Pistonheads taking control of a sale ?

[Dez212]

Hello everyone names Daniel im 22 from south wales im new to the site as of 5 mins ago as i have a question to ask everyone.

i have used pistonheads since i turned 17 for both buying and selling and has proved a very good site

anyway i have been away for 4 months now and saved some money so i been looking for a car and came across somthing very good i messaged the owner asking a few questions and a viewing when possible and this is the reply i had back

Hi,

The car is still available for sale,it is in extremely good condition,100% HPI Clear,full service history.Currently I am on a business trip to Australia and will have to stay here for about 6 months (this is why I am selling the car )
I left the car in PistonHeads custody and they will handle the sale for me.The V5 log book is already signed on my behalf,the car will come with 2 keys,all service records and previous MOT's. PistonHeads will deliver the car directly to your home address and I will pay all delivery expenses.
I am waiting your reply if still interested.
Regards

i was rather confused as i have never hered of this serivce via pistonheads and wanted to ask everyone before i get into somthing that i shouldnt

Thanks Dez212

[shakotan]

Dez212 said:

Hello everyone names Daniel im 22 from south wales im new to the site as of 5 mins ago as i have a question to ask everyone.

i have used pistonheads since i turned 17 for both buying and selling and has proved a very good site

anyway i have been away for 4 months now and saved some money so i been looking for a car and came across somthing very good i messaged the owner asking a few questions and a viewing when possible and this is the reply i had back

Hi,

The car is still available for sale,it is in extremely good condition,100% HPI Clear,full service history.Currently I am on a business trip to Australia and will have to stay here for about 6 months (this is why I am selling the car )
I left the car in PistonHeads custody and they will handle the sale for me.The V5 log book is already signed on my behalf,the car will come with 2 keys,all service records and previous MOT's. PistonHeads will deliver the car directly to your home address and I will pay all delivery expenses.
I am waiting your reply if still interested.
Regards

i was rather confused as i have never hered of this serivce via pistonheads and wanted to ask everyone before i get into somthing that i shouldnt

Thanks Dez212

A common and very obvious scam.

pistonheads do not get directly involved with any classified ad transactions.

[Big Al.]

Sounds like a scam to me, I'll move thread and flag it up someone will get back to you ASAP.

[Dez212]

thank you! the car seamed far too cheap and too good to be true i knew it but the problem is you want to belive that it isnt

what is the aim of this scam are they going to ask for money via paypal then never show up or ?

[williamp]

dont worry, its perfectly legit. At the moment I have the Mclaren F1 in my garage and a 355 GTS on the road outside.

Its quite an old service, so maybe you need to be here a while before you get invited???

[Kinky]

Please read this:
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/fraudwarnings.asp

[Dez212]

mmmm the car is priced for £2500 so i dont think they have been invited from pistonheads for this service isit worth putting the advert up here for everyone to see or would that be a breach of trust between myself and the owner

[Stuart]

Hi Dez,

This is definitely a scam, and you should immediately cease all contact with the seller and DO NOT send any money.

There's more information available about the main types of scam at www.vstag.co.uk, but essentially this is known as an "invisible car" scam in which the seller will come up with a very plausible reason why you can't see the vehicle, the price will be low, and they'll also confer some legitimacy and safety around the purchase by (completely incorrectly) describing how PistonHeads will "handle the sale" or even offer ESCROW services.

As the chap who is in overall charge of PistonHeads I can assure you that we DO NOT get involved in either handling money or delivering cars in any way shape or form, and whenever you have a seller tell you this then it is definitely a scam.

Could you do me a favour and hit the report button on the ad concerned, or PM me with the URL so that we can get it taken down?

Cheers,

Stuart

[Dez212]

hi stuart thanks for the help im glad i did some reserach and spoke to everyone i acutally feel sick that i got suckered into this and might have ended up losing alot of money.

i just tried to email you and it says that new members cant email for the first 24 hours so i will report the advert

dez-212

[Dez212]

just recived an email.

