Why Are Some People So Heartless, Nasty And Downright Shocking?

Question

Myself and my GF with our little 9 month old went to Ingoldmells (near Skegness) to buy a caravan that was advertised in Ad-Mag

We bought it for £2,500 cash which was all the money my GF had saved up to give our little man a nice future

The bloke we bought it off told us that it was 12 years old and by the look of it we believed it, and that he wanted to get rid of it as his wife dies last year and it was her that enjoyed it

We paid him for it and off they went

This was on Sunday

Yesterday I introduced myself to the site manager, who looked at me bewildered

he told me that

1 - No caravan is allowed to be sold on the site, only back to the site

2 - The Caravan is 24 years old

3 - The owner had been told after this season the caravan had to come off the site

4 - The owners wife died 10/15 years ago

5 - The caravan at the end of season would only be worth scrap value, at about £100

We tried to ring the owner but his phone has been disconnected now

How can anyone do it?????

Answer 1

i hope bad karma comes back to haunt him, as he had it on site for so long somebody must know him

edit steph...can i put one near you too, aw thanks

Answer 2

omg that's awful!!

I'm not surprised she's gutted, I would be too losing that amount of money

Have you told the police?

Assuming this person was just after a quick bit of money they may not have covered their tracks very well

the police could find out who the mobile was registered to

If you can't afford to take it through the courts then your other option is to involve Trading Standards simply with the complaint of false advertising

do you still have the advert?

If so it can be forwarded to them and they can get onto tracing who put up the advert

Answer 3

That's really terrible, you have my sympathy.  I agree with other posters here, you must take this further.   The site owner must be made to give up the crook's home address, you may qualify for legal aid on a low income, but in any case the small claims court is a good way to get money back.

Only problem I see is that he almost certainly didn't give you a receipt, so he could just turn around and say to the police that you only gave him £100 and it's your word against his.

I bought a car once, only £500, drove it for a few days and the exhaust totally fell off - too expensive to repair so had it scrapped - would have been cheaper to hire a limo for those few days.

Let this be a warning to everyone, never give cash to strangers to purchase things that you haven' t had professionally checked out first.

Answer 4

Aw Paul, really sorry to hear that, maybe you will get some luck through the photographs.

Wicked, wicked people, but remember, 'what goes round comes around', I know that is no help now, but they will get their comeuppance.

Answer 5

Doesn't surprise me, not in this age, trust no one!!

Answer 6

Well, now you will know better next time. Learn the lesson this mistake teaches. There have always been and always will be scammers. Beware. Did not anyone ever tell you this?

Answer 7

I am so sorry to hear of your plight you were so excited about it too, well I hope the evil gits choke on it, unfortunately this type of thing has always happened and will continue to do so , we all need to be very aware when buying from strangers.

Answer 8

Go to your local council, the trading standards department. They should be willing to help you trach down this cretin! He made false claims and you in turn can take him to a 'small claims court' as the item is under £5000. The trading standards and police should help you - if not contact a legal aid solicitor and bung that onto the court charges which this creep will have to pay! The  bas***d! NAIL HIM! Don't let him get away with this even if you have to ask the court to sell his home to get your money back - he thought nothing of cheating you and lying to you!

Going through the small claims court initially costs you £50 but when you win he will also be required to pay this - or send in the BAILIFFS!

The number of times people tried rubbish like this when i was in business makes me feel sick, but we always got our money - it was too damned hard earned!

Answer 9

At one time people were trustworthy and you could actually believe what they said. Now days it's hard to tell and you basically can't trust anyone especially when it comes to money. Rule of thumb is to ask for printed proof of anything anyone advertises in a transfer of money deal. If they have misrepresented the sale then file suite. There are some people who are completely heartless.

Answer 10

That's awful. Some people in this world are just so heartless, it just shows how nasty people in this world can be. The Bible says "The human heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked." Its so true.

