Thetownend.com

I was just doing a search on Autotrader for used cars and saw one come up at a crazy price, 6k, which is about 1/3 of the book price.

Thought it was a mistake or something so I mailed the guy.

He says its coming from spain, it is fully registered in the Uk, RH drive, has full logbook etc. Says he is selling in Uk since no one wants to buy a RH drive car in spain.

He says cost of 6k includes all shipping, shipping insurance.

Payment terms are, I pay money to some group called MSN money, they hold it, then when car arrives, I have 15 day period for inspection, if I am happy with car I give permission to MSN to release funds to seller.

What you reckon? Scam or legit?

Is this a 21st century version of the old Nigerian prince / king scam?

A mahooosive scam. DO NOT TOUCH with a barge pole. Its usually along the lines of being in the services aswell.

Never buy a car without looking at it anyway.

Stay well clear.

thanks sippo, where does the arrangement fall down then out of interest?

Not sure, but paying money to someone where you don't see the product is just wrong. It may well be legite, but is it worth the risk?

Think it was on watchdog or something, some gullible fools fell for it. Payed their money then got nothing, heard nothing.

Have you the link?

Hello there,
I am glad to hear that you are interested to buy my 2008 FORD S-MAX TITANIUM INDIVIDUAL 2.2 TDCi! Although I am registered in the UK,i recently moved to Cadiz, Spain (where my family is from) and the car is being shipped from here. I want to sell it in UK due to the fact that it's an UK version (right handed),it meets all  UK standards.I bought this car from UK and It still has UK registration, so you won't have to pay any import and insurance fees.The car meets all United Kingdom guidelines so there will be no problem regarding UK Customs policy on receiving the car.The car is in perfect condition, the bodywork is immaculate,no scratches, dents or hidden defects as well as the interior in excellent non-smoking condition , never been implied in any accident and it is as advertised .The car comes with log book, HPI cleared, No finance. You will get from me the keys and all documents to register the car in you name.If the car is not how i described it, i will offer a full refund. It will be insured during transportation and will be delivered at your address in maximum 10 days. Final price is GBP 6,000 (the price includes shipping and insurance fees).The price is low because the car is right hand drive in a country where all cars are left hand drive so in the Spain is very difficult to drive this type of vehicle and nobody wants to buy it here in Spain.Instead of keeping it in garage (during this economical crisis), I decided to sell it to someone back in the UK for a really attractive price.I want to take this opportunity to assure you that this deal is 100% legitimate,the deal will be manage by a well known company,in this way both buyer and seller are 100% covered during the steps of this transaction.
Let me know if you need any further details or if you would like to buy my car.
Thank you!





Hello again,
 
The car is in Cadiz and it will be shipped from here to UK.The shipper I will use will deliver the vehicle to your door, you don't have to pick it from the port. Shipping will take 10 days maximum. The car will be shipped in a container; it will be loaded direct into a 20 ft or 40 ft steel shipping container at the port and it will be secured to the flooring rings of the container by ratchet straps and the wheels will be locked into position by wooden chocks, strapping to stop any movement. All vehicles are securely blocked, braced and tied down ensuring absolute security during transportation.

Due to the fact that i am located outside UK and we can not deal in person,i`ve contacted MSN Money regarding this issue and they told me that they could offer to me a program that is created especially for international transactions that protects both of us.
Regarding the transaction, you will send the funds to MSN Money and they will keep the money until you receive the vehicle and test it.In this way both buyer and seller are 100% covered during the steps of this transaction.MSN will hold and insure your money until receipt of the car in good condition. That is how their service is working. As far as the seller concerns, i will be glad to know that MSN is in possession of the funds during the delivery period.
You will be given a 15 days inspection period from the day you receive the car at home( i will ship it to your address insured for full value to you ).
If you decide to keep the car, then you will have to authorize MSN to release the funds to me, and the transaction is complete.If the vehicle is not as described ( perfect interior,exterior,mechanical condition ), you will be able to send the vehicle back through the same shipping company ( return postage at my expense ), and ask MSN to return the money to you.
If you wish to purchase it and agree to these terms i will need you to provide your full name and address. I will then notify MSN and they will contact you to explain the entire procedure.

I will be waiting for your reply as soon as possible

Thank you in advance!

Definately stay well clear.

I've never even heard of an MSN Money account...

Seems well dodge. Reminds me of the companies who phone you up saying they have a buyer for your car, pay 100 quid. Then the deal falls through and you lose your cash. Funny that   

I'm instantly suspicious if people feel the need to tell you it's absolutely definately 100% legitimate.

http://money.uk.msn.com/your-cash/articles.aspx?cp-documentid=151977240

Good work Yeo, don't buy, report to Autotrader and get them removed as well.

well well well.....cheers all...

Send them the link that YEO just put and see what they say!!

String him along a little bit to pass the day...

post his e mail adress,we can have some fun.

A bit like on the excellent http://www.419eater.com/

you have to play with this now, put him to as much inconvenience as possible.

Fucking scammers about is a hobby for some people, there is an excellent website somewhere (don't have the link) where people post their success stories, with the aim to inconvenience them as much as possible. I'd report them to Auto Trader or whoever and then start fucking him over.

you mean the link LucienSanchez posted a few posts previously?

I posted the Powerbook scam bait that some forumers did a while back. That has to be the bestest scamming the scammers ever.

Some bloke got asked to sell his Powerbook by someone on eBay using their fake escrow service. He agreed and sent them a folder cunningly disguised as a computer worth $2k, which they then had to pay import tax of £500 or something, just to get fuck all! :)

An import (even a parallel import from the EU - UK spec) can be a bastard to insure and is invariably more, so it's a bit of a false economy.  That, and it's a scam.

The giveaway quote for the scam artist.

I think advertising a car (or any goods) at way below market price is a dead giveaway. You get what you pay for.

Crikey!!! Although from Spain, shipping, insurance & the admins stuff I'm sure would cost more than 6k alone!

Here follows a public education bulletin, read in the style and character of Billy Paynter:

There are many, many professional looking fake escrow sites out there trying to steal your money !

Since 1 November 2009, with the introduction in the UK of the Payment Services Regulations, escrow services finally come under the auspices of the FSA and HMRC.
You will find genuine escrow companies at the FSA online register at www.fsa.gov.uk/register/psdFirmSearchForm.do (try searching there for 'escrow' as an example) and/or at https://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/msbregister/checkTerms.do (try searching there for 'tru' in the name box and 'NW11' in the postcode box for one such genuine example).

These new online escrow services may offer exactly the service you are looking for, and cost only £3 or so all-in to use.

Beware, there are many, many fraudulent escrow services which look real - even quoting UK addresses, phone numbers and fake FSA & HMRC registration numbers. They look extremely professional, and any money posted to them (or goods sent relying on them) will be lost forever. So only ever work with a firm on the FSA register and/or the HMRC register, which will be safe.

Thanks Billy!

Never trust a scouser with money matters.

Ask the cunt for the registration number and ask him to send you the details on the log book.

Bet you'll never hear from him again.

Ask him:

1. For pictures
2. When pictures arrive, ask for one of the interior or something else that isnt pictured.
3. Then ask him for a picture underneath. Quote something about known problems with something under the car so that he has to scramble around taking a photo
4. See if he'll put roof bars on. Say you'll pay an extra 1k
5. We can think about more later

Cheers Jimmy, and everyone else. I just bought it. Its a cracking deal and drives perfectly. I even knocked him down to £5500