Another Scammer?

Phil the Brit

Member
Messages
1,499
So currently have my Maserati Coupe 4200 up for sale on Pistonheads
He offered me £8000 without seeing it then................
This is a couple of emails that I have had since I declined his offer....................

I am removing my original post here as I do not have any proof that this person tried to scam me. Another person on here has vouched for him so I am prepared to give the person the benefit of the doubt. After reading his emails some forum members thought it was a scam the same as I did. His emails were unusual to say the least.
 
Last edited:

RobinL

Member
Messages
456
Setting up a separate bank account such as Starling with a zero overdraft limit takes a minute or two and can help protect your real accounts.
Although there isn't a visible scam at this point all the verbiage points in that direction.
I guess the trusted mechanic will turn up with a bank draft greater than the value of the car.
Cash the draft, pay the 'overpayment to mechanic' to cover his expenses. Hand over keys.
10 days later draft is recalled from the bank as a fraudulent draft....,

Sent from my ONEPLUS A5010 using Tapatalk
 

allandwf

Member
Messages
10,958
Sure it's not just bad translation from Italian via Google Translate? May not be a scam....yet.
 

dgmx5

Member
Messages
1,142
Not a scam, he knows too much about the brand, but not a great offer. And a true collector will know the value, he just wants it cheap.
 

Twinspark

Member
Messages
460
I think its a scam, as @CatmanV2 said, its a matter of time before he brings up bank transfers or some odd Paypal transaction.

Dealing with a scammer generally always feels a bit funny, I’d avoid the risk and just wait on the sale.
 
Messages
308
On a serious note regarding this thread, what do you all think is the best “risk-free or reduced risk” way to buy and sell cars if there is no franchised “dealer” you are transacting with?

when I mean “risk free or reduced risk”, I am referring to:
  • personal risk
  • financial risk (I.e you somehow lose money/cash)
  • Asset Risk (I.e you buy a car that the seller is not legally able to sell (and gets taken back by the real owner) or your car somehow gets “stolen” in the selling cycle) - clearly all linked to financial risk somehow...

I am building something to solve all of this borne out of the combination of the experience of the many cars I have bought and sold, the current world we live in today and the technology that is now available to us....

.. just want to make sure I take all views and angles in so I have everything covered..

Cheers!!

Stu
 

lifes2short

Member
Messages
5,821
just need to use your common sense most of the time, i was selling one of my cars a couple of years ago and one scam is a husband and wife team that seem really genuine and transfer money there and then in your house on a tablet and then think they can take the keys, all sounds genuine until you check your account and nothing there and/or it's sent as a delayed payment (not fully cleared) and can be recalled by the buyer within 3 days, i checked with my bank 3 times whilst the the pair were still in my house who were insisting it had been sent and still nothing, wasted 3 hours of my time with the bar stewards, smelling a rat they were duly evicted from the premises, moral of story is don't let your car go anywhere until you have physically checked the money has fully cleared in your account no matter how nice/genuine the buyer sounds/looks
 
Messages
308
That’s awesome and many thanks for that comment. That’s exactly what I experienced and made me go on this path to setting up this new business.

What most people do not realise is that under the UK open banking rules, any payment Is subjected to the fraud and risk checks which means that nearly all of the time, even if the money is in your bank account and you see it as a line item, it is not cleared funds. Nearly nobody realises this and you can be duped into thinking that the money is in your account and it is not or if it is, it is not cleared and that is a major problem with transfers subjected to the fraud and risk checks which means that nearly all of the time, even if the money is in your bank account and you see it as a line item, it is not cleared funds. Nearly nobody realises this and you can be duped into thinking that the money is in your account and it is not or if it is, it is not cleared and that is a major problem with the fraud.

So with the best will in the world, the easiest way to ensure that you 100% receive the payment for the agreed price is that you have 100% of the transfer in your account and it has passed all of the risk and fraud checks which can take up to 24 hours.

If you were a buyer would you be happy to wait for that period of time for the risk and fraud check to go through where you have given up your funds to somebody you do not know and they (as a seller) have not passed a risk of fraud check yourself and then only when the seller states that the money is in their account and cleared, can you then go and collect the car and the keys?
 
Messages
308
One example, when Stan (Slay on here) bought my Strad, he could not transfer the agreed price to me at the same time as me giving him the keys, the documents and the car.

We even both went into HSBC in Canary Wharf together and we are both HSBC account holders and we were told that he could not transfer the full amount in one go as cleared and validated funds.

This meant that I had to make the decision to let him have the car and for the final balance of payments to be split over three tranches over three days and although I like to trust people and yes it was proven that he is a pillar of the community and trustworthy, I did not know that at the time and had to make that decision on the spot.

The same as happened for cars I have sold for lesser amount so there was not that problem because of the size of the transaction for the Maserati/Strad where I have made people transfer the money to me and I would not let them come and pick up the car until the funds have cleared after 24 hours of transfer. That was a tough discussion with them but I held firm because as the seller, I did not want to take the burden of risk. Unfortunately, I put the risk on the buyer but what could I do?
 

RobinL

Member
Messages
456
Unfortunately the trust issue affects both sides of the deal. Are you happy to transfer and clear large quantities of money and trust the car is there for you to pick up?
Cash still works for me. Even large quantities of it. The only risk then is keeping SWMBO out of the safe!
But seriously, a utility bill, a bank statement and a driving licence, for both parties, goes a long way to reassuring each other that there is a genuine deal to be had.

Sent from my ONEPLUS A5010 using Tapatalk
 
Messages
308
Completely agree that the “trust” issue is on both sides, buyer and seller.....

My service goes a lot further than just utility bills...

Complete, immutable and secure payment and asset transfer at point of sale...

All verified and reconciled between Bank account details, driving licence, passport and V5C.....
 

philw696

Member
Messages
25,114
I must have been Lucky over the years especially having moved across the World twice and having to sell more than one vehicle in a short time frame.
The hardest one to sell was my £1000 Ford Transit back in 2014 as it just kept attracting pikeys so in the end I drove it down to the Scrapyard and they gave me a very good price for it with no hassle at all.
 

Phil the Brit

Member
Messages
1,499
For the same reason as my original post I am removing my original post here as I do not have any proof that this person tried to scam me. Another person on here has vouched for him so I am prepared to give the person the benefit of the doubt. After reading his emails some forum members thought it was a scam the same as I did. His emails were unusual to say the least.
 
Last edited:

CatmanV2

Member
Messages
48,547
Totally don't get it. Plenty of other cars for sale. Why yours?

Got to be a scam somewhere.

C
 

Zep

Moderator
Messages
9,110
Silly question. Have you actually spoken to Lorenzo? His English seems pretty good.

But, on balance, this is a scam. Converting to LHD? No. Both he and his mechanic are in quarantine? No, Italy is doing well at the moment.

Do you know his surname?
Do you know where he lives? Even roughly?
Has he given details of how he will transport the car (carriers etc).
The email address is very generic and throw away. And doesn’t feature anywhere else on the web

You could challenge him on this, or just block him and move on. It’s almost certainly not real.
 
Last edited:

Phil the Brit

Member
Messages
1,499
Never spoken to him, only ever had emails.
I personally am pretty sure it is a scam although he does seem to know Maserati's.
 
Last edited:

Wanderer

Member
Messages
5,791
Sounds a bit dodgy, he knows what a V5(C) is and that must be BS about converting from RHD to LHD, how much would that cost? As much as the value of the car at the very least and for what? If he doesn't have time to view he won't have time to drive either.