Gumtree Scam

[Haz_65]

Dear all,

Hope you're okay.

I purchased a mobile phone (HTC One X) through Gumtree for £230 yesterday.

All correspondance was made through the 'reply to advert' button. After negotiating the deal and asking him whether he was genuine, I came to the conclusion he was a genuine seller.

He provided me with his Paypal e-mail address which I happily transferred the money to. I ensured the payment was to be made through Paypal to ensure I benefit from buyer protection.

The payment was made through the 'purchase of goods' option and left him a note thanking him for the great service and asking him for tracking details when he has posted the phone.

He e-mailed me back through Gumtree confirming he had received the payment.

Since then he has not replied to my any of my correspondance asking him if he has sent the phone out to me.

My family began to get suspicious and we decided to check the transaction details on my PayPal account. We realised he has a secondary e-mail address which is foreign, he provided me a UK e-mail address. However, his account is 'Non-US Verified'. The Gumtree account has been active since Jan 2007 so it's not your typical sort term fraud account.

This advert shows he was based in Cumbria, UK.

I have just noticed he has submitted another advert today which is identical (including location) to the advert I purchased my phone from. A friend of mine has sent him a message and he replied back immediately advising it is still available for £210 and provided details of the phone. Bearing in mind he has not responded to me since I made the payment to him yesterday.

I have been informed I need to allow 7 days until I can open a dispute so I will have to wait a further 6 days.

I have informed Paypal to carry out an investigation on this Paypal account as he will potentially scam others with his newly submitted adverts.

I was wondering where I stand with this potential fraud that I have been a vicim of?

I do hope I receive this phone, but I have lost all hope.

Your help is very much appreciated and I look forward to your responses.

Kind Regards,

Hassan

[Louie011001]

hi

I have also been scammed via gumtree to the tune of £140 for a Z10 Blackberry phone. when I text today to ask if it had been posted I got a return text from a different phone no. the guy said he did not know it had been sold to me. he said he thought it must have been his missus who had sold it - I asked him if his wife was "Gemma" and he said no. 

Definate scam. I am gutted.

they said to me that when I had tried to pay them in the first place that my payment had a 28 day delay on it which I believed without checking. they sent the payment back to me and I took ti they were genuine. they asked me to send the money via the pay relatives option - and I did this. I think I have lost my money. I just hope I am protected