Sold Fake Headphones

jimmyuk1

Hi MSEers,

Need a bit of advice - bought some Monster Beats (Solo HD) headphones on Gumtree for £96 back at the end of May, advertised as 'Genuine', 'New and boxed', etc. Seller told me that he was a supplier and was just cutting out the middle-man. RRP is around £130 for these so it didn't seem like too good to be true, just a good deal.

Paid by BACS and the seller delivered them by Special Delivery. Headphones looked / performed very well. Sound quality wise they are absolutely out of this world. Naturally I was cautious about buying from a 3rd party source but box was new and wrapped, came with everything that it should have done bearing in mind videos I'd seen on Youtube of people unwrapping their boxes / other internet research; simple story is it all seemed legit and I was very happy.

The other day the headphones snapped in two places, just from putting them on my head. I hardly use them anyway so it's not fair wear and tear, and I don't have a ginormous head either :rotfl:.

Checked out the warranty info on the Monster website and lack of serial number / minor but notable inaccuracies with the box graphic leads me to conclude beyond doubt that the headphones are FAKE!

Contacted the seller who didn't want to know, which further cements my thoughts. He claims to be some 16 year old, not the supplier he originally told me he was and when I started throwing around his obligations under the SoGA (forgetting for a second that he'd committed fraud) he didn't seem to have a clue and just went with the "you broke 'em mate, it's your problem" line (this fault occurred within 6 months so I'm pretty sure it's his legal obligation to prove they weren't bad when he sold them).

He says he got given them by his Mum from an eBay purchase, and refuses to refund me or repair them. I note that he's still selling these on Gumtree / other sites so consider this to be a load of hot air!

Filled out a fraud form on the ActionFraud.org website which didn't get me very far, who told me to report it to Consumer Direct, which I did online via their site a few days ago, but haven't heard anything. They probably aren't interested for something that's only £96, but this is a lot of money to me.

I have this guy's name (Luke), bank details and mobile number (which I won't post here of course!), so he should be traceable. I'm pretty sure I'm entitled to a refund / repair, but in any case I don't want this guy ripping off any more people. Is this something I should report to the Police?

Any help is much appreciated,

Regards,

Jimmy

savemoney

I assume he isnt a legit seller scammers often use gumtree, so it may be hard getting any recourse from this person. If you have his details he may well be doing illegally so maybe report it for avoid paying tax

I get feeling you lost your money though dont use gumtree for high value goods I wouldnt use it at all

unholyangel

Technically you could sue him, but although i've never filed a small claims myself, i'm pretty sure you would need an address.

You could also try reporting to Trading Standards if you believe them to be fake. And also to Gumtree. And possibly his bank.

Its an offence to knowingly pass on counterfeit goods.

Paying by BACS, pretty sure your money will be lost but nothing to stop you contacting your bank and asking if anything can be done for sale of counterfeit goods.

demondoctor

I would say call the police. He is comitting fraud by selling counterfeit goods. Make sure you have copies of all correspondance etc. between him and yourself, and the headphones of course.

timbstoke

If he's very clearly doing it as a business, then his age doesn't enter into it. Nonetheless, getting a refund is going to be tricky. Personally, I'd report him to HM Revenue and Customs - they take a dim view of counterfeit goods, and even more so if they don't get their cut (which they almost certainly won't be). They also have far greater powers than the police in terms of dealing with the issue.

unholyangel

demondoctor wrote: »

I would say call the police. He is comitting fraud by selling counterfeit goods. Make sure you have copies of all correspondance etc. between him and yourself, and the headphones of course.

Trading Standards can verify if the item/s are counterfeit and also provide a letter to say they were counterfeit which may be of use to the OP if they ever get an address where they can issue small claims proceedings.

Not sure if the police can do this or not.