering if this could be persued through ebay? as Gumtree just don't want to know.

[valais]

melhadfield said:

Din't know that ebay owned Gumtree, just wondering if this could be persued through ebay? as Gumtree just don't want to know.

Why would they?

http://help.gumtree.com/articles/General_Informati...

They advise against sending money.

[melhadfield]

Very helpful, thanks.

[valais]

melhadfield said:

Very helpful, thanks.

Sorry, re-reading, my post was terser than I intended. I have been scammed before, not for much, but scammed none the less because I stepped outside the process advised by (in my case) ebay. I learned a hard lesson, but in hindsight I couldn't blame the site - I had moved outside of any protection mechanism that they offered, so I couldn't get annoyed with them per se.

Similarly with Gumtree (which is a different proposition to ebay) - it is geared for local sales, face to face, which at least gives you confidence that the product exists, chance to inspect, etc, but with even fewer protection levels available - which is why their advice is clear.

Good luck in getting your money back; your bank/police is the best route, but don't get so annoyed at Gumtree's ability to resolve - their hands are tied when you move out of process.

[redstu]

£850 for an imaginary ring from someone you don't meet in person!
You either have too much faith in humanity or too much money.
Gumtree is full of scammers just looking out for the gullible.
It seems to have stopped the dodgy emails from ofshore oceanographers but it would seem they just became more blatant.

[melhadfield]

again, thanks, very helpful.

[anonymous-user]

melhadfield said:

From: Gumtree Mail <[e-mail]>
To: meldhadfield <[e-mail]>
Sent: Mon, 11 Feb 2013 14:50
Subject: Re: mel replied to your ad: 1.12 carat solitaire diamond ring
certified- diamond colour D rare!!!


Sort code 602240 account no 72247681 natwest let me know when so I can post
royal mail next day delivery

On Monday, February 11, 2013, Gumtree Mail wrote:


ok, that's fine, let me know your bank details and I will transfer the cash
today.

---

Above is the detail that "Chris" sent me, presume Christine.
Bank is Watford Junction 7 Station Road
Watford
WD17 1AP
Must admit I haven't contacted Nat West, my own bank is Barclays and although they have a fraud reporting number on their website, they won't do anything as it was direct bank transfer, had I used my debit card then they could do something.
Din't know that ebay owned Gumtree, just wondering if this could be persued through ebay? as Gumtree just don't want to know.

have you got the link to original add?

[ivanhoew]

SUBSCRIBED !!

[anonymous-user]

ivanhoew said:

SUBSCRIBED !!

a few problems with this one is..

gumtree email is random.

on other contact details

Sort code and account number is generally the registrating bank but some banks it is the processing centre.

BUT with a valid name maybe a lot of hours will get an answer .

[melhadfield]

Sorry, don't have link to original ad, might be able to retrieve it from Gumtree if you think it will help.