Beware of this scam

My nephew was selling one of his bikes for £2000 on the internet. Someone in Buxton contacted him, asking if he could bring the bike there, about 40 miles from my nephew’s home in Manchester, and that his dad would transfer the money into his bank account. So my nephew took the bike on a trailer and found the address which was at the top of a cul-de-sