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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:
Spatsky · 11/09/2012 15:02

It sounds like OP has no way of knowing for certain whether the bag she gets back is the same one she gave the buyer, which will be the problem if it is a scam.

LaurieFairyCake · 11/09/2012 15:02

No, I have no truck with someone selling fakes - they are cunts if they know they're selling fakes. This woman doesn't know that.

but this is about people knowing what they're responsible for - the onus here is on the buyer to check beforehand if they're idiotic enough to not be buying from a direct retail outlet.

So if I buy a mobile phone at a car boot sale and the seller says it works and I get it home and it doesn't it's my fault for not checking properly.

It is ALWAYS the buyers responsibility to check unless they're covered by some warranty or other like in a shop or like Ebay.

RuleBritannia · 11/09/2012 15:05

Meeting at a neutral place is not necessarily trying to avoid something. I sold a box of crystal glasses to someone who wanted to meet in town because she hadn't a car. That was all right with me because I'm not keen on people coming to our house I got the bus into town so avoiding car park charges. She gave me money and it worked out all right so the OP's buyer might be genuine from that point of view.

LadyHarrietdeSpook · 11/09/2012 15:07

Am in two minds about this.

I can see why OP would be panicking and assuming that she was in the wrong; I can see how it might be a scam too.

The woman did walk away with it. I would have also thought I'd sold it in good faith too...it wouldn't have occurred to ME to take down a serial number.

No idea probs if will get the same bag back.

BUT I THINK that if she is a scam artist, the suggestion to meet up at a Mulberry store to check it out, as Blueberry suggested, will scare her off. Probably. Send her the address of the nearest one and tell her you will arrange to meet with a customer services person.

IF she won't do this at all I think that it is likely that she is a scammer.

Someone who was genuinely aggrevied/hadn't switched the bags or simply changed their mind would agree to this I reckon.

QuintessentialShadows · 11/09/2012 15:08

It is a very good idea to meet her at a Mulberry store.

LadyHarrietdeSpook · 11/09/2012 15:08

sorry or who hadn't just simply changed gtheir mind and wanted a reason to get her money back

Paiviaso · 11/09/2012 15:10

You are in a tricky situation here because either:

  1. The bag was a fake, you didn't know, and sold it claiming it was genuine when it wasn't. In which case I'm not sure what your rights are.

  2. The bag was real, the woman purchased it, bought a matching fake, and is now claiming you sold her the fake. She will hope to get her money back and give you back the fake, keeping her money and the real bag in the end.

I think you should post pictures and details of the bag here, and see if we can establish if it was real for your piece of mind?

WhereYouLeftIt · 11/09/2012 15:11

OP, you say she is threatening to report you to the police. When did that come into the conversation? The reason I ask is, it sounds to me like something contrived to make you panic, and give her the money back without checking her out. I'd have thought a more likely (genuine) approach would have been to tell you it was a fake and that she wanted a refund; and ask about when/where to make the exchange. Maybe some details on how she discovered it to be a fake, given that she spent 15 minutes examining it before she handed over the money last week.

On balance, I think she is scamming you. Either she is planning to return a fake to you, or she has changed her mind about wanting this bag and thinks this is the best way to make you agree to take it back. I would approach the idea of refunding her VERY cautiously.

LadyHarrietdeSpook · 11/09/2012 15:12

The one spanner int he works with the store meeting is that THEY may not agree to mediate.

Floralnomad · 11/09/2012 15:14

The OP sold the bag in good faith and the onus is on the buyer to check the authenticity. Why has it taken her a week to decide its a fake. I don't think the OP should feel guilty / refund it's no longer her problem . Buyer beware!

atacareercrossroads · 11/09/2012 15:14

Rule no I agree its not necessarily dodgy, but the buyer has sat on this bag for a week, after having apparantly inspected it before handing the cash over.

OP does she say how she knows its a fake? Did you put on the ad that it was genuine?

More fool her for firstly buying something like this off gumtree, secondly spending £350 on a bloody awful looking bag, and thirdly for not doing her research beforehand to see how to spot a fake.

Totally agree with Laurie, people selling fakes as genuine are fuckers, people who make a genuine mistake are just that, someone who has made a genuine mistake and the buyer has made the biggest mistake for not checking it out properly.

Just sounds to me like shes gone Shock after having realised what she has done and is trying it on. Either way, I know I wouldnt give the money back and just chalk it down to a lesson learned for both of us.

olgaga · 11/09/2012 15:15

Yes very good idea to meet her at the nearest Mulberry stockist who can look at it and say whether it's real or fake.

If you insist on meeting her in person you can verify whether it's the same bag you sold her or not. You might also tell her you have it security marked and will be able to check that. You might never hear from her again.

Take a friend with you.

fergoose · 11/09/2012 15:15

I know you didn't security mark the bag - but I am telling you to tell the buyer that you did. It should put her off trying to give you a different bag back.

Pagwatch · 11/09/2012 15:15

Oh ok atacareercrossoads.
So someone who maybe isn't very bright but likes handbags deserves everything they get. That's much better.

MsElisaDay · 11/09/2012 15:16

As others have said, I'd be asking her how she thinks she discovered it was a fake. If she spent all that time examining the bag before taking it away - which is fair enough - then what has come to light since then?
From what you've said, the bag sounds genuine, and I'd be very wary before giving her a refund.

Pagwatch · 11/09/2012 15:17

Suggesting meeting at a mulberry store is a good idea.

BettySwollocksandaCrustyRack · 11/09/2012 15:17

But how would a buyer know the difference then between someone who knows they are selling a fake and someone who doesnt?????? They probably all pretend they didnt know! IO certainly didnt know with those jeans (and they werent very expensive) but I didnt try and wriggle out of it.

Selling a fake as the genuine article is against the law no matter whether the sellers knows or not........yes, the woman was stupid to spend £350 on a bag she didnt check out properly bud sadly being stupid is not against the law.

fergoose · 11/09/2012 15:18

Op - the buyer knows where you live I take it? And they paid cash?

atacareercrossroads · 11/09/2012 15:18

Yes Pag thats exactly what Im saying Hmm

nickelcognito · 11/09/2012 15:19

check in your recycling bin on your computer - if you haven't emptied it for a while since you deleted the photos, they will probably still be in there.

(there'll be an icon on your desktop screen)

ErikNorseman · 11/09/2012 15:19

Gumtree ads are retrievable for a month after deletion I think. Log in to 'my account' (you must have made one when you posted the ad) and the ad will be there. Go to 'edit' and you should be able to copy the pics from it to your PC and you can post them here.

Pagwatch · 11/09/2012 15:20

I knew we would agree eventually.

atacareercrossroads · 11/09/2012 15:23

If that was said to lighten the mood then Grin

if not then

LaurieFairyCake · 11/09/2012 15:23

"But how would a buyer know the difference then between someone who knows they are selling a fake and someone who doesnt"

They don't, which is why only a numpty buys from someone on gumtree they have never met, in a cafe in the town centre, doesn't have the sellers address, a stranger to them....... Grin

Pagwatch · 11/09/2012 15:24