Bridle scam on Preloved?

Nudibranch

Nudibranch

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I bought a Sabre bridle on Preloved last week. Stupidly perhaps, I paid via bank transfer to her account. No sign of the bridle, and the seller seems to be ignoring my messages. Is there anything I can do or have they fleeced me?!
 
Sadly it sounds quite probable you have been fleeced. I have heard of this sort of fraud before. Dont think there is anything you can do, see if the Police are interested. It may be they have done this before. Have heard of people losing money this way involving horse trailers too. Paypal is supposed to be a safer way of buying items. Hope you havent lost a large amount
 
probobly is a scam, is there a contact number on the add/profile or do they have any other items for sale? saddly it seems lately lots of people (my OH included) have had issues with paypal holding money for a vast array of reasons it seems so sellers are switching back to bank transfers which is even more risky for buyers :(
 
Slightly odd as they are offering postage or collection. No contact number but then I wouldnt put mine on either. I have her name and bank details but suppose thats not much use! There are a few items including a horse for loan...they seem genuine enough but obviously not.
 
set up another preloved account or ask a friend with one to message about another item or horse for loan and see if they reply, if they dont they could be on holliday maybe?
 
I'd tell the police... You have her name and bank details which is enough to track her down and you have proof you sent her money and presumably some record of what you thought you were buying and that she said she'd send it?
 
Report to preloved.
You can send a letter to their bank, requesting they forward it to the account Holder.
Also, contact Action Fraud, they will take a note of everything and if it's somethign that happens frequently enough to will look into it more.
I send a cheque to anyone refusing PayPa and wait for it to clear. That way, you have an address and take further action if needs be.
 
A bit unfair to assume it is a scam. She could have sent it and it got lost or delayed in the post. Have you contacted your local sorting office to see if they have it? Postmen do not always remember to leave a card if you are out. Maybe she does not check messages or email regularly. Emails from Preloved only say you have received a message and it is easy to ignored if she is busy and the item is sold and been sent. Unless she goes on Preloved she will not know it is a query about a missing item. I suggest you email directly if you have the email address. Ask how it was sent, there may be a courier website with a tracking number where you could Chase progress with them. With Preloved you cannot add a phone number to the advert, there is nothing suspicious that it is not there. Either phone number or email is made available to people who contact the seller which for the first week or so is only fully paid up Preloved members who can contact. If she was offering collection on the bridle it is unlikely she has set out to scam anybody. Likewise bank transfer is used by lots of people not just scammers. If it is lost in the post seller might choose not refund you, after all one of you has to lose out in that situation, but that is not the same as being scammed. I think you are being a bit harsh to assume a scam.
 
Do many people steer away from PayPal now then as sellers ? I too am wary about bank transfer as well, I recently saw an item on preloved, made an offer on it, arranged postage all sorted, she directed me to her facebook page as well (which I was a bit ?? about as I couldn't see the relevance but anyway) I then asked for her paypal address so I could send the money and was told 'Sorry I don't do PayPal, here are my bank details or I will take a cheque.' Which as the item I am buying is the other end of the country so I couldn't exactly call around to collect I was bit 'Hmm no thanks' because if she chooses not send the item then I am out a considerable sum (£230) and I decided it wasn't worth the risk. However I do understand that there are unscrupulous buyers out there as well who deem that it was not fit for purpose or the item didn't turn up or whatever and they get to the keep the item as well as the their cash !
 
OP if you are in Scotland report to Police Scotland, if you have had no contact or goods, you have been the victim of fraud... You have lost your money.

If your down south report to respective Police force, some may try to fob you off as they are so inundated with this kind of thing. But it is a criminal matter and should be dealt with as such. Doesn't matter if it's £20 or £2000.

If seller was genuine they would have been in touch if there was a problem at their end or refunded you etc. good luck. Let us know how you get on.
 
Oh dear, sounds like it could be a scam.

I recently sold a saddle on Preloved and I made sure that I was really 'on it' with keeping the buyer informed as I had to post the saddle to them quite some distance away and I didn't want them to worry.

If the advert is still live, can you get someone else to contact them and say they'll collect to get an address out of them?
 
A week is not very long to wait for parcel to arrive. Person could be on holiday, ill or god knows what else.

I used to work away from home, so it could take a while to get the item wrapped up and in the post.
 
I've enquired about a couple of items for sale on Preloved recently and both buyers wanted bank transfers. I have ended up sending a bank transfer for one of the items due to its low value but have lots of doubts about paying this way due to recent scams. I certainly wouldn't risk more than I could afford to lose paying by this method. Paypal is so expensive for sellers though so I can understand why people don't want to use it anymore.
 
Hopefully its not the same scam I got caught by which was a pic and description of a Sabre bridle and an ancient indian cardboard stiff one turning up (eventually) luckily I paid by paypal

When buying from preloved I offer to cover the fees if the seller will accept paypal, the item needs to be a good price to allow for this though. Sometimes you can even suggest this to gauge their reaction, if they say no you have to ask why
 
fredflop said:
A week is not very long to wait for parcel to arrive. Person could be on holiday, ill or god knows what else.

I used to work away from home, so it could take a while to get the item wrapped up and in the post.
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Yes, they could be any of those, but they haven't contacted the buyer and said so. I bought an item on Ebay on Monday afternoon and it is due to be delivered to me today. Seller has kept me informed throughout.
 
ester said:
I don't understand why anyone would pay for things by bank transfer?! Sorry OP but that is just nuts!
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I've found a lot of people on Preloved want to be paid by bank transfer now and won't take PayPal - it's put me off as I want to be able to get my money back should I be scammed, as even if it is fraud - I think the chances of you getting your money back are highly highly unlikely :(
 
fatpiggy said:
Yes, they could be any of those, but they haven't contacted the buyer and said so. I bought an item on Ebay on Monday afternoon and it is due to be delivered to me today. Seller has kept me informed throughout.
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I'd highly doubt you would be worried about sending messages if your in a hospital bed...
 
fredflop said:
I'd highly doubt you would be worried about sending messages if your in a hospital bed...
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A tad fanciful. Most people can't be separated from the mobiles for more than 3 seconds so would likely be surfing from their sick bed and thus able to respond. Alternatively you ask a relative to do so on your behalf.
 
Hi there, we would like to make other riders aware of the risk of such scams through a news story in Horse & Hound. Could you please email me your contact details? My address is rachael.hook@timeinc.com. Many thanks, Rachael (Horse & Hound news writer/digital sub editor)
 
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