Warning: Kitchenware Scam Uk

[clematis66]

Just got conned tonight so pass this round. Dutch guy came round to the door saying that he had been exhibiting at the Ideal Homes Exhibition in Glasgow (not till October but I didn't know that at the time) and had some "Waltmann und sohn" sets of cutlery, chef's knives and pots and pans for sale at 85% discount because he "couldn't take them back with him on the boat". They look like fantastic quality, but there was something about him that I wasn't convinced about. Of course I listened to him and was conned into buying a set of chef's knives for £80 which he told me retailed for £595 (should have smelled a rat). He asked me to write the cheque out to his personal account "C Brennan", which again I thought was dodgey but I figured maybe he was conning the company he worked for or something (more fool me). He had a business card but now I look at it, it just has a UK mobile number and his first name only "Peter".

It was just nagging in the back of my mind because after he left I thought - if you can't get these knives home on the boat how did you get them here in the first place?? So I looked up the internet and I found the same set of knives retailing in Amazon for £23.50. I felt sick. Then I called RBS and they cancelled the cheque for me by direct banking. They've put it through as a lost cheque so I'm not even going to be charged for it. What stars! So even though they shafted their shareholders, I would like to kiss RBS tonight ;-))

[Crapstone]

[Conniff]

Then I called RBS and they cancelled the cheque for me by direct banking. They've put it through as a lost cheque so I'm not even going to be charged for it. What stars! So even though they shafted their shareholders, I would like to kiss RBS tonight ;-))

 

 

Don't rejoice just yet. You might get a letter from someone at the bank saying, in a chuffed manner, 'I saved the day, I found your lost cheque and put it through for you'.

[Mossycat]

Can you legally do that?

 

I mean can you legally cancel a cheque that you issued when you agreed to buy something, and also keep the goods???

 

Mossy

[JonCris]

Don't rejoice just yet. You might get a letter from someone at the bank saying, in a chuffed manner, 'I saved the day, I found your lost cheque and put it through for you'.

 

Confirm your cancellation in writing & take it to the nearest branch

[JonCris]

Can you legally do that?

 

I mean can you legally cancel a cheque that you issued when you agreed to buy something, and also keep the goods???

 

Mossy

 

No he/she should tell the guy to collect their knives giving them perhaps 7 days after which they will dispose of them;)

[Mossycat]

No he/she should tell the guy to collect their knives giving them perhaps 7 days after which they will dispose of them;)

 

I'm still not convinced it's legal to cancel a cheque for something which you have agreed to purchase and had the goods for.

 

I thought the correct legal process was that you had to request a refund from the seller???????????????

 

Mossy

[ScarletPimpernel]

I imagine that the seller may have a cause of action for breach of contract. Then again, the buyer has a cause of action because the goods were not as described (they are not worth £595); in addition the seller's actions might amount to fraud.

 

It will be interesting to see if the cloggie reappears to complain about the stopped cheque, in which case the knives could be returned - or the police called. I suspect he will realise that his scheme has been rumbled, and that will be that.

[Mossycat]

Surely in a private sale, which is what this was, it's a case of buyer beware.

 

The seller offered for sale a set of knives and asked for £x, negotiation took place and a price was agreed £y. The seller agrees to sell at price £y, the buyer agrees to buy at £y, money and goods are exchanged. Buyer and seller are both happy.

 

Sometime later the buyer discovers that the knives are available cheaper and cancels the cheque, without informing the seller or returning the goods.

 

Notwithstanding what was said, or might have been said (we don't know that because we were not there), the facts seem pretty straight forward to me.

 

Could I go into Asda buy a TV take it home, and then see the same TV on sale at Tesco where it was £100 cheaper and cancel my payment to Asda?

 

I think not

 

Mossy

[JonCris]

Surely in a private sale, which is what this was, it's a case of buyer beware.

 

The seller offered for sale a set of knives and asked for £x, negotiation took place and a price was agreed £y. The seller agrees to sell at price £y, the buyer agrees to buy at £y, money and goods are exchanged. Buyer and seller are both happy.

