Car Buying Scammer - Beware
Discussion
Hello my fellow car chums,
Long time reader but infrequent poster... However, I felt the need to let the general community of private car sellers know that there is what appears to be a scam afoot...
A couple of weeks ago I advertised my car for sale on Auto Trader, It wasn't up for very much money (less than £2k) and is very high mileage, but only 10 years old. It's got mileage related wear and tear, but everything is there and it has a whopping service history and wants for nothing mechanically.
I hadn't received that many calls, but someone phoned. He said he was coming from a long way away and wanted to know my best price. I explained that I don't negotiate on the phone, and that if he wanted to view the car, he should come and view it. He asked that as he was coming from so far away if i'd take a couple of hundred off the price over the phone, which I begrudgingly agreed to but explained that if we agreed a price, that was it. If he didn't like the car, or wanted to haggle any more, it'd be a wasted journey because that was as low as I would go.
Eventually after some to-ing and fro-ing (I was working away a lot) we agreed a date for the buyer to come and view the car. I had had to cancel on him which I profusely apologised for, due to me losing the service history where I am part of the way through a house move. I found it and re-invited him to come and look at the car.
So the day comes and he turns up on time with a friend, and for some reason I instantly had a bad feeling about the pair of them. The first question they asked was whether there were any dogs around, which seemed strange... After a few minutes of browsing paper work, they went to have a look around the car. They pretty much said they thought the car was a rot box, and that I needed to reduce my asking price. After a minute or so of holding firm and saying that they had already negotiated 20 percent off of the car over the phone, and that it was already a bargain, one of them started getting aggressive, saying that I was wasting his time, money, etc.
I was then effectively held to ransom for cash to cover his fuel for his trip down, which I naturally said no to, but then he grabbed the wing mirror of my car and pulled a key out of his pocket, and said that if I didn't give him £35 to cover his trip he'd rip my mirror off and go to town on my car.
The guy was clearly serious, I was at home with my young sister and elderly grandad in the house, and frankly I just wanted them off of my property without any violence. So I parted ways with 35 notes and told him if he didn't leave immediately i'd call the police. Unfortunately I didn't get a good look at his plate as he left.
Shortly after the "incident" he called and started saying oh i'm sorry I feel bad, give me your bank number and sort code and i'll transfer the money back into your bank account. Obviously I was never going to do that, I just politely told him to have a drink on me, and never call again. He then had the audacity to start offering me a grand for my car!!!! To which I politely said no thank you, and hung up.
I suspect if I had given him my bank details he would've put a large sum of money into my account, and demanded the car. The guys said they were from central London, but they could've been from anywhere. So anyone in a 60-70 mile radius of around there should probably be wary.
I've privately bought and sold cars several times before and never had any issues like this before and I genuinely thought this guy seemed legit (if a little keen at times) over the phone. To top it all off, it was my damn birthday the day this all happened! I was hoping for a nice present of a car off my drive and cashola in my pocket, but unfortunately not.
Happy selling!
Cheers,
Matt
Long time reader but infrequent poster... However, I felt the need to let the general community of private car sellers know that there is what appears to be a scam afoot...
A couple of weeks ago I advertised my car for sale on Auto Trader, It wasn't up for very much money (less than £2k) and is very high mileage, but only 10 years old. It's got mileage related wear and tear, but everything is there and it has a whopping service history and wants for nothing mechanically.
I hadn't received that many calls, but someone phoned. He said he was coming from a long way away and wanted to know my best price. I explained that I don't negotiate on the phone, and that if he wanted to view the car, he should come and view it. He asked that as he was coming from so far away if i'd take a couple of hundred off the price over the phone, which I begrudgingly agreed to but explained that if we agreed a price, that was it. If he didn't like the car, or wanted to haggle any more, it'd be a wasted journey because that was as low as I would go.
