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eBay Scammer - or Not?????


Steve King

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Well, my 300TDI 110 Defender went for £2,300 on eBay - pity I thought it would have fetched a little more, but no disaster. The worrying thing is that the winning bidder has but 1 feedback is named Ndifon Akwan who lives in Southampton in the SO16 5SD area. According to various internet sites (a) the guy does not seem to know his full address - it is missing "Crescent" (b) the area is predominately white © the area has a higher than national average incidence of identity fraud!

Oh, and just to make things worse the guy's eBay ID is "youarethelight2009" - sounds like a religious happy - clappy kind of a person!!! :( :( :(

I've asked him to ring me to arrange payment and collection.

Once he contacts me I will advise him that I will require two forms of ID before the sale can be completed and that one of these must be a Photo ID such as a driving licence or passport.

I have a strange feeling that I may be re-listing this or offering it to the next highest bidder!!!!

Oh dear!!!! :( :(

On the bright side my new-to-me low mileage 110 TD5 will be ready for collection soon! :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

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And cash, to collect from your house and not a layby out in the back of beyond!

Well the 300 TDI has got to go PDQ as the TD5 will be collected Friday 04 Feb and obviously I'll be switching my insurance and parking permit - so I am offering a mid-day pick up from my work - with lots of witnesses and CCTV too!

If the notes look dodgy I'll insist on them being paid into my bank a/c and the local branch isn't far!

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I would go so far as to take his photo, get him to pay the money into your bank even if it looks OK, there are some good forged notes out there and also some stolen notes being fenced.

Once you have checked the money make sure you sign over the V5 so that you don't end up with a load of parking tickets.

Jason.

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SO16 XXX is certainly not an all-white area, there could be plenty of 'Ndifon Akwan's' about. And it's pretty typical of people to miss bits out of their address.

Not wanting to offend people who live in that part of Southampton (I used to live in Weston which is the same or worse), I'd say go very carefully as it's not exactly the best of areas. There's plenty of good honest people around, I hope Ndifon is one of them, Good luck!

Edited by Happyoldgit
Removed full postcode
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SO16 XXX is certainly not an all-white area, there could be plenty of 'Ndifon Akwan's' about. And it's pretty typical of people to miss bits out of their address.

Not wanting to offend people who live in that part of Southampton (I used to live in Weston which is the same or worse), I'd say go very carefully as it's not exactly the best of areas. There's plenty of good honest people around, I hope Ndifon is one of them, Good luck!

Fair comment Plasticbadger I'm sorry if I came across as a racist bigot or anything (I certainly am not!!)

However the guy has made no effort to contact me and I need to swap the insurance and parking permit over from Saturday. If I bought a car on eBay I'b be in touch right away to arrange to collect it.

It all seems strange - I'm going to ring him after dinner! I'll let you know how I get on.

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I suppose the next comment has to be; how much was the losing bid for?

Good Luck.

The good news is that another guy bid the same, but as Mr Akwan bid that amount earlier he was the winner.

I have just tried ringing Mr Akwan's mobile and left a message on his mobile for him to contact me urgently. I've now arranged to collect my TD5 on Saturday and contacted my car insurers to switch cover just after the witching hour Saturday morning.

The 300TDI has got to go soon as I don't want to insure two vehicles!

Mr Akwan has just contacted me by phone and refused to provide photo ID and a utility bill as per my email!!! He wishes to ship the car abroad and does not think he needs to provide any proof of ID in these circumstances!!

I have advised that I am cancelling his bid and will be giving a second chance offer!

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If I bought / Buy something off e-bay, esp a 4x4 etc I would be OK and almost expect to

pay cash, I would also be OK with them asking for a large lump of cash notes to be paid

into their bank account, but to ask for Photo and ID as well I think I would suggest they F.O ?

But sounds as though your concerns re a scam may be right, there are a lot of them out there

Nige

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Wise move.

With hindsight it may have been better to put an ID clause in the original listing.

Very true Mr Barton. I have advised the bidder who I have given a second chance offer that proof of ID is required before the transaction can be completed.

Next time I sell anything major on eBay I will certainly add such a clause!!

Bloomin' timewaster!!!

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If I bought / Buy something off e-bay, esp a 4x4 etc I would be OK and almost expect to

pay cash, I would also be OK with them asking for a large lump of cash notes to be paid

into their bank account, but to ask for Photo and ID as well I think I would suggest they F.O ?

But sounds as though your concerns re a scam may be right, there are a lot of them out there

Nige

Well in in the interests of being legal, decent, honest and truthful I think it is vital that the buyer and seller know who each other are whether you pay by cash or not. What if the notes were forged and the next day they use the 110 in a robbery??

Just looking after myself Nige and I think in this case my instincts proved right! I have reported the winning bidder to eBay as they do encourage you to check ID and I think a downright refusal is suspicious bigtime!!