Hi,

I am afraid PistonHeads doesn't organize viewings.There a lot of timewasters and tyre kickers out there just wanting to test drive not to buy and this is why PH doesn't organize viewings.
This is how the transaction is going to take place :
To verify you are a serious person and genuinely interested in purchasing the car you will first have to send the 2.500.00 pounds by bank to bank wire transfer to a PistonHeads managed account.
As soon as the payment is received and verified PistonHeads will deliver the car to your address and offer you a 24 hrs inspection of the car.
If you will decide you want to keep the car PistonHeads will forward your payment in my bank account and the sale is concluded.If you will reject the car PistoHeads will refund your payment into your bank account and collect the car from you (absolutely no extra charges for you).
During the 24 hrs inspection period you can take the car to a garage or have it RAC/AA inspected,I absolutely welcome any checks you want to perform on the car and documents.
This is a 100% secure system for both buyer and the seller because I will receive your payment only after the car is delivered and inspected by you.
I used to work in the car sales business and I`ve used PH Buyer Protection to complete distance sales all the time,it is very very easy to use and absolutely safe for both buyer and seller.
I can organize the sale anytime this week,all I need is your full name,address and contact phone number(s)
I look forward to your reply and hopefully to a smooth sale
Dennise

[Stuart]

Unbelievably, people do fall for it..

[jaime27]

RE: Undervalued vehicle i.e. bargain price-offered on Gumtree-with 'guarantee' through PISTONHEADS !!!!!!!

SCAM ALERT - DIALOGUE AS FOLLOWS:

Hi,

The car is still available for sale,it is in extremely good condition,100% HPI Clear,full service history.Currently I am on a business trip to Australia and will have to stay here for about 6 months (this is why I am selling the car and I am looking for a fast sale to finance the Australian project )
I left the car in PistonHeads custody and they will handle the sale for me.The V5 log book is already signed on my behalf,the car will come with 2 keys,all service records and previous MOT's. PistonHeads will deliver the car directly to your home address and I will pay all delivery expenses.
I am waiting your reply if still interested.
Regards
Thelma

THEN...:next email following my positive response:

Hi,

I am afraid PistonHeads doesn't organize private viewings.There a lot of timewasters and tyre kickers out there just wanting to test drive not to buy and this is why PH doesn't organize viewings.
This is how the transaction is going to take place :
To verify you are a serious person and genuinely interested in purchasing the car you will first have to send the £2.800.00 by bank to bank wire transfer to a PistonHeads managed account.
As soon as the payment is received and verified PistonHeads will deliver the car to your address and offer you a 24 hrs inspection of the car.
If you will decide you want to keep the car PistonHeads will forward your payment in my bank account and the sale is concluded.If you will reject the car PistoHeads will refund your payment into your bank account and collect the car from you (absolutely no extra charges for you).
During the 24 hrs inspection period you can take the car to a garage or have it RAC/AA inspected,I absolutely welcome any checks you want to perform on the car and documents.
This is a 100% secure system for both buyer and the seller because I will receive your payment only after the car is delivered and inspected by you.
I used to work in the car sales business and I`ve used PH Buyer Protection to complete distance sales all the time,it is very very easy to use and absolutely safe for both buyer and seller.
I can organize the sale anytime this week,all I need is your full name,address and contact phone number(s)
I look forward to your reply and hopefully to a smooth sale
Thelma

BEWARE ...! ALWAYS APPLY 'CAVEAT EMPTOR' BEFORE BEING DUPED BY A 'TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE' AD.

These people are leeches of the lowest kind.

Jaime

[Shaw Tarse]

Have you got a link to the ad? The PH mods/ management may want to look into it.

[jaime27]

Can't seem to find it anymore! What a surprise!
Quite often on ebay or autotrader I usually just 'report'.
Just thought I'd let you know as these scams often rely on bone fide sites - such as pistonheads - to relay
a sense of trust. I have found one in the past that asks the prospective buyer to pay monies to "Yahoo-finance.com"
which of course insinuates that Yahoo are involved. They are NOT.
Will keep an eye open though
Cheers
Jaime
PS Hope no-one has been duped by these.?

[Kinky]

PH is a key part of VSTAG

You can see the members at the bottom of the homepage. And they all work with each other to combat all these scams. But bottom line - buyer beware

[stirlo]

i've just had contact with the dodgy seller in Australia. Wanted money sent to a piston heads managed holding account. Luckily I read the forum and found that it was a common fraud.

[FraserLFA]

stirlo said:

i've just had contact with the dodgy seller in Australia. Wanted money sent to a piston heads managed holding account. Luckily I read the forum and found that it was a common fraud.

It's obviously going to be the up and coming scam for a month or two. Just make sure you report the ad

[Garlick]

I think you might be right, but please be assured that we ARE looking at measures to stop this (including talking to the police).

Stuart has been dealing with it quite extensively today, but in the meantime please be on your guard.

[Pooky67]

What car was it? I recently replied to an advert for a Seat Leon Cupra R and had exactly the same response from the seller. Word for word.

[SkunkWorkz]

I recently enquired about an R32 on here and got exactly that same response!

Mine was from this person.

anne hope [[e-mail]]