Eventually after some to-ing and fro-ing (I was working away a lot) we agreed a date for the buyer to come and view the car. I had had to cancel on him which I profusely apologised for, due to me losing the service history where I am part of the way through a house move. I found it and re-invited him to come and look at the car.
So the day comes and he turns up on time with a friend, and for some reason I instantly had a bad feeling about the pair of them. The first question they asked was whether there were any dogs around, which seemed strange... After a few minutes of browsing paper work, they went to have a look around the car. They pretty much said they thought the car was a rot box, and that I needed to reduce my asking price. After a minute or so of holding firm and saying that they had already negotiated 20 percent off of the car over the phone, and that it was already a bargain, one of them started getting aggressive, saying that I was wasting his time, money, etc.
I was then effectively held to ransom for cash to cover his fuel for his trip down, which I naturally said no to, but then he grabbed the wing mirror of my car and pulled a key out of his pocket, and said that if I didn't give him £35 to cover his trip he'd rip my mirror off and go to town on my car.
The guy was clearly serious, I was at home with my young sister and elderly grandad in the house, and frankly I just wanted them off of my property without any violence. So I parted ways with 35 notes and told him if he didn't leave immediately i'd call the police. Unfortunately I didn't get a good look at his plate as he left.
Shortly after the "incident" he called and started saying oh i'm sorry I feel bad, give me your bank number and sort code and i'll transfer the money back into your bank account. Obviously I was never going to do that, I just politely told him to have a drink on me, and never call again. He then had the audacity to start offering me a grand for my car!!!! To which I politely said no thank you, and hung up.
I suspect if I had given him my bank details he would've put a large sum of money into my account, and demanded the car. The guys said they were from central London, but they could've been from anywhere. So anyone in a 60-70 mile radius of around there should probably be wary.
I've privately bought and sold cars several times before and never had any issues like this before and I genuinely thought this guy seemed legit (if a little keen at times) over the phone. To top it all off, it was my damn birthday the day this all happened! I was hoping for a nice present of a car off my drive and cashola in my pocket, but unfortunately not.
Happy selling!
Cheers,
Matt
Should probably have grabbed your phone and started dialing before reaching for your wallet but at least yourself and the car came out of the situation OK.
I've only been through a couple of cars, but always had another family member around/over-seeing just so I'm not on my own with whoever might turn up.
I've only been through a couple of cars, but always had another family member around/over-seeing just so I'm not on my own with whoever might turn up.
the actions of some individuals really do confuse me. Why? why go to all the trouble of visiting you , threatening you and your property for £35. but then, he may be casing your home? if it was your bank details he was after, then it would have been far simpler to agree a price and he simply says I'll put money in and return for car once cleared. you would have probably been less suspicious and thought , great I've sold the car, you defence is then low to a scam. Now you're on edge looking for something.
Might be worth phoning the BIB just to record the incident, they may have been doing it to others.
I hope you have no further repercussions
Might be worth phoning the BIB just to record the incident, they may have been doing it to others.
I hope you have no further repercussions
Thanks for the support chaps.
I don't understand either; I think the point of the £35 is to try and sucker you in to giving you the bank details later on, so he can put some money in your account, come back and then start getting super aggro demanding the keys to the car or something.
Again though, why would you do this for a car worth less than 2k? I don't get it.
I called my local police department and told them everything that happened, they said that technically he made an armed (yep, a key can be used as a weapon!) threat against me and my families property, so they said it was actually in the eyes of the law, pretty serious. They've taken all the details I had so hopefully if he does it again someone may catch his plate, and they can start to build a trail.
The first number he called me from I noted and gave over to the police, the day he visited he called from surprise surprise, a private number. I guess that's when alarm bells started ringing, but by then it was too late and he was in my local area.
If you were casing a place out surely you'd be doing it with cars of real value, because that'd imply that the people who own them have a reasonable amount of money.. I'm not saying my house or the things that are in it are worthless, far from it. But still... it doesn't make any sense!!!
