Fraudster cons victims with fake sale

A COUPLE from Staffordshire have been duped out of £2,000 after falling victim to an online scam when they tried to purchase a Mercedes Sprinter van.

Stephen and Renata Bradeley, from Leek, travelled by train to Cambridgeshire to complete the purchase of the £4,000 van after paying £2,000 up front.

However, on arrival they failed to seal the deal as neither the seller or the van showed up.

English tutor Stephen, 65, said: “I had called the guy and agreed on a price. He told me that somebody else was interested and if I paid him a deposit it was mine.

“I got on my phone, put his details in, and it came up as a bank account match. I paid him 50 per cent upfront and arranged to pick the van up.

“We had two or three conversations on the phone. When we got to Cambridge I messaged him and called him and there was nothing, I started to get a bit worried.

“When we arrived at the address, there was no van and no person.

“We knocked on a neighbour’s house and she instantly shouted to her husband ‘Dave, there’s another one’. It turns out we were the eighth that weekend to pick the same van up.”

All eight victims have now started a Whatsapp group – and even more victims have since come forward.

Action Fraud UK statistics show 16,352 people have fallen victim to online shopping and auction fraud during the coronavirus pandemic.

Now Stephen has criticised Cambridgeshire Police’s response to the crime.

He added: “We went to a police station and it was closed. All I got was to go home and call us again on 161. We had to stay in Cambridge that weekend. It was over £200 on train fares, plus the expense of staying there.

“I haven’t spoken to a policeman at all; it’s impossible and I am furious.

“This guy is taking photographs off the internet of vans he doesn’t own, posting them online, and selling them and he has not ever seen the van.

“He is doing it week after week and the police aren’t doing anything. We were all fools.

“He is a brazen fraudster who knows nobody is going to challenge him. He is not going to get a visit from the police because they don’t seem interested. He has scammed 10 people in two weeks – and how long has this been going on.

“I’d like to sit and speak to a policeman. I’d like them to go to this guy’s house and question him.

“I would like to be pulled over in my car and then give them a piece of my mind. What they will tell you is that they don’t have enough money. They are not doing the job we are paying them to do.

“I feel 100 per cent let down by them. They have done nothing for me and for others.

“I, and the others, are hardworking tax-paying people who are not protected. We all made a mistake and trusted somebody which was stupid but it’s fraud and that’s a crime. Their job is to stop fraud.”

Cambridgeshire Police is investigating the scam – and Stephen’s complaint to the force.

A police spokesman said: “We have received a report of online shopping fraud. The victim told officers that he had bought a vehicle online but when he turned up in person on September 11 to collect it at a house in Cambridge, the seller and the vehicle were nowhere to be found.

“An investigation has been launched and enquiries are ongoing.”

Relating to Stephen’s complaint, the force added: “We have received a complaint in relation to the investigation and are looking into this. We take all reports of fraud, which is a force priority, extremely seriously and do all we can to bring offenders to justice.”