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Original poster

Have inadvertently sold a fake item and now buyer is threatening me with police

383 replies

HelpMeSoWorried · 11/09/2012 13:54

Have namechanged as I am so embarassed. And also sorry to post in here, maybe should have posted in legal, but I know there is a lot of traffic here.

I was given a Mulberry bag as a christmas present a couple of years ago and tbh I never liked it much anyway and never used it (apologies to any handbag fans). As far as I knew it was genuine and had all tags with it etc.

I had no idea what it was worth but recently did a bit of research and they are about £700 new I think. So I decided to get rid and put it on gumtree. I was inundated with enquiries and sold it to a lady last week. She was really happy with it and I got £350 for it.

She has texted me today claiming it is fake and saying she wants me to pay her back and she will return the bag if I give her my address. She doesn't know where I live as I met her in town(at her request!) but she has my name, and obviously my number.

I am very upset and shocked as I would never have sold it if I thought it was not real, I would have maybe just given it away or something. Its completely against my principles, I am an honest person :( I am sat here crying now as I am so scared.

I really needed the money, I don't want the bag back and I don't want to return the money as as far as I am concerned I sold it in good faith and she happily chose to buy it. I am not a criminal, or a scam artist, but she is threatening to report me to the police. :(

can anyone help?

OP posts:
LoopyLoopsOlympicHoops · 11/09/2012 13:56

Firstly, who gave it to you? Do they know if it is real? Could you ask them? Are they likely to have spent that much on a bag?

How is she claiming to know it is fake?

LadySybildeChocolate · 11/09/2012 13:56

They Police probably won't do anything, you should refund her though.

BlackberryIce · 11/09/2012 13:56

It may have been real.... And she could have swapped it for a fake. She sounds to be the dodgy one!

Hammy02 · 11/09/2012 13:57

Do you remember who bought it for you? £700 is a huge amount for someone to spend on a present so for it to only be worth about a tenner seems very odd. Do you think the person that bought it for you was also scammed?

TheCraicDealer · 11/09/2012 13:58

Has she said how she "knows" it's fake? It could simply be that she's changed her mind and wants her money back. If it isn't real, then I would think you have a moral obligation (don't know about legal) to refund her, because the item is not as you advertised it. Whether or not that was intentional is irrelevant.

sixlostmonkeys · 11/09/2012 13:58

How do you know it's fake? How do you know she will return the correct bag?

Take time to calm and collect yourself. Maybe then contact her and tell her you will get someone to collect the bag from her and once they have checked the serial number/hidden id code to make sure it's the one you sold, she will get her money back.

She may be genuine, she may be trying it on........

fuckityfuckfuckfuck · 11/09/2012 13:59

Ignore her. She had ample opp[ortunity to check the bag before she handed over any money so the onus is on her. The police won't be at all interested, isn't it assumed that anything secondhand comes with the old buyer beware ethos?

olgaga · 11/09/2012 13:59

Think of it from her point of view - £350 is a lot to pay for a mickey handbag! You didn't know it was fake but if you sold it as a genuine item and it is a fake then I think you should refund her.

Either arrange to meet with her to get the bag and give her the money back, or ask her to post the bag to you and you will then issue a refund.

It doesn't really matter whether you want the bag back or not. When you get it back, why not take it to a Mulberry store and see if they can verify whether it's real or fake. If it's fake you can always sell it as a "good quality Mulberry knock-off"!

LadySybildeChocolate · 11/09/2012 13:59

You run the risk of refunding the bag, then never seeing it again. If you are going to refund you need to arrange to swap at the same time.

Hi Loopy Smile

Pagwatch · 11/09/2012 14:00

You need to accept the bag back and give her money back.
Meet her. Take someone with you if you are concerned.
Check the bag is the same one and give her her money back.

If it is a fake you sold it and it may not be your fault but it is your responsibility.

olgaga · 11/09/2012 14:00

PS I definitely wouldn't refund the money unless you know for sure she returns the bag you sold her!

MarysBeard · 11/09/2012 14:01

Get her to send it back BEFORE refunding, then check it out for yourself.

ShatnersBassoon · 11/09/2012 14:02

Refund the money and get the bag back (at the same time!). At worst it is a fake, and you're no worse off than before. At best, she's wrong about it being fake and you can sell it to someone else.

LoopyLoopsOlympicHoops · 11/09/2012 14:02

Hey LadyS :)

Will you know for sure that it is the one you sold her?

happierhigherstrongerwheezing · 11/09/2012 14:02

I was thinking she sounds dodgy.
Needs some sort of arbitration. Did you keep any photos of the bag?
You can't accept the bag back, because how would you know it was yours?

The only way is to check with mulberry. Are they the sort of bag to be faked?

squeakytoy · 11/09/2012 14:03

More fool the buyer for spending so much money on a gumtree ad in my opinion. Anyone with sense would have wanted to see the original receipt too as there are so many fake bags on the market anyway.

If she doesnt have your address then I doubt there is very much she can do.

If I were you though OP, I would get the bag back, and give her a refund, so long as you are sure it is the same bag that she is returning.

SirGOLDBoobs · 11/09/2012 14:03

Ask the person who got it for you first. Embarrassing as it might be, you need to know if this woman is telling the truth.

Also if you do arrange to meet her to give her the money back, check the bag over first, make sure it hasn't been used or damaged.

I'm slightly pessimistic to be honest, think she's either changed her mind or is trying to screw you over.

WhatYouLookingAt · 11/09/2012 14:03

Who gave you the bag in the first place though? You should be able to tell if its real or not from that, pretty much.

ZillionChocolate · 11/09/2012 14:04

I disagree with BlackberryIce. I don't think anything OP said about this buyer sounds dodgy. OP presumably sold it on the basis it was a Mulberry bag, rather than just a generic bag. She wouldn't have paid £350 for a knock off, nobody would.

Given that she's offering to return the bag, that would put you back in the same position you started in. It is possible, but unlikely that she's swapped it for a fake. How carefully did she look at it when you met her? If you don't want to give her your address, you could meet up with her in the same way as when you sold it. You could ask her why she believes it's a fake.

I also wondered whether it was normal for the person who gave you the bag to spend that much on a gift?

LydiasMiletus · 11/09/2012 14:04

The police will do something of you have sold a genuine bag and its not.
You saying you don't want to does not come into it.
Do you really know people who would spend £700 on a handbag but don't know you well enough to know you don't like it or have used it.
How would you feel if it was the other way?
I would make sure the bag she gives you is the bag you gave her.

LadySybildeChocolate · 11/09/2012 14:04

There's loads of fake mulberry bags around, sadly. Look for the logo on the clasp, the outside of the bag, the inside of the bag, the registration number. The pattern on the lining should be straight (depending on the bag).

AGiraffeOnTheDivingBoard · 11/09/2012 14:06

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

LydiasMiletus · 11/09/2012 14:06

What have you responded so far?

Original poster
HelpMeSoWorried · 11/09/2012 14:07

It was my ex DP who bought it for me

We are not in touch anymore and i would rather keep it that way! another reason i wanted it gone tbh plus I don't have his number or any contact details for him anymore

OP posts:
WhatYouLookingAt · 11/09/2012 14:08

But is he the kind of person who would have bought you a real bag or a fake bag? I imagine you can have a good guess!