I got scammed

[T6Ollie]

Hello folks, I’m new here and currently trying to buy a T6. I will introduce myself in the newbie area but I just wanted to warn everyone about a scammer on eBay, if you are looking at this one, it is 100% a scam - I know because I fell for it

I’ve reported it to eBay but they don’t care.

Pardon our interruption...

 

[JDC]

Hello and welcome. Looks a good van, what happened??

 

[Chippie1]

I would of been wary of price it’s to cheap
Sorry to hear you got scammed tho

 

[T6Ollie]

I paid a £4.5k deposit, got insurance, travelled all the way to the provided address (on the train) but the van didn’t exist and the address although real wasn’t for someone with a van to sell. Feel like an idiot but I’ve reported it to the relevant authorities etc

 

[JDC]

Wow. What have ebay done? Why is it still listed then??

 

[Chippie1]

Did you pay the money without seeing it?
That’s a hefty deposit to put down

 

[drinfinity]

Sorry to hear you got done.
There are a lot of flags on that listing.
Seller account created Jan 2025
No other items for sale
No feedback
Very cheap van

Then - Private seller asks for a large deposit before even showing the van, and you paid?

How did you pay? Bank transfer, PayPal?

 

[F2JON]

I paid a £4.5k deposit, got insurance, travelled all the way to the provided address (on the train) but the van didn’t exist and the address although real wasn’t for someone with a van to sell. Feel like an idiot but I’ve reported it to the relevant authorities etc

Get onto your bank you should be able to get your money back through them , I did when I got scammed on eBay .

 

[T6ChrisO]

Advert reported

 

[JumpShip]

Hi Ollie and welcome ,
I hope you can get your money back and turn this experience into nothing more than a steep learning curve.
Don't pay ANYTHING before seeing any van in the flesh .
scammers will try pressure you for money and push you for making decisions now, now,now ..don't fall for any of it .
We paid the extra and bought our van from a vw main dealer cuz it's the only way I was happy it was legit.
Anyway good luck in finding 'the one' , I'm sure it's out there somewhere.

 

[TheGrapeEscape]

Hi Bud, Welcome to the forum.

Be VERY careful on eBay. My van i bought was on there 3 weeks after with same pics/write up etc. I had to report it to police as it was on there 6 times with different scammers.

 

[Deaky]

Here is the correct advert from a reverse look up on the photo on ebay. Correct price 20k

2019 Volkswagen Transporter 2.0 TDI T30 Highline DSG FWD SWB Euro 6 (s/s) 5dr for sale in

Blue Volkswagen Transporter 2.0 TDI T30 Highline DSG FWD SWB Euro 6 (s/s) 5dr for sale in for £20,695, ready to be test driven locally or delivered nationwide

choosemycar.com

 

[T6Ollie]

Thanks for the advice and concern everyone, I have learnt my lesson for sure - I always thought "they'd never get me" but alas I got caught up in the whirlwind and excitement of finding a van in the spec I wanted and it all went wrong from there. As pointed out, there are clearly lots of red flags that I didn't see in the moment. I am talking to my bank about it. The original advert from ebay is gone but I have screenshots (attached) you can see the username and phone number are different compared to the current advert.

@Deaky - that's a good find, I tried a reverse lookup and didn't see that!

 

[TheGrapeEscape]

Here's my van that was on ebay after I bought mine. Same thing

0 feedback
Cheap
New ebay account

I paid £24,000 for mine, it was on ebay for £6,500

Thread 'eBay Scammers' eBay Scammers

 

[DaveD]

Please, please, everybody, NEVER EVER pay a deposit for a van you've never seen.
I've bought more than a dozen vehicles over the last 10 years, I never pay a deposit until I've driven it, I've been asked and always refuse.
I've had the old chestnut, "but there's somebody else interested, if you pay a deposit it's secured" nonsense too, I don't and I've never missed out on a vehicle I wanted.

 

[TheGrapeEscape]

I've just messaged the seller, to see what their response is. I'll see what shit they come up with.

 

[astronautninja]

I do hope you get your money back but paying 4.5 grand to an individual is crackers

 

[jimc91]

Have you contacted the true owners and let them know?
Being a car dealer they will probably get onto eBay to get some action

 

[F2JON]

I do hope you get your money back but paying 4.5 grand to an individual is crackers

If it was anything like my scam, I was sent a legitimate looking invoice , there was no way of telling it apart from the genuine eBay emails , it even took me to what looked like the pay pal page to pay. there’s some clever people out there. I don’t buy off eBay or Facebook anymore without collecting in person.

 

[Sackmycook]

I've had a similar experience in the past few days. Had an email from someone who said they had seen my interest in another van on Motors.co.uk.
Then offered me their T6.1 fully converted camper with low miles for 28k.
I googled the photos supplied which was identical to a van at a private dealer in the South, up for £44k.