New car purchase - is this a scam?

[clare1986]

Genuine observations appreciated.

I've gone through a certain reverse auction website and have managed to source a new vehicle at circa 33% less than showroom price.

Now I've used the site three times previously and have had no problems, everything's been fine.....except this time the winning bidder isn't a dealership, it's a "vehicle sourcing" outfit run by an individual.

The chain of events is (after the reverse auction has finished):

(a) a guy phones me up and confirms all the info about my purchase and wants to take my deposit
(b) I give him my credit card details
(c) I've never received any paperwork confirming the order despite asking for it
(d) my card was subsequently used fraudulently for multiple purchases from the Apple Store
(e) the deposit was never debited from my account
(f) I've now received an invoice detailing the reg no and VIN and telling me they need cleared funds at least four days before my desired delivery date

For the avoidance of doubt, and to protect myself and this site from legal action, I am in NO way associating (d) with any other element of this thread.

Any thoughts?

Do any of you smell "scam"?

TIA.

[turboteeth]

Sounds dodgy!

[singlecoil]

clare1986 said:

Do any of you smell "scam"?

Smell? It absolutely reeks.

[SV8Predator]

clare1986 said:

Genuine observations appreciated.

I've gone through a certain reverse auction website and have managed to source a new vehicle at circa 33% less than showroom price.

Now I've used the site three times previously and have had no problems, everything's been fine.....except this time the winning bidder isn't a dealership, it's a "vehicle sourcing" outfit run by an individual.

The chain of events is (after the reverse auction has finished):

(a) a guy phones me up and confirms all the info about my purchase and wants to take my deposit
(b) I give him my credit card details
(c) I've never received any paperwork confirming the order despite asking for it
(d) my card was subsequently used fraudulently for multiple purchases from the Apple Store
(e) the deposit was never debited from my account
(f) I've now received an invoice detailing the reg no and VIN and telling me they need cleared funds at least four days before my desired delivery date

For the avoidance of doubt, and to protect myself and this site from legal action, I am in NO way associating (d) with any other element of this thread.

Any thoughts?

Do any of you smell "scam"?

TIA.

Quoted.

[schmalex]

Pics?

[av185]

Have you not seen the film, "The Sting"? Three lower end deals give confidence for the final biggi? Run a mile!!

[Bigcarper]

Never ever give your details out without knowing your dealing with a genuine person and then still ask yourself if it's not a con

[clare1986]

Bigcarper said:

Never ever give your details out without knowing your dealing with a genuine person and then still ask yourself if it's not a con

In fairness, the guy quoted all the relevant details relating to my purchase (order id, order details)?

[clare1986]

So what's my stance here?

Insist upon payment by bankers draft only after I've inspected the vehicle?

I don't want to walk away and be landed with a lawsuit for £20k if they turn out to be genuine!

[clare1986]

schmalex said:

Pics?

of what?

[singlecoil]

So, it looks like a scam, but you are not sure either way. How large was the deposit? Are you still hoping to get your new car at a massive discount? What is your next move? How far away is his establishment, can you visit it?

[Bigcarper]

Sounds like your info was given out by a member of staff or they the website have been hacked how else would this bloke know your details call the police

[TooLateForAName]

How about you give us the name of the outfit?

Have you done any checks on his website/company?

things like web domain name registration, companies house details?

What is the car in question and is it a new car or used?

If new then ask who the supplying dealership is and ring them - getting their phone number from a public source.

I guess that with a discount that large is it a peugeot/citroen?

My guess is that this is a small scale operator. He is looking for 4 days because he is going to pass the money on to the actual source (if this is genuine). I would be talking to him and saying that you want to talk to th esupplying dealer and make the payment direct to them. My parents have bought several cars through brokers and I'm sure that they have always paid the dealer direct - they may have also made a payment to the broker-not sure about that

edit: If he is invocing you direct there should be a VAT number on the invoice - ring hmrc and verify that number and the company associated with it.

Edited by TooLateForAName on Friday 20th September 22:37

[Bigcarper]

[quote=TooLateForAName]How about you give us the name of the outfit?

Have you done any checks on his website/company?

things like web domain name registration, companies house details?

What is the car in question and is it a new car or used?

If new then ask who the supplying dealership is and ring them - getting their phone number from a public source.

I guess that with a discount that large is it a peugeot/citroen?

My guess is that this is a small scale operator. He is looking for 4 days because he is going to pass the money on to the actual source (if this is genuine). I would be talking to him and saying that you want to talk to th esupplying dealer and make the payment direct to them. My parents have bought several cars through brokers and I'm sure that they have always paid the dealer direct - they may have also made a payment to the broker-not sure about that

edit: If he is invocing you direct there should be a VAT number on the invoice - ring hmrc and verify that number and the company associated with


What he said

[16plates]

clare1986 said:

Genuine observations appreciated.

I've gone through a certain reverse auction website and have managed to source a new vehicle at circa 33% less than showroom price.

Stopped reading here.

Scam.



I often wonder where these scammers get the energy to continuously phone and email in bids to get deposits and CC details over the phone as I assumed no person who'd made it to the age of 18 could be so stupid as to actually believe it.

[METHS]

clare1986 said:

(b) I give him my credit card details

If what you say is true and it turns out to be a scam, this could be your saving grace.

[clare1986]

Thanks for the advice guys, much appreciated.

To answer some of the questions, it's a new Citroen. There is a VAT number on the invoice which checks out ok on the HMRC website (although the address quoted on the invoice is slightly different).

A company check says they've been trading since September 2012 and are run by one member.

[hairykrishna]

It screams scam to me but I've never used the website in question. Maybe it always looks this dodgy.

[clare1986]

The website itself is fine, I've used them before - it's what has happened after that is worrying me!

It gets murkier and murkier; if I google the company name on the invoice, it takes me to a site with an entirely different name.

Looking at that company name on Companies House website reveals that they are "active - proposal to strike off"......so I'm assuming if there's a scam it works along the lines of me handing over my money and the company thn being struck off which would mean (I guess) that my money disappears into a black hole.

Anyone with a legal brain know any more?

I'm starting to believe the general consensus of opinion so far, I'm very grateful for all of your input :-)

[Condi]

Cash or cleared funds on receipt of the car. Otherwise they can kindly do one - any reasonable outfit will allow you inspect the purchase before handing over full and final amount.