 

Sometime later the buyer discovers that the knives are available cheaper and cancels the cheque, without informing the seller or returning the goods.

 

Notwithstanding what was said, or might have been said (we don't know that because we were not there), the facts seem pretty straight forward to me.

 

Could I go into Asda buy a TV take it home, and then see the same TV on sale at Tesco where it was £100 cheaper and cancel my payment to Asda?

 

I think not

 

Mossy

 

err no the seller deceived the buyer by claiming they are worth many hundreds of pounds rather than the now proven tens of pounds. Also he approached the buyer in his home the buyer did not actively seek the so called bargain therefore the CE argument is greatly weakened if not extinguished

[JonCris]

PS if ASDA claimed their TV was the cheapest & you discovered you had been misled at the time of sale then yes you could stop payment but you would have to return the TV

[loopinlouie]

Reminds me of the leather jacket man just comming back from the fashion show with samples he didnt want to hold onto. Wonder if the same family:D

[clematis66]

I think you're right - what you have said below is almost word-for-word what my friend, our local policeman, said. If he shows up for his knives he is more than welcome to them and I have been instructed to call the local police. Have told as many people as I can think of so that they don't get caught out with this one.

[clematis66]

I am more than happy to return his knives to him if he shows up again. I am also happy to show him where he can put them, and to let him know that our local bobby would very much like a word with him. Not quite the same as buying from ASDA, since he gave me no receipt so he has no proof of sale - just a dud cheque made out to his personal account. What does concern me is that he has my account number, sort code and signature on the cheque so could set a direct debit mandate to a bogus company. RBS assure me he can't, as they would require further security information, but watch this space (as I keep a close eye on internet banking)...

[perplexity]

Surely in a private sale, which is what this was, it's a case of buyer beware.

 

.............

 

Could I go into Asda buy a TV take it home, and then see the same TV on sale at Tesco where it was £100 cheaper and cancel my payment to Asda?

 

How should one expect to negotiate a private sale at Asda?

 

[hightail]

Aren't you entitled to a cooling off period if someone cold calls? Not sure of the details or if it only applies to signing agreements but something in the back of my mind is saying you can cancel if you didn't make an appointment for the salesman to come to your home. This sounds like a one off con artist rather than a 'salesman' but the same rules would surely apply.

[perplexity]

The relevant legislation is The Cancellation of Contracts made in a Consumer’s Home or Place of Work etc. Regulations 2008.

 

In order to cancel, a notice must be served on the trader or another person specified. Surmising then that the trader left no particular address to which to send a notice, I am surprised (to say the least) to see it supposed that it is wrong to cancel a cheque instead, as if the inference of cancelling a cheque would be insufficiently obvious to such a seller.

 

Regulation 13. is especially worth a mention

 

Return of goods by consumer after cancellation

 

13.—(1) A consumer who has acquired possession of any goods by virtue of the contract shall on the cancellation of that contract be under a duty, subject to any lien, to restore the goods to the trader and meanwhile to retain possession of the goods and take reasonable care of them.

 

(2) The consumer shall not be under a duty to restore goods supplied under a specified contract in circumstances where—

 

(a) he is required to pay, in accordance with the reasonable requirements of the cancelled contract, for the supply of such goods before cancellation; or

 

(b) the trader has begun performance of the contract before the end of the cancellation period without a prior request in writing by the consumer.

 

(3) The consumer shall not be under any duty to deliver the goods except at his own premises and following a request in writing signed by the trader and served on the consumer either before, or at the time when, the goods are collected from those premises.

[sillygirl1]

Any chance you can get RBS to give you a new bank account now the current one has been 'compromised'.

 

You might also want to consider checking your credit report to see if anything 'funny' is going on there - although that can open up a whole new can of worms....

[hightail]

How has the bank account been compromised? I don't consider writing a cheque to be compromising my bank a/c.