To ask what to do since I've been a fool...

[cantbelieveivebeensostupid]

I've name changed because frankly I'm sitting here wondering why I've been so fucking stupid!

Our combi boiler broke two weeks ago... we couldn't afford a new one (oil combi so around £3500) so looked on Ebay, found a couple that where being sold by a business seller. Rang him and he spent an hour chatting to me about my boiler helping me to try and fix it, really went above and beyond and sounded like an old school genuine guy. I got outbid on the boiler but rang him and he said he was having another coming in the next couple of days.

We were desperate since we have no hot water or heating and I agreed to buy the boiler from him. I sent the money (£900) to his bank and we agreed he would send the boiler this week. I've been calling him since Monday and his phone is going straight to voicemail and despite leaving tons of messages he's not returning my calls.

Now If I were reading this I would be screaming at the poster telling them how stupid they were to send the money. I've been had haven't I. I don't have money to buy another one and don't know what the hell I'm going to do.

Any advise very welcome but please avoid telling me how much of an idiot I am. If you knew me you would never believe I could have been so bloody stupid. I am sat here sobbing because I genuinely don't know what I'm going to do.

YAY! Absolutely delighted for you that you both have your money back and have a much cheaper working boiler. This has given me a big grin.
Well done!!

Fantastic - I reckon it was the stalking and Facebook shaming that did it. Well done for being persistent.

Ace news! I'm so pleased you have got your money back. So pleased that I have come out of lurking, and registered for an account, so I could tell you!

Hi, FIRST THING stop blaming yourself and feeling guilty. You seem to have been conned but that's not your fault. The guy checked out. I've not read the whole thread, so forgive me, but if you live in the country, are you quite sure your present boiler can't be repaired? There might be a local jobbing plumber, not from the big companies, who can fix it. If it's an old-fashioned oil-boiler they're pretty robust and can often be fixed, given the will. But please do stop beating yourself up over this. IT IS NOT YOUR FAULT!!

Yay! Well done.

Well OP , your fab news has made my day. So, so happy for you .

Ah thanks everyone

I still can't quite believe it, really thought he was spinning me another line. I was determined to be a right royal pain in his backside and agree that he may have got wind of the FB stuff even though it got deleted.

We now have enough money to fill up the oil tank to see us through the winter, which is a huge weight lifted.

what a lovely post; it made me smile reading it so you must be feeling bloody amazing

I am dead pleased for you

So, so pleased for you!

That's amazing news, so thrilled for you. We can't have gas either and I'm dreading the day our aged oil combi boiler dies on us as they are so expensive.

Before you order your oil check an oil price comparison site, we've just switched to using Boiler Juice and it's saved us a fortune.

Just read you got your money back. That's great news. But it might still be worth checking that your existing boiler is beyond repair. When we moved into this house 32 years ago I put in a gas boiler and had it serviced every year by British Gas. About 10 years ago the engineers started 'recommending' a new boiler as parts were no longer available. Every year it was the same old story, but I made sure they did their service according to the book - generic parts were available from the local plumber's merchants and I got a local plumber to take over the annual servicing. I've only just had it replaced, NOT by British Gas!, and I only did that to raise the heat efficiency rating for the house. The local plumber fitted it for me. Anyway, glad you got your money back.

Delighted for you OP - I've been following this with a feeling of dread that you'd said goodbye to your money forever - there are so many scam artists out there!
For anyone else reading who isn't sure about how eBay works - just NEVER ever deal outside of eBay as you immediately lose all your protection.

Great news on getting a boiler for less and getting your money back.

Wanted to add that I worked for a bank and I know for a fact that they can go in and pull a transfer up to 60 days after the transfer occured even if it was approved. The only time it becomes difficult to do is when their account is in overdraft. I processed these transfers about 1-2 times a week and the supporting documents sometimes included a police report (free to obtain) or a court order but not always. A senior manager could also sign off on these requests of they had sufficient evidence that the proceeds were to be used to fund crime. It falls under anti money laundering laws.

So while it doesn't happen often you can reverse a bank transfer but most people don't know this.

Well done, OP - and Happy Christmas xx

Great news OP!

And people say "what is the internet FOR"
pah

Utterly delighted that OP got her money back, got her boiler and a shady twit has been put out of business

Brilliant news!

Great news, well done for your persistence