Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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:
LadySybildeChocolate · 11/09/2012 19:55

I wouldn't spend £700. Mine was a lot cheaper then that. Grin

MarysBeard · 11/09/2012 20:04

I get my bags from places like Primark & M&Co, the more expensive ones are from John Lewis and I have one Radley. The only one that has had anything fall off is the Radley one, where the dog tag broke off, but I can still use the bag. Does anyone really have the same handbag for 10 years? I change mine frequently to suit the occasion or outfit, or bung everything in a rucksack for the gym, or a jute bag for school. I don't buy them very often though.

pigletmania · 11/09/2012 20:09

If you were doing this on e bay you would be expected to refund it. Just because a bag has tags des not make it genuine, tey are easily faked. I would refund it.

ladymuckbeth · 11/09/2012 20:18

Am intrigued to see a fake that genuinely is this close to an original. Whenever I've been given something fake, or seen it on a friend (one friend in particular lives in Dubai and is draped in fake Hermes shoes, Chloe bags, Mulberry etc whenever I see her) I have thought they were dreadful imitations. Even the ones who say 'ooh these are amazing fakes and I paid quite a lot for it' - yes they're leather, and have the 'authentic' tags/cards/etc - but they're as nothing when held up to the originals.

But from this thread I've obviously not seen the A class fakes, because for a Mulberry store not to be able to tell is extraordinary!

SkinnyMarinkADink · 11/09/2012 20:53

No NO NO NO NO has no one mentioned the recent warning about gumtree??????

this was one of the scams, someone buys very expensive item, goes away swaps for fake and then demands and try to scare with police etc etc.

Do not fall for it, unless someone is a millionaire they don't go spending that sort of money without being sure it is a real item

sunshine401 · 11/09/2012 21:00

She saw it before she bought it correct as you met her in town.
Don't be fooled by her she has most likely swapped it or wont return it to you.

bogeyface · 11/09/2012 21:18

This is a SCAM. Do not refund the money, do not do anything.

My friend got scammed in a similar way but with a mobile phone, luckily she had a copy of the IMEI number of the original phone (was autosaved on a webiste that buys mobiles from when she got a quote, so was complete luck and chance!) and when she checked it she realised that the phone she had sold wasnt the phone she got back.

She reported it to the police who confirmed that it is a known scam (the threat of involving the police is a big give away, its meant to panic you and it worked) but they never found the scammers as the phone number used was an unregistered PAYG and the email used to register on Gumtree was an anonymous web based one.

Tell her that on reflection you are satisfied that the item is genuine and that if she wishes to involve the police you will happily co-operate with them.

DO NOT GIVE HER A PENNY.

travailtotravel · 11/09/2012 21:21

I cannot believe that this is an issue. The woman saw the item before she bought it, and it was sold in good faith. Sorry, but its not on to expect a refund.

I bought this car, and now I bought it I decided I don't like the colour but have been driving it for like a fortnight or something to outer mongolia and back. Give me all my money back. Just doesn't happen.

TinyDancingHoofer · 11/09/2012 21:47

Camusfearna
Staff are qualified to spot fakes. Every season we had two days leather training and one in authenticating products, current and past. Rules said we just could not tell the public when we knew they had a fake. Because they then ask how you know, you say this this and this and then they go and make better fakes.
If you go into a mulberry shop with a fake, i can guarantee the staff will have clocked it the moment you walked in. Loved having a giggle with the ladies who admitted they just came in to compare theirs to the real thing.

CleoSmackYa · 11/09/2012 22:15

I think it sounds like a scam, but I'm a very untrusting person. Could you ring the police for advice? not 999 obviously

Lolwhut · 11/09/2012 22:29

The bag is a couple of years old, the OP has some photos of it and she is pretty sure that she will recognise the bag. She is meeting the buyer in person. This sounds ok to me. iPhone's etc are identical looking but to rustle up an exact fake Mulberry would not be that easy (?)

OP what about you and the buyer both agreeing to bring ID, perhaps a passport or driving licence (but don't show your address). If she is legit then she shouldn't mind and it would show her that you are not a scammer either.

I am surprised people think the buyer should suck up the loss, it was sold as a Mulberry and it (presumably) isn't. That is not fair on her.

laracroft2001 · 11/09/2012 22:31

This sounds like a pretty well known gumtree scam that my friend was also a victim of In relation to a pair of CL shoes.

DO NOT meet or refund

holyfishnets · 11/09/2012 22:40

If it is fake, then you need to collect the bag and refund her.

If it's not a fake, then possibly its a scam or she is unhappy with the bag.

Lolwhut · 11/09/2012 22:44

Also, if you meet up then make sure it's somewhere with CCTV

AKissIsNotAContract · 11/09/2012 22:45

If she bought the bag a week ago that's given her a week to find a suitable fake that she can pass off as hers. This sounds like a scam. I too wouldn't meet her and would tell her to see through her threat of contacting the police.

LadySybildeChocolate · 11/09/2012 22:47

Or you could call her bluff, take the photo's of the bag with you, tell her how outraged you are that you've been given a 'fake' bag and ask her to go to the Police with you? If she's a scam artist, she'll run a mile.

bogeyface · 11/09/2012 22:48

The bag is a couple of years old, the OP has some photos of it and she is pretty sure that she will recognise the bag. She is meeting the buyer in person. This sounds ok to me. iPhone's etc are identical looking but to rustle up an exact fake Mulberry would not be that easy

Believe me, it would be very easy. Especially as the OP put photos on her ad so the scammers could easily make sure they had an appropriate looking fake before they went ahead.

These people makes THOUSANDS a WEEK by pulling this shit, if it wasnt lucrative, they wouldnt do it. A £50 knock off Mulberry is nothing to these people, they could get that in a heartbeat.

IT IS A SCAM! Why is no one listening?!

bogeyface · 11/09/2012 22:49

Or........contact the police, and ask them if they could accompany her to the meeting. If it is a genuine scam then the police will be aware that they are working the area and may welcome the opporunity to arrest one of them.

Elkieb · 11/09/2012 22:50

Sounds like a massive scam to me, don't meet her or hand over money.

LadySybildeChocolate · 11/09/2012 22:50

I said up there ^ that it's a scam, bogey. Switch the bags, claim it's a fake, get a refund and a Mulberry.

bogeyface · 11/09/2012 22:53

Lady
I know a couple of people did, I was sort of speaking on their and your and my behalf! I was just a bit mad that there are still people saying she should refund! I assumed that the others who know it is a scam are similarly tearing their hair out at the naivety of some people (as lovely and trusting as that is).

chickydoo · 11/09/2012 22:54

I had an experience of selling an item, the buyer said it wasn't genuine.....It was......
I purchased it myself!
They tried to give me back a bad fake in return. It all got a bit unpleasant.
Before you except the bag back, make sure it is yours. There are some good fakes about. The lady could be on to a winner! Keeps her cash & bags your genuine bag in to the bargain.

LadySybildeChocolate · 11/09/2012 22:57

I'd arrange to meet her inside the Police station. Grin

I hope all ended up OK, chicky. Sad

bogeyface · 11/09/2012 22:58

Keeps her cash & bags your genuine bag in to the bargain............................................
.......and then uses it for photographs to sell more fakes on eBay, thus ripping off more people in the process Hmm

TrickyBiscuits · 11/09/2012 23:00

This is a fairly well established scam and you are falling for it - IGNORE