rojbarker
New Member
- Posts
- 544
- Location
- Handover, 'Ampshire
Saw this on another forum and thought it might be worth posting:
Please copy & paste this SCAM to every other forum you can!
Hi PJ
Thanks very much for helping me with this. I'm very quickly running out of options. Clearly there's still a little way to run in terms of legal action, but I've uncovered a scam, and it's already happened to others around the same time. I really want to prevent this happening again and go some way to preventing him trading.
I advertised my vehicle, a land rover Defender 90 (07 plate), with Auto trader towards the end of October last year. I was very quickly contacted by James Reid, of Reid Land Rovers. H e told me that he had been approached by a potential buyer who was after my model of vehicle and whilst he had a similiar one in silver, the buyer was adamant that he wanted it in black. We agreed to place my vehicle on the garage forecourt on a sale or return basis for £20,300. The sale was agreed a number of weeks later and James agreed to electronically transfer the funds to my account. This did not happen as agreed and after a number of increasingly concerned phonecalls I realised something was amiss.
I travelled over to Reid Land rovers, on Mon 22 Dec 08 after being assured that there had been some confusion and that James would be there waiting for me with a banker's draft. Predictably James was nowhere to be seen and there was certainly no banker's draft. I met with Mat Wenman, who it subsequently seems is the directing mind of the outfit. He apologised profusly for james's behaviour and agreed to help in anyway he could. Unfortunately I was forced to leave to travel to Blackpool due to a death in the family, and I had to accept a cheque from his business account. After a Christmas and New year of worry and upset, the cheque bounced despite assurances from both James and Mat that the money was there.
I reported them to the police who took around two months to decide that they will not be following it up. apparently it is not in the public interest as they were unsure that they could secure a conviction. Trading Standards have been very helpful in terms of advice and regular updates, but they do not act for the particular client so can only do so much for me.
I therefore now have to decide whether to risk a civil prosecution as this may simply be throwing good money after bad. Reid Land Rovers, James Reid and Mat Wenman have set up quite an efficient scam. They are sole traders who rent their garage and office. The vehicles are all there on a sale or return basis and they there fore own very little for the courts or bailiffs to seize. That leaves only their personal possession and i have no idea whether there is enough to cover the debt owed to me, aswell as their outstanding obligations.
Please please please do not deal in anyway with Reid Land Rovers. Whether buying, selling or supplying you are likely to be taken for a ride. Now that they obviously know that the police cannot touch them they are free to continue this practice. As a footnote, trading standards have discovered that my vehicle was sold at auction for £14000 - a loss of £6300 - which suggests to me that they never intended to give me the money from day 1.
If anyone else has been stung in this way and would like to get in touch, please respond to this blog.
Ryan McGuirk
ORIGINAL POST:
http://forum.fourwheeldriveclub.com/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=3586
Please copy & paste this SCAM to every other forum you can!
Hi PJ
Thanks very much for helping me with this. I'm very quickly running out of options. Clearly there's still a little way to run in terms of legal action, but I've uncovered a scam, and it's already happened to others around the same time. I really want to prevent this happening again and go some way to preventing him trading.
I advertised my vehicle, a land rover Defender 90 (07 plate), with Auto trader towards the end of October last year. I was very quickly contacted by James Reid, of Reid Land Rovers. H e told me that he had been approached by a potential buyer who was after my model of vehicle and whilst he had a similiar one in silver, the buyer was adamant that he wanted it in black. We agreed to place my vehicle on the garage forecourt on a sale or return basis for £20,300. The sale was agreed a number of weeks later and James agreed to electronically transfer the funds to my account. This did not happen as agreed and after a number of increasingly concerned phonecalls I realised something was amiss.
I travelled over to Reid Land rovers, on Mon 22 Dec 08 after being assured that there had been some confusion and that James would be there waiting for me with a banker's draft. Predictably James was nowhere to be seen and there was certainly no banker's draft. I met with Mat Wenman, who it subsequently seems is the directing mind of the outfit. He apologised profusly for james's behaviour and agreed to help in anyway he could. Unfortunately I was forced to leave to travel to Blackpool due to a death in the family, and I had to accept a cheque from his business account. After a Christmas and New year of worry and upset, the cheque bounced despite assurances from both James and Mat that the money was there.
I reported them to the police who took around two months to decide that they will not be following it up. apparently it is not in the public interest as they were unsure that they could secure a conviction. Trading Standards have been very helpful in terms of advice and regular updates, but they do not act for the particular client so can only do so much for me.
I therefore now have to decide whether to risk a civil prosecution as this may simply be throwing good money after bad. Reid Land Rovers, James Reid and Mat Wenman have set up quite an efficient scam. They are sole traders who rent their garage and office. The vehicles are all there on a sale or return basis and they there fore own very little for the courts or bailiffs to seize. That leaves only their personal possession and i have no idea whether there is enough to cover the debt owed to me, aswell as their outstanding obligations.
Please please please do not deal in anyway with Reid Land Rovers. Whether buying, selling or supplying you are likely to be taken for a ride. Now that they obviously know that the police cannot touch them they are free to continue this practice. As a footnote, trading standards have discovered that my vehicle was sold at auction for £14000 - a loss of £6300 - which suggests to me that they never intended to give me the money from day 1.
If anyone else has been stung in this way and would like to get in touch, please respond to this blog.
Ryan McGuirk
ORIGINAL POST:
http://forum.fourwheeldriveclub.com/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=3586
Last edited:
