Scammed via bank transfer!? Help

Brooker_Dave

DamageCase wrote: »

So you guys are telling me that despite that the person committed a crime, there's nothing remotely I can do?

That's the long and short of it.

Bank transfer can be a quick and free way to pay for things and get paid, but it does require some trust, what was it you tried to buy?

Was it far cheaper than they are usually sold for?

DamageCase

soolin wrote: »

That's rather an odd statement, what do you imagine a victim of a crime actually gets?

You have been told all the places you can report it to, exactly as you would any other crime. That however does not equate to getting your money back. It's exactly the same as having say your wallet stolen while you are in the pub (as happened to my son), it was reported and that was the end of it, he lost the wallet, his money and everything else in his wallet. In his case it was stolen, in your case you willingly handed the money over.

Hi

So i have done a bit of reserach about opening a Court Case to get my money back despite the scammer giving me fake name and address, i still have his bank account sort code and account number. Apparently this breaches sales of good act 1979 and the breach of contracts act 1985 (contract should be met providing no legal legitimate excuse). Am i able to contact a soliciter to try and issue a warrant and contact his bank to access his residental details? Thanks

DamageCase

soolin wrote: »

That's rather an odd statement, what do you imagine a victim of a crime actually gets?

You have been told all the places you can report it to, exactly as you would any other crime. That however does not equate to getting your money back. It's exactly the same as having say your wallet stolen while you are in the pub (as happened to my son), it was reported and that was the end of it, he lost the wallet, his money and everything else in his wallet. In his case it was stolen, in your case you willingly handed the money over.

Flyonthewall wrote: »

Sadly it's as above. You can maybe stop a payment before it goes out at the end of the day, but after that bank transfers aren't reversed.

Gumtree is meant for cash on collection transactions only. It's also sold as seen, no refunds.

It's highly unlikely you will ever see that money again, especially as you have no details for the person.

In future if you buy from Gumtree pay cash on collection and fully test and inspect the item before paying and taking it away.

Hi

So i have done a bit of reserach about opening a Court Case to get my money back despite the scammer giving me fake name and address, i still have his bank account sort code and account number. Apparently this breaches sales of good act 1979 and the breach of contracts act 1985 (contract should be met providing no legal legitimate excuse). Am i able to contact a soliciter to try and issue a warrant and contact his bank to access his residental details? Thanks

Flyonthewall

DamageCase wrote: »

Hi

So i have done a bit of reserach about opening a Court Case to get my money back despite the scammer giving me fake name and address, i still have his bank account sort code and account number. Apparently this breaches sales of good act 1979 and the breach of contracts act 1985 (contract should be met providing no legal legitimate excuse). Am i able to contact a soliciter to try and issue a warrant and contact his bank to access his residental details? Thanks

I'm not sure it's that straight forward.

You have A bank account sort code and account number, who's to say it is the sellers?

RFW

Flyonthewall wrote: »

I'm not sure it's that straight forward.

You have A bank account sort code and account number, who's to say it is the sellers?

Yup. It's also not that hard to get a bank account and sort code under a false name.
The police are the best and probably only option. Even if you find the right person you went get any money back through a court order, someone who uses false names won't be worried about a CCJ and are unlikely to pay up.

DamageCase

RFW wrote: »

Yup. It's also not that hard to get a bank account and sort code under a false name.
The police are the best and probably only option. Even if you find the right person you went get any money back through a court order, someone who uses false names won't be worried about a CCJ and are unlikely to pay up.

Just saying, in the case that the bank account is under his real name (?)

DamageCase

Flyonthewall wrote: »

I'm not sure it's that straight forward.

You have A bank account sort code and account number, who's to say it is the sellers?

Just saying, in the case that the bank account is under his real name (??)

Flyonthewall

DamageCase wrote: »

Just saying, in the case that the bank account is under his real name (??)

You'd have to be certain it is his account though otherwise you'd be suing the wrong person. Not sure how you'd prove it or find out whether it is.

There's also no guarantee you'd get them to pay up anyway.

By the way, one reply is fine. You can quote us both in one post (click the speech bubbles icon on the posts you wish to quote and click quote) or just quote one, it'll be read and replied to by whoever has an answer.

shaun_from_Africa

DamageCase wrote: »

i still have his bank account sort code and account number.

Unless he/she is a serial scammer, I can't see the authorities getting involved in issuing court orders to trace the address of the person concerned for the sake of a one off £100 transaction.
In an ideal world they would but with their limited resources and with the work that will be involved, I doubt if it will happen.

What was the sort code of the bank you paid into?
If it was an offshore account (such as Jersey or Guernsey) then you may as well forget it now as getting personal info about the account holders is extremely difficult in these cases.

GabbaGabbaHey

DamageCase wrote: »

So i have done a bit of reserach about opening a Court Case to get my money back despite the scammer giving me fake name and address, i still have his bank account sort code and account number. Apparently this breaches sales of good act 1979 and the breach of contracts act 1985 (contract should be met providing no legal legitimate excuse). Am i able to contact a soliciter to try and issue a warrant and contact his bank to access his residental details? Thanks

Yes, you can do this - but even the initial consultation will probably cost you more than the £100 you have already lost.

And even if you did manage to get the fraudster's identity, and then managed to get his contact details, and then managed to take him to court and then won the court case, there's still a very high chance that you wouldn't get your money back.

Cut your losses while you can, and stop thinking about involving solicitors.