Latest p**ey scam?
Discussion
Had a guy rock up today in a white van claiming to be from the Chelsea Garden Centre which had lost its lease and therefore they were selling bags of bark chippings and compost etc off cheap.
Yeah right... It's a long way from Chelsea to the depths of suburban Surrey. There is also no such thing as the Chelsea Garden Centre. I worked in the area for many years.
Presumably garden centres keep this type of thing outside, and therefore it's easy for pikeys to steal? Not too heavy to hoist over a fence either. Thieving scum.
Yeah right... It's a long way from Chelsea to the depths of suburban Surrey. There is also no such thing as the Chelsea Garden Centre. I worked in the area for many years.
Presumably garden centres keep this type of thing outside, and therefore it's easy for pikeys to steal? Not too heavy to hoist over a fence either. Thieving scum.
I work on a small estate in a quiet lane, we have had many in the past trying to sell stuff to us - compost left over from jobs, failing nurseries,garden furniture even an Italian selling cheap leather jackets before flying home from Gatwick. Not all the stuff is nicked, what they are really doing is checking out your house and garden. They then pass on the info to the real criminals who maybe a month or three later nick stuff from you.There is no link to the first visitor and the cheeky wotsits get away with it, especially as most police forces don't like to visit pikey encampments! If this ever happens to you get the number plate of the van, if you can get some literature(they usually have it as back up in case) from them but handle it at little as possible as it has their fingerprints and whatever you do don't buy anything. It is never as good as they say it is and it may well be dodgy anyway. My boss has put in electric gates and that seems to have cut down visits to virtually nothing. Mark
We had an extension built in the summer. Our builder got a call to quote for the completion of a part finished extension in Dagenham. He went to the home and all that had been done was the footings and a few other bits. The previous builder had taken payment from the owners for all works up front and done a bunk – quite a sad story on the face of it.
He quoted about £60k for the work and shortly after got a call from the commissioning editor at Channel 4 saying that they had filmed his visit and that they were preparing a programme that “righted wrongs”. The people the builder met were apparently not the owners but family members. The idea was that C4 would commission and pay for the build, then film progress. The first the owners would know was when the builders turned up on day one – a cross between Surprise Surprise and Home Front. C4 would pay for all costs.
Bob (our builder – I kid you not!!) thought something strange. For a start, the work that had been done was top notch – not the sort of build you’d expect from cowboys. I also suggested it odd that C4 would contact him direct, odder still that the Commissioning Editor would call.
He called C4 and they confirmed that no show of that type had been commissioned or indeed even discussed. Even if it were, they would only ever pay labour costs.
Turns out it was indeed a scam and quite a common one by all accounts. Homes are purchased by syndicates (normally based overseas) and sub let many times over to make it difficult to track the owners. Builders start work thinking they’ll be on telly, cotton on and abandon the job when it all starts again.
He quoted about £60k for the work and shortly after got a call from the commissioning editor at Channel 4 saying that they had filmed his visit and that they were preparing a programme that “righted wrongs”. The people the builder met were apparently not the owners but family members. The idea was that C4 would commission and pay for the build, then film progress. The first the owners would know was when the builders turned up on day one – a cross between Surprise Surprise and Home Front. C4 would pay for all costs.
Bob (our builder – I kid you not!!) thought something strange. For a start, the work that had been done was top notch – not the sort of build you’d expect from cowboys. I also suggested it odd that C4 would contact him direct, odder still that the Commissioning Editor would call.
He called C4 and they confirmed that no show of that type had been commissioned or indeed even discussed. Even if it were, they would only ever pay labour costs.
Turns out it was indeed a scam and quite a common one by all accounts. Homes are purchased by syndicates (normally based overseas) and sub let many times over to make it difficult to track the owners. Builders start work thinking they’ll be on telly, cotton on and abandon the job when it all starts again.
well here's a resurrected thread then....back in January this year, sold my car to a 
who had been pestering me to buy it for a few months. We eventually agreed a price which I thought was fair. Come the day he turned up (with his missus for who the car was for he said), I checked the cash, was short - him trying it on - but he coughed up the full amount. I asked him to sign a piece of paper to say the car was sold as seen - he just ignored this and took the keys. They drove off.
So, (and I guess you suspect what happened) a couple of hours later he calls me ranting down the phone that the head gasket had blown while he was on the motorway. He'd got a breakdown truck out and they made a call and got a quote for £600 to fix it and get him on his way - so he needs me to transfer on the spot this amount into his bank account so he's not stranded overnight. I of course refuse, we get into an argument and ring off. I get more offensive texts from him (I refuse to answer the phone to him) more and more threatening. This goes on for a couple of days, and then he turns up at my workplace (he did'nt know where I live I think).
To cut a long enough story short, we have to negotiate a price halfway - so if you did'nt know it already never sell your car to a
who had been pestering me to buy it for a few months. We eventually agreed a price which I thought was fair. Come the day he turned up (with his missus for who the car was for he said), I checked the cash, was short - him trying it on - but he coughed up the full amount. I asked him to sign a piece of paper to say the car was sold as seen - he just ignored this and took the keys. They drove off.So, (and I guess you suspect what happened) a couple of hours later he calls me ranting down the phone that the head gasket had blown while he was on the motorway. He'd got a breakdown truck out and they made a call and got a quote for £600 to fix it and get him on his way - so he needs me to transfer on the spot this amount into his bank account so he's not stranded overnight. I of course refuse, we get into an argument and ring off. I get more offensive texts from him (I refuse to answer the phone to him) more and more threatening. This goes on for a couple of days, and then he turns up at my workplace (he did'nt know where I live I think).
To cut a long enough story short, we have to negotiate a price halfway - so if you did'nt know it already never sell your car to a
re5 said:
wa couple of hours later he calls me ranting down the phone that the head gasket had blown while he was on the motorway. He'd got a breakdown truck out and they made a call and got a quote for £600 to fix it and get him on his way
To cut a long enough story short, we have to negotiate a price halfway - so if you didn't know it already never sell your car to a
£600 to do a headgasket, at a moments notice - having all the right parts to hand and doing it within that day. To cut a long enough story short, we have to negotiate a price halfway - so if you didn't know it already never sell your car to a
I want the number for that garage !
If they come knocking at the door to sell you stuff, even if it really is a genuinely good deal, don't go in the house to get cash and pay them. If you do, they know there is cash kept in the house and they'll be back at some point in the future.
Best thing to do, is say you really want the item but you won't be able to get the cash until you've been to the bank and ask them to come back at a certain time later in the week. Chances are, they won't but hey, if something's too good to be true, there's a reason...
And if you actually need the item they're selling, you wouldn't be at home to answer the door, you'd be at the shop buying it.
Best thing to do, is say you really want the item but you won't be able to get the cash until you've been to the bank and ask them to come back at a certain time later in the week. Chances are, they won't but hey, if something's too good to be true, there's a reason...
And if you actually need the item they're selling, you wouldn't be at home to answer the door, you'd be at the shop buying it.
z4RRSchris99 said:
youre an idiot, private sale is sold as seen.
Sometimes coming to an agreement is the only way these scum will disappear. I have a friend who ended up selling his house and moving away due to s. He got them to tarmac his driveway and surprise surprise they did a terrible job. He refused to pay (he may have offered half) and they hounded him and his family out of his home.As mentioned the best thing to do is just say no. I regularly have then offering to get rid of some tarmac left over from a job or getting rid of tarmac plannings and it sounds good, but know it will be a total nightmare.
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