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Original poster

would you report to the police

27 replies

nothappy · 24/09/2006 18:42

if you paid someone for something on this website and they never sent the item and did'nt give you your money back , and it was a relatively small amount of money but it's theft really is'nt it , I mean if you got you purse stolen and someone took your money you would , or do you think the Police would think you were wasting their time?

OP posts:
hunkermunker · 24/09/2006 18:42

This website? Mumsnet?

Yorkiegirl · 24/09/2006 18:45

Message withdrawn

Original poster
nothappy · 24/09/2006 19:11

yes this website, but I'd rather not disclose too much as the person is on here from time to time , and I dont want to get into a big row , but it is the principle , I suppose its similar to ebay you could report it? but is it really worth the hassle its just the principle I suppose,whats small money to some is not to others

OP posts:
Scoobydooooo · 24/09/2006 19:15

I see what your saying as i am in the same position, i brought something from this website & have never recieved the items, just bloody thiefs in my eyes, don't think i could be bothered to report it but i will be naming & shaming on the feedback thread as it is totally wrong

Twiglett · 24/09/2006 19:18

yes it is theft

but don't understand why you are protecting the poster

if they are on here from time to time it seems the obvious place to get an answer

I would consider talking to police

what if you are the 1000th person who hasn't received goods they've paid for??

Scoobydooooo · 24/09/2006 19:19

I agree about putting there name on here so other people know not to buy from them in the future....

Original poster
nothappy · 24/09/2006 19:21

Thanks , its a shame isnt it, but the thing is my friend was saying to me today if they do that alot it can add up to quite a bit and maybe it would stop them doing it again, I suppose I could ring the local police and report it by phone , I think you can do that now or online as I got something stolen from my bag on the train and I did it online , and the police did actually contact me about it.

OP posts:
SaintGeorge · 24/09/2006 19:22

Doubt the police would do anything unless you could build a case to prove this person has done it time and again. Really not worth their time I'm afraid if we are talking a small sum of money.

Name and shame, if you are sure you have chased up as much as you can and there isn't an innocent explantation.

LIZS · 24/09/2006 19:24

Sorry you feel "done" . Sadly not sure what the police would do though. What happens if you name and shame though ? Do MNHQ block them or can they just name change and continue.

tbh there seems to have recently been an influx of buyers/sellers who do little else and even offer to buy things in specifically to sell on which to my mind is trading and should be covered by the Small Business section but not sure MNHQ have the resources to police it nor should it be necessary really. Perhaps an official overhaul and clarification of the definitions and spirit for the Classifieds is in order ?

Holidaymum · 24/09/2006 19:26

Sorry but it is theft, suspect it won't be just the one time either. By reporting it you will be protecting the next person who may part with hard earned cash. I suspect a lot of mums on here don't have much cash and a "small" amount to you may be quite large to them.

Have you reported it to Mumsnet? I would deffo report it to the police on principle.

SaintGeorge · 24/09/2006 19:26

I raised something about the classified section with MNHQ the other day and Justine tells me that it is due for an overhaul at the next meeting.

DelGirl · 24/09/2006 19:29

It's happened to me too but it would be hard to prove they didn't actually send it

Holidaymum · 24/09/2006 19:29

Just another thought, surely if you have paid you have the persons address? It would make it very easy to report, who knows if she has a history of it the Police may have a record on her anyway?

Lilymaid · 24/09/2006 19:29

If the person was "trading" you should report this to Trading Standards Dept of your local authority - or at least you can discuss it with them.

Original poster
nothappy · 24/09/2006 19:31

no I have'nt reported it to Mumsnet might do that along with some pretty unpleasant emails from them, don't want to get into a big public row about this , thanks its just not nice

OP posts:
Yorkiegirl · 24/09/2006 19:32

Message withdrawn

Original poster
nothappy · 24/09/2006 19:36

it was just some clothing, I've got alot on my plate at the moment financially so I think its just really p*ssed me off to be honest , I think I'll sleep on it and decide tommorrow ,maybe just having a bad week when I get paid next week will probably cheer up and forget about it.

OP posts:
LIZS · 24/09/2006 19:37

Do mention it to MNHQ, they may have had other complaints ?

foxinsocks · 24/09/2006 19:39

doubt the police would do anything tbh - not for such a small amount of money (perhaps something like the small claims court is better?)

def tell mumsnet though and I would name and shame

FioFio · 24/09/2006 19:42

This reply has been deleted

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mumblechum · 24/09/2006 19:47

It isn't theft, but it is breach of contract. If you felt sufficiently aggrieved you could sue them in the small claims court (plus interest). If you want to, get the info, forms etc from your local county court.

Rhubarb · 24/09/2006 19:57

I don't think "outing" people is a good idea - what if they are innocent? Let MNHQ deal with it. Witch hunts never solved anything.

Email that person and let them know that you are reporting them to HQ. I think you can trace a person if they have registered with a website so I really do think this is the best way to go about it.

SSSandy · 24/09/2006 19:57

I suspect it will have gone missing in the post or at least that is what you will be told. It's impossible to prove/disprove really. In future I'd pay for registered mail so you can check whether it was sent and what happened to the parcel. Costs a bit more but saves a lot of annoyance.

Rhubarb · 24/09/2006 20:05

You can try tracing it through the PO, tell her you are doing this too. It should worry her. If you get no joy from the PO then report her to MNHQ. You do need to prevent this from happening to others. But please no outing, that can have nasty repercussions.

TwoToTango · 24/09/2006 21:13

Agree with Rhubarb. Anyone in this sort of position should report to MNHQ, that way if it turns out that they are doing this sort of thing a lot MNHQ will have a list of incidents to act on, if they can do anything about it that is.