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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Been scammed

301 replies

Fuckfuckbollocks · 19/02/2020 07:30

NC for this. Feel really terrible right now. My husband bought a car through a website that sell on behalf of the actual seller and deliver the car to you. The money is paid to the company and after the car is delivered the funds get released to the seller. The company have a glossy website and claim to do all checks on said car.

Anyway we found this car and checked all the history out and were sent the service history with all the garages names on so we phoned them all and they all had record of this car being serviced with them etc. Multiple reviews online for this company saying how good they are and forums with people saying they've used them and it all seemed fine.
Husband transferred the money and got a confirmation type email with delivery date and time and the car didnt turn up.
I feel so awful for him, he isnt stupid and was weary about it but did so many checks and paid for checks to be done but everything we questioned there was a plausible answer for. Nothing seemed wrong at all. The company even comes up on Google maps with reviews. Apparently all fake

Sorry this isnt an AIBU I just needed to get it out and hopefully warn anyone considering buying a car this way. We feel so stupid and have lost a lot of money.

OP posts:
Thread gallery
6
fourandnomore · 19/02/2020 07:54

Totally convincing!

FlamingoAndJohn · 19/02/2020 07:54

Ok.

Looking at their website it seems that that don’t sell stuff directly but act as middle men when you buy something on Gumtree or the like.
Who did you actually buy the car through?

SinkGirl · 19/02/2020 07:55

Right so DevSale are the escrow company, but it’s individuals selling through the site? So others may well have used the service with no problems, but the whole point of escrow is they don’t release funds until you have the item

TreeTopTim · 19/02/2020 07:55

This company is based near me and I have never heard of them. I would never buy a used car without seeing it and test driving it as I have a fear of this happening.

So sorry that this has happened to your dh. Sometimes no matter how many checks are done/questions asked fraudsters still slip through the net.

golightlytoday · 19/02/2020 07:55

Very odd, old reviews on various forums saying they're legit

www.swdubsuk.co.uk/discution/review/autos/view/View-topic-Anyone-dealt-with-them-DevSale-Trading-Group-swdubsforums.co.uk.html

Finfintytint · 19/02/2020 07:57

There’s a warning on Dev sales website about fraudsters using their details and they do not send emails for advance payments.

FlamingoAndJohn · 19/02/2020 07:58

And the reviews saying they (or someone with the same name) is legit seem to go back a few years.

It does say on the website that their phone lines are down at the moment, this could be bullshit.

golightlytoday · 19/02/2020 07:59

On their about page they have all their people listed. Assume you've been through them
And checked them out?

Was their phone number dead yesterday?

FluffyAragog · 19/02/2020 07:59

I've had a quick Google and a look at the website and as you say, it is very elaborate if it is a con. Where did you buy the car from?

YappityYapYap · 19/02/2020 08:05

OP, I checked out their company registration and the company is registered under DMC logistics and has 1 director. You can find out the directors name

Original poster
Fuckfuckbollocks · 19/02/2020 08:06

Yeah there are multiple forums saying they've bought cars etc which is all fake apparently to lure you in

OP posts:
Toffeecakes · 19/02/2020 08:07

Sorry OP, I was scammed when buying a holiday a few years ago and it truly is rubbish. I’ve never heard of the company but I’ve just had a look and it all looks convincing enough so I don’t think you’ve done anything wrong (or your DP). Unfortunately some people are just scum bags.

Finfintytint · 19/02/2020 08:08

Where did you see the car advertised? Autotrader? It’ll be the person placing the mystery car advert who is the scammer using devsale’s supposed details.

AvocadoAdvocate · 19/02/2020 08:08

Just looked them up. The parent company is DMC LOGISTICS (SCOTLAND) LTD.
Company numberSC551995

beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/SC551995/officers

FlamingoAndJohn · 19/02/2020 08:08

Did you buy directly through them or through another group like eBay/Facebook selling/gumtree?

Keep trying the live chat.

DocusDiplo · 19/02/2020 08:09

@Bezalelle Does it make you feel good to call people stupid when they're already low? Perhaps re-evaluate your character.

Marriedtoapenguin · 19/02/2020 08:11

How did you pay the company?

Have you taken any steps yet? Police, bank, trading standards and so on?

The trading company is real although the accounts submitted to Companies House don't suggest a significant level of trading tbh.

Also, no sign of them on the FCA website even though they say they are registered.

However, the online reviews include specialist forums and that feels more genuine.

Keep us posted but please go and speak to the bank etc ASAP. And keep trying to contact the company (keep details of attempts and any conversations if you do get through)

PineappleDanish · 19/02/2020 08:13

Have you reported this to the Police???

TruffleShuffles · 19/02/2020 08:13

Where did you actually find the car listed OP?

ceilingdrum · 19/02/2020 08:14

www.onlinefilings.co.uk/people/officers/search/179268690001/

Matthew Parsons 6476 director appointments including dev sales most dissolved.

acatcalledjohn · 19/02/2020 08:15

Check with the FCA too as they claim to be FCA regulated.

PennyGold · 19/02/2020 08:17

It happens to the best of us:
It's scary how convincing and elaborate scams are at the moment.
I hope you get your money back, but if not thank you for warning other people, you may have saved someone else from being scammed!

acatcalledjohn · 19/02/2020 08:17

Plus get screen shots of the website and car listing while it's up. Keep all comms you have with them. Police, bank, FCA. PPs have found you some good info, including the director name.

dognamedspot · 19/02/2020 08:20

"How did you pay the company?

Have you taken any steps yet? Police, bank, trading standards and so on?" etc...

Have you read the thread?

BillHadersNewWife · 19/02/2020 08:21

If you look up their actual business name on Companies House they only had about 2 grand in the bank in 2018.

That's not very reassuring.

s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/document-api-images-live.ch.gov.uk/docs/a_yJOtra9BS0QIFaKPWa2nBccIwFdnOi5QwxyIhGauY/application-pdf?X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Content-Sha256=UNSIGNED-PAYLOAD&X-Amz-Credential=ASIAWRGBDBV3ODGAH6EJ%2F20200219%2Feu-west-2%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Date=20200219T081925Z&X-Amz-Expires=60&X-Amz-Security-Token=IQoJb3JpZ2luX2VjEC4aCWV1LXdlc3QtMiJIMEYCIQDpsZGo9E0OFvV1jw948BVLOS1FVLVXwWLN7xyxHmAA4wIhAIKUyAOXkFu4cf3yKFI%2FoLaJzGCaraZP1U5YFMuJEAMhKr0DCOf%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2FwEQAhoMNDQ5MjI5MDMyODIyIgycBnX%2B9GctF%2F0i1zEqkQObM8pIAbdn60h11PyjYe%2BbWiZPwnaDGLM06uhO5C2rxjl3kjXlAwV%2By77wJ%2FI75%2BfXpEdobO%2BhYw%2B6LZGanSAY2g9PTsQEQOcj8MxfVm20jguakHJflXnVkMaPnS2AipWeUKVqRY%2BjpjuxDp3XH4yht1wRJkWEd2VK9NMeYqk2u6m4IPSjWrrovZYJRwphIblmdj9y1sz4bHBXFcxKM6Sj%2FU9RB1pmlE7z9ElAO5Y90Fa6ITzpPkJk1%2F1fgh18eI2pcGefA7vu67bnXLBRyyWdHoqWwkHxkTkXzov0lZ3WmWbZuPrNL2m05gxhiq0c9J9GUYobVTdR8ZufEmBrBa3eRKORsl9CDNtUarO1Hqf5Nn7ibsLJkp2lUJ5pmpHU3a8JJ%2Fgqx4gugt7Dvry52YO1yToycLnSY%2FmsNCKaUEneuHcGJJFcuSFT2EgH6OIhYaxZotgQrljGy9fZWowptl7%2F%2BQRdG2Vxshu35SDtLMq2%2FYqDLpHSM2ah9k23zVLjvyvHiVlfoIWVE4oqkeKvy1FJeDCJmbPyBTrqAbEJPRyh7b6hLza8YkRJC8ma2byKAU057ZOFIi0ef9DlB5hc5vN5TCp7dsrxlr72%2FBQIjNtREFAdpkJc6SnNA3X61tVYml3Ek6QqSbMqoicTI6ssWmuM5CLvo8rJt15GN0Ao9vkW0QJM9DTX1SK%2FkA%2BfLODXOASKXnlRXoY%2BuPczRA68nqUghAHPaY6WJgnf8ojYlLy3tG6zfoNBOvFMuLhVw5zBSHbDk4oSbWUHZdvNwMYe697ligy4%2BwMuw9QMliIt4N1f0iIIMMBxlLny7isMDUiCmo0cMAPOsCwstR%2FND5WutxM8BvobyQ%3D%3D&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&X-Amz-Signature=929fdb853c7961d9dda946a4873d2a27307781ffef6fe40a4bbbd47e4db59041