I hope things pick up for you both though and that you get a good caravan for your family. :)

Answer 11

Michael P   is right, contact also the CAB for advice on your next move, they can put you into contact with legal advisors which shouldn't cost you anything. Good luck

Answer 12

I really hope this isn't true. What a terrible thing to do. I hope you get the b*****d! Scum, that's what they are!

Answer 13

There are some truly heartless people out thee who are only interested in making a quick buck at innocent people's expense. I feel for you and your girlfriend, that was a nasty and cruel thing to do. I hope you get your money back somehow, or that at least this evil pair get their comeuppance.

Answer 14

Oh well you know what they say???

Answer 15

its called greed its a human trait

Answer 16

Caveat Emptor.

You're almost certainly covered under the Trades Description legislation. Hopefully you have a receipt, but even if not, it might be worth contacting the Trading Standards Dept - there must surely be some record of the owner and you should be able to get your money back by threatening him with court action (the small claims court - it won't cost you much).

Good luck.

Answer 17

EVIL fookin  b*****d. I hope the money chokes him somehow.

I can give you a place for the caravan, thats no problem just let me know,  but in the meantime,  I think you need to try Trading Standards and Citizens Advice. Dont let this drop.

Edit: 'As seen' can be disputed, especialy as it has conditions to be off site within the year. CAB needs to hear this.

Answer 18

Oh my gosh! I wish I could give you a big hug and make it all go away but I can't so here is a virtual hug *hugs*. You should phone the police and make the most of the caravan. Put it at a site for a bit of money each month and do it up. You could have some special memories in it if you try! Your baby will understand in the future, these things happen if you can't do it up just move on. It could of happened to anyone. I hope I have been of some help! Good luck x

Answer 19

I believe i sent you an E mail asking if there was anything i could help you with as my family had been in caravans and caravan transporting for many years.Still sorry to here it though,but all sites work on a sell back to site owner ,with private sites,as they take there percentage of sale.Its also customary now to remove  a caravan at 25 years old ,with once again the site owner providing the new van.All vans have a chassis plate on the tow bar giving year of manufacture,especially the older ones like Pemberton ,Shannon or Willerby.Again,sorry.

Answer 20

ok, focus on the positives, you have his handwriting, a photograph and a site manager who i'm sure can help somehow. maybe he remembers having a conversation with them and they mentioned something that could be of use? like where/if they work...

do not let them get away with this. you're dead right though, you wouldn't expect someone to heartlessly scam you out of money when you have a beautiful baby in your arms. but I guess you just have to remember that these people are scum and will do anything.

best of luck to you both and I hope you get the b*stards. if not, karma will hopefully run them over with a truck!

Answer 21

Sorry about that Paul especially with your little man-we have all been duped sometime in our lives but we live and learn from it. Hope it gets sorted out

Answer 22

Maybe you should get married?

How can people make babies and not be married?

I hope that you get my point.

Answer 23

You should inform the police about this. That is a disgraceful way for someone to behave. It may be worth asking the site owner for the man's address I would say that he must have it, if he doesn't give it to you he will have to provide the police with it.

I think that this man is the lowest form of human and I am sorry that this has happened to you and your girlfriend. I wish you the best of luck in tracking down the con man.

Answer 24

I would find him and break his legs.

Answer 25

God that is just awful, I hope someone here knows a way you can get some satisfaction and that is the important thing really. Tell the GF not to feel so bad.

Answer 26

That's disgusting. Just confirms my belief that in general people are selfish and heartless.

If you could get your Caravan up to Scotland I can see if you can leave it somewhere for the winter.

Answer 27

That's horrible.  What did the police say?

Answer 28

This is happening more and more. A few months back my daughter asked me to check a car she'd seen advertised, when she gave me the phone number I rang the seller and asked for his landline number, he said he didn't have one, I asked his address but he didn't know his post code, so I refused to drive 70 miles, I wasn't happy with him, and then my daughter wasn't happy with me. Her friend bought it and it turned out it was a ringer or something, she lost £3000+ as the car now belonged to the insurance company.