If he had actually been smart he'd have started walking off with one of my track wheels / tyres (worth about £100 each!) which were stacked up outside rather than threatening me, guess the "crims" of today aren't so smart ;P
I don't understand either; I think the point of the £35 is to try and sucker you in to giving you the bank details later on, so he can put some money in your account, come back and then start getting super aggro demanding the keys to the car or something.
Again though, why would you do this for a car worth less than 2k? I don't get it.
I called my local police department and told them everything that happened, they said that technically he made an armed (yep, a key can be used as a weapon!) threat against me and my families property, so they said it was actually in the eyes of the law, pretty serious. They've taken all the details I had so hopefully if he does it again someone may catch his plate, and they can start to build a trail.
The first number he called me from I noted and gave over to the police, the day he visited he called from surprise surprise, a private number. I guess that's when alarm bells started ringing, but by then it was too late and he was in my local area.
If you were casing a place out surely you'd be doing it with cars of real value, because that'd imply that the people who own them have a reasonable amount of money.. I'm not saying my house or the things that are in it are worthless, far from it. But still... it doesn't make any sense!!!
If he had actually been smart he'd have started walking off with one of my track wheels / tyres (worth about £100 each!) which were stacked up outside rather than threatening me, guess the "crims" of today aren't so smart ;P
ShadFx said:
If he had actually been smart he'd have started walking off with one of my track wheels / tyres (worth about £100 each!) which were stacked up outside rather than threatening me, guess the "crims" of today aren't so smart ;P
You might want to move them inside now...Also, maybe worth getting CCTV or whatever as this sounds like the car was a distraction to check out what's worth lifting from your place.
There's always a risk when you're selling something and strangers turn up at your door I suppose. In future it might be worth having a friend/family member present with you when you show the car. These chancers probably look at the easiest option so if they see another bloke or a big dog in the garden then maybe they would be less likely to try it on.
I remember a few years ago my brother was selling his house using a sign in the window. he got a call from a rough sounding Irish fella who wnated to view it. He asked me to be there just in case. (He's a lot tougher than me by the way but I suppose the extra body can be a deterrant.)
Two scruffy big burly Irish guys turned up to look at the house and we feared the worse. It just didn't ring true at all but they left after a quick viewing without incident. In this case, they were genuine as they ended up buying the house to let out but you never know!
I remember a few years ago my brother was selling his house using a sign in the window. he got a call from a rough sounding Irish fella who wnated to view it. He asked me to be there just in case. (He's a lot tougher than me by the way but I suppose the extra body can be a deterrant.)
Two scruffy big burly Irish guys turned up to look at the house and we feared the worse. It just didn't ring true at all but they left after a quick viewing without incident. In this case, they were genuine as they ended up buying the house to let out but you never know!
jimi said:
You might want to move them inside now...
Cheers buddy, but that was literally the first thing I did! Luckily my track car is immobile, and half BBQ'd from a battery fire in the boot (poor MX-5 :*( ) I haven't had the best of luck as of late! As for CCTV, I'm seriously thinking about it!
Beef up your home security right now would be my only advice.
They now know where you live, that you don't have a dog that might give them issues, that you have a car they can take which will either vanish abroad or be broken for parts and that when faced with aggression you will most likely back down.
Sorry to say it OP but that's the perfect prelude to a robbery.
They now know where you live, that you don't have a dog that might give them issues, that you have a car they can take which will either vanish abroad or be broken for parts and that when faced with aggression you will most likely back down.
Sorry to say it OP but that's the perfect prelude to a robbery.
Wow I think you got off lightly for £35, I would beef up security on the house just in case.
I have sold dozens of cars without a major hiccup but I sell through the local car auction or scrap when I'm done with my cheap cars. You lose a few hundred but worth it for the lack of grief.
Good luck selling the car.
I have sold dozens of cars without a major hiccup but I sell through the local car auction or scrap when I'm done with my cheap cars. You lose a few hundred but worth it for the lack of grief.
Good luck selling the car.
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff