Mr L contacted Phoenix Solicitors in January 2024 after falling victim to a purchase scam in January 2023. Mr L was originally looking to purchase a van to use as both his everyday vehicle and a work vehicle as his previous van had broken. Mr L searched on eBay for a replacement van, eBay being a reputable buying and selling platform. Mr L came across a private seller listing a 2016 model Ford Transit Crew Cab van for £7,000.00 which he decided he was interested in buying.
The van was reasonably priced, and Mr L saw nothing to suggest the advert was disingenuous. Mr L then conducted an online check on the van which showed that the van was road-worthy and had a valid MOT.
False Reassurances and Pressures
The scammer placed pressure on Mr L informing him that he had a number of other potential buyers and if he wanted to purchase the van then he must do so quickly. This left Mr L with no time to view the van in person however, the scammer explained that he could provide delivery of the van and a 24 hour refund guarantee if he was unhappy with the van upon arrival which put Mr L’s mind at ease.
The scammer then provided a link to your customer which redirected him to a fake PayPal payment page. The link was provided by email, on a professional invoice showing the item, price and your customers full name and delivery details. However, after making payment the van never arrived and Mr L found that the advert was taken down and he had no way of contacting scammer.
This scam resulted in Mr L being left with no choice but to hire a company van to use on a temporary basis if he wanted to continue working, however, this came with a bill of £200.00 per week. Mr L could not afford the additional charge after losing almost all of his savings.
Legal Intervention
Mr L initially reported the scam to Lloyds himself who then provided a partial refund of 50% as they believed Mr L should have done more to ensure the Van was genuine. Phoenix Solicitors disagreed with the bank’s decision prepared a formal letter of complaint to Lloyds providing detailed arguments highlighting were the bank had failed in their duty to protect Mr L from this scam as well as supporting evidence to show that Mr L had done all he could to protect himself.
Lloyds then provided a response explaining they agree with Phoenix Solicitor’s arguments and can see just how convincing the scammer was and therefore, they do not believe Mr L was at fault. Lloyds have since provided Mr L with the previously outstanding loss of £3,500.50 plus 8% interest and £75.00 compensation for the inconvenience caused.
Mr L’s claim was dealt with by Rebecca Beesley, a trainee Solicitors with experience in online scams, financial scams, push purchase scams, romance scams and more.
Have you fallen victim to a similar scam or financial fraud?
If you have fallen victim to a scam or financial fraud then get in touch with Rebecca so can talk you through the process and what we can do to help.
You can email Rebecca on rb@phoenixlegalsolicitors.co.uk or call her on 01513063694.