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but to ask for Photo and ID as well I think I would suggest they F.O ?

Nige

Absolutely agree and I wouldn't bid if you you put it in the original advert.

With such a modest sale price there are no money laundering implications (as I understand the law) and you are not responsible if he performs an armed robbery tomorrow. There is a paper trail for your transaction already.

And FWIW I think your comments do come across as being a racist bigot (which I accept your not!). Why does his postcode and being called Akwan affect the need for ID?

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What would happen if you sold a car and it was involved in an accident before DVLA updated their records and Mr Plod came round for a chat. You tell him you sold it to Mr Big Ears, Plod checks on Mr Big Ears and he doesn't exist. Mr P. then accuses you of the accident and falsifying the sale, how do you prove your innocence?

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You've filled out the V5 in the correct manner, given a receipt and kept a copy. Whats the problem?

You're not obliged to check out the buyers history!

When I've bought cars (especially on eBay) I've always assumed it's the seller that's the crook!!

I once sold a car on eBay for £600. The buyers address came up as the Shetland Islands. That's 650 miles and 2 ferry crossings away from me. Oh well I think that's a waste of time then. Next day I get a call from a lady to say she'll collect in 3 days time, I still wasn't convinced! 3 days later at 9pm she phones me from the bus station, could I pick her up? She's come on her own! I pick her up, drive 20 miles to where the car was, she hands me the money, we do the paperwork and she drives off into the night. Another 3 days later she leaves me feedback.

I still find it hard to believe it happened!!

There are still some decent trusting people about.

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Why does his postcode and being called Akwan affect the need for ID?

The main reason I was suspicious of this guy from the start is that he only has 1 positive feedback on eBay and that was a couple of years ago! In fact it was so long ago that he current eBay score is 0%!!

After a bit more research on the net things just didn't add up and I began to have serious doubts if he lived where he said he did.

I looked at THIS site and followed the info there.

The winner bidder refused point blank to provide ID what does that tell you?

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Perhaps the best thing you can do to protect yourself from possible dodgy buyer when selling on ebay is to state that bidders with less than x pos feedbacks should contact you before bidding, or maybe that you may decline bids from anyone with less that x feedback.

I see lines like this fairly often.

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The winner bidder refused point blank to provide ID what does that tell you?

In all honesty, I would refuse point blank to provide anyone with ID too, it's my personal information, and unless it was a stipulated in the item description, it's an unreasonable request. As someone pointed out, what happens after point of sale is not your responsibility, or liability.

What would you say, if I bumped into you on the street, and asked you to show me your ID, you'd tell me where to get off I reckon. Same thing.

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In all honesty, I would refuse point blank to provide anyone with ID too, it's my personal information, and unless it was a stipulated in the item description, it's an unreasonable request. As someone pointed out, what happens after point of sale is not your responsibility, or liability.

What would you say, if I bumped into you on the street, and asked you to show me your ID, you'd tell me where to get off I reckon. Same thing.

You are supposed to ensure the new owner's full information is entered on the V5 before you sign it over. This protects you from their failure to register their ownership and also ensures that the vehicle always has a registered owner. Checking the buyer's ID is not in any way an invasion of privacy.

People who oppose such checks of their information, like the hysteria over the planned ID cards, are either dilusionally self-important (what the hell would anyone, including the authorities, care about you and what you are doing as long as it's legal?) or have something to hide. I won't deal with anyone who wants to hide their details from me. That's not the same as the morons who share all their personal details on the internet and then wonder why their bank account and house are empty - there is a difference between paranoid secrecy over relevant details and foolish self-broadcasting of unnecessary information.

I think you acted wisely. Your post could be interpreted as racial, but only by those who tend to seek prejudice in everything. Glad to see you didn't get done - it would be worth reporting the details to ebay and perhaps to the police fraud squad.

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This protects you from their failure to register their ownership

They (the buyer) don't register their ownership - you do when you send the V5 off.

However when you sign the V5 you declare "that the new details I have given are true to the best of my knowledge." They declare that ".......my name and address are correct."

So you're covered if you believe their details to be correct, and I suppose their signing to that effect may be sufficient. If the poo hits the fan I suppose it could be argued that you couldn't have possibly believed his details to be correct if you didn't check them, even more so if any enquiries you make give you cause for doubt.

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People who oppose such checks of their information, like the hysteria over the planned ID cards, are either dilusionally self-important (what the hell would anyone, including the authorities, care about you and what you are doing as long as it's legal?) or have something to hide. I won't deal with anyone who wants to hide their details from me. That's not the same as the morons who share all their personal details on the internet and then wonder why their bank account and house are empty - there is a difference between paranoid secrecy over relevant details and foolish self-broadcasting of unnecessary information.

I agree ^^

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