UPS UKASH UKCASH Gumtree Scam and scams in general

dgtjunior

Charliezoo wrote: »

I'm annoyed with Gumtree - I got scammed a couple of weeks back and reported it to Gumtree who removed the ad and sent me a standard message saying "looks like a scam, don't proceed with payment, etc" which was a bit late considering I'd already been scammed at that point but at least they removed it. I then found another scam ad, I recognised the text message immediately and reported it to Gumtree twice but they haven't removed the ad or acknowledged my messages. The ad it still on there and its a high value item- £440 so I really hope no-one has fallen for it. I reported it the day after the ad was placed so it could've been removed quickly.

I don't think Gumtree are taking these scams seriously unless you've actually lost money already. The ad ID that they haven't removed is - 111119948 (Bedfordshire) and the text was sent by 'Deb'.

The scammers seem to like using expensive baby stuff - the item I got scammed on was a Stokke cot, the other ad was a Stokke stroller and I've also found another scam Stokke stroller - ID 1002262779 (London). Interestingly someone has managed to hack into the ad and warn others of the scam on this one, I wonder how they managed to do that?!

Gumtree are pretty useless. I got scammed, reported it to them expecting the ad to be removed immediately, but two weeks later it was still up! Reported it again, and it was finally removed. Now I find MYSELF blocked from advertising on Gumtree!! I don't know if they've mistakenly blocked my account in the process of investigating the scammer, but since I alerted them about the scam I haven't been able to post an ad.. I had a couple of mails from them, not much help though, both evade answering any questions on why I can't post. It's easier to open another account than get them to reactivate the old one... What a joke.

rimmy

Ukash have rejected my claim for a refund, which I have vehemently challenged. Fortunately I have contacts working at News Corp, Guardian Media and Telegraph Group as well as the aide to an MP, so will be forwarding his correspondence to them, along with the evidence of my complaint. Also the BBC Watchdog may be interested when I compile all this information together, so I will update in due course, as things develop from here..

Thanks to those who have provide details, if I can reiterate to add as much detail as you can (message me any private details you don't want public) and I will prepare your details into my records. I need to find time to go to my local police station to encourage them to work with me to release info from Ukash on the recipient, which I am assured is achievable under FOI, with good reason.

My initial email from Ukash is available to those here, upon request via Private message please, as it is lengthy.

rimmy

dgtjunior wrote: »

Good for you John. I got scammed and too took it up with UKASH stating negligence on their part for letting the scam continue for so long. I got a refund from them . You need to file a claim on paper though via their downloadable forms. See my previous posts on here for info on how to it. Don't let it drop, be terrier like, its the only way.

I got caught a month ago by Pam Hogan, and I can't believe how many more people have been scammed since then. UKASH need to address their business model urgently, you are right; it just encourages fraud. I pointed this out to them in my claim. The problem is they make money whoever cashes the vouchers, so it seems they couldn't give a toss either way. In fact I suspect they may even be happy to let it continue. Lets hope Rogue Trader gets on their case.

Hi dgtjunior,

Would you be willing to provide any of your correspondence around this matter and how it was resolved? My point is Ukash cannot pick and choose who to refund, it is not a matter of the value of the claim or anything arbitrary; if they pay out for one claim under this fraud then they admit culpability and by virtue must pay out for all, where the conditions are otherwise equal or the same. I'd be grateful to hear of anything you can forward me..

cheekychap00

i received a reply today where she even got the amount wrong £450 no £420 and a vague how to keep safe pointer
oh and no returns as if i am going to accept that terms and conditions read the small print rubbish
have you escalated to complaint if so you will have a number
it says on their website that when a complaint is received a number is given to it. all your correspondence will be attached to that number keep a BIG file
also they will try to sort it out and give you a final decision have you had a final decision
mine went in the direction of her pointing me in the direction of how to stay safe
i know how to stay safe AVOID UKASH VOUCHERS
send an email to [EMAIL="feedback@ukash.com"]feedback@ukash.com[/EMAIL]
make sure to put on it your action fraud number complaint ref number
all details and copies of fake emails
and they are supposed to send or give you information on the financial ombudsman
remember they can reject you but
they are governed by the financial services authority who make the decision not ukash rejecting it
then if you are still not happy you have 6 months to contact the financial ombudsman who have final decision not this moneylaundering load of
dont give up you have a cast iron case and 2 further stages to go
on the same when you google ukash it starts with easy,safe and private online payments for everyone - ukash
ukash is an international cash payment for those who fear-
when i have had my final rejection from them and onto next stage i am reporting them to trading standards for misleading the public
they should suspend their operation until the loophole is sorted
keep collecting info
john

nearlyscammed

I was very nearly scammed by "KATE PORTER" on gumtree. Took this thread and the identical emails sent to realise it was of course too good to be true.

Dontdoit

I feel a proper chump. Having agreed to pay £200 for a pioneer plasma on Gumtree to Deborah75regan@gmail.com via Ukash. I am trying to pursue a refund via the process contained on this site, but am not optimistic.

On reflection I should have spotted the signs but I will complain to gumtree and gmail just to get it out of my system. If you are thinking of bagging a deal I just hope you find this thread first.

cheekychap00

READ CAREFULLY
ukash has 8 weeks to respond to your written claim.
then you have 6 months to go (for free)
to the ombudsman and he makes a decision for you or against based on the facts
BUT every company under the financial services authority (ukash aka smart voucher ltd)
gets the first 3 cases free every year but then has to pay £500 per case to the ombudsman when the case is referred to him
so if you are case 3 it cost ukash £0 if you are case 10003
that would be
10,003 - 3 = 10,000 *500 =£5,000,000 or 5 million ukash pound notes,
in a nut shell, when every body goes to the ombudsman
on here - then ukash will get its act together
because every complaint referred to the ombudsman equates to a fee of £500 plus the time to represent the case
and on top if you win on say a £250 case it cost ukash £750
so on the sums its how many millions? is it really £7.5 million
somebody check it please
roll on 8 weeks or when ukash rejects my claim
all facts on the fsa website
and if you lose you can still take ukash to court as the third option after the ombudsman
john

rimmy

nearlyscammed and dontdoit

please provide me the gumtree advert references, item locations, and other details so I can add to our case..

UPDATE:
usually it will begin by you receiving a text from deb.s.iphon or similar

followed by an email: Parcel Delivery tracking-notice@post.com

ollyver27

http://www.gumtree.com/p/for-sale/roland-v-drums-td-6v-electronic-drum-kit/1001687769

Mister_Nem

I too was very nearly scammed by Kate Porter ( kate75porter@gmail.com ) today until I found this thread.

The offer was seemingly too good to be true so I was very dubious anyway. Then I received an anonymous text (no telephone number, but instead sender name = kate.s.ipho ) asking me to contact the email address.

I then did some searching and very fortunately came across this website - thank you to all who have posted here to help ensure these disgraceful thieves are named and shamed helping others avoid falling for these scams.

Rimmy - the Gumtree post in question is Ad ref 1002616861.

Apart from the price, the ad itself looks very genuine and sickeningly opens with "This package would make a great Christmas Present". In actual fact the reality is, this scam could potentially ruin many people's Christmas'.