fraud, advice needed

[BettieBoo]

Hi,

I'd like some advice if anyone has any with regards to a [problem] i've just been ripped off with.

 

Within a social networking site there is a page where you can sell things within your local area etc & a lady was selling a phone. I privately messaged her & asked if she still had it to which she replied she did.

She sent me a photograph of the back of the phone box which stated the gb of the phone, model etc & said it was brand new unopened etc.

She provided me with her name, address & sent a photograph which showed a bank statement with her name/address at the top of the letter, she also gave me her mobile phone number.

She was very reassuring & everything seemed fine. She even gave me the imei number of the phone to check it & I did, which all came back ok.

I paid her via bank transfer into the account she provided details with ( I know this is her own as the bank verified it before the transaction went through)

I got the phone today & it is fake & not what she stated it to be.

She has her own business page selling allsorts of stuff via the social networking site in which I contacted her.

What could I do about this as she has now blocked me on there & refuses to answer my calls/texts.

I have rang the fraudline to report her. Would I be able to take her to small claims court?

I can't believe I was so naive with this but everything seemed genuine & she came across as very genuine, I also didn't question it when she provided me with all her details:|

[Conniff]

Do you still have the photo she sent you and any of the details of her advert ?

[BettieBoo]

I do have all the photographs she sent me including one of the phone & one of her bank statement. I don't have a pic of the advert as it was just a post but I could try to look for it. I do have a log of every message though including the first message I sent to her asking if she still had the phone for sale. She has a business page on this social network where she sells various things which I now believe to all be fake.

I messaged her & she stated I got what was described but that is absolute rubbish. I also made a video of myself opening the parcel to prove its contents.

[Conniff]

She could be right in that your got what she was selling, but that's not how it works. You were led to believe you were getting a real phone and that is what the contract is for.

 

If she is a business, then send it back under the distance selling regulations where she has 30 days in which to refund. If there is nothing about you paying the return cost, then she must refund that as well.

 

If the time sincd the good has not yet exceeded 7 working days starting the day after you received them, then send her a letter cancelling the purchase under DSR.

 

This selling a picture of something has been tried before and the courts don't like it.

[BettieBoo]

I have found the advert for which she was advertising the phone, which also shows she has lied because she stated to me that it was a phone her partner bought for her that she did not want...but on the advert it states that it was an upgrade. I did not notice this at the time as I sent her a personal inbox message & she then started her web of lies. So basically I have the ad she posted, all our message history, the lies about the imei of the phone, a video of me opening it to prove the contents are fake & not as described etc as well as a receipt from my bank to prove I paid her.

[BettieBoo]

is she classified as a business seller? she does have a business page on the site but i'm guessing it's not official.

[Conniff]

You are classed as a business if you get things to sell on rather than turning out cupboards and shed etc. to find things you no longer need.

 

This would look like a deliberate attempt to defraud, so you should put it all in a bag and go along to your local police station and get yourself a crime number. They might even decide to investigate it themselves if it is pretty conclusive, but either way, a crime number will really go in your favour if this turns difficult. that counts whether she is a business or a private seller.

Edited October 26, 2012 by Conniff

[BettieBoo]

Oh no she is most definitely selling things in bulk such as clothing, shoes, hair straigteners, extensions etc. She has an official business name on there & you can clearly tell these are things she's selling that are not second hand bits etc.

I've just saved the ad in which she advertised the phone & have also photographed it just incase she tries to remove it. To be honest I didn't doubt it because she gave me so much info, surely a fraudster would be a little more intelligent as to not give away their home address and all their details.

She's trying to now tell me that she's calling the police as I AM committing fraud?? lol. She said that she has 4 witnessess? I'm not sure to what though as all the info shes given me which i've saved proves she's a fraudster.

[Conniff]

I'm not sure how we can help as you seem to have covered it all. If it's just money, then cancel the contract under DSR and send it back. If it's further action you want against her, then issue a court summons and claim back that way plus costs.

Don't forget if you win this to let the site know the result.

[BettieBoo]

I have informed both my bank & hers & they have put a block on her account & notified the fraud team. Wouldn't it be more sensible for me to hang on to the item until the police contact me otherwise it's losing a part of my evidence?

My bank said there was nothing they could do but hers said that if the fraud is proven they will ''try'' to refund money. I'm not holding my breath though. I really don't want to have to go down the route of taking her to court but I guess I will have to should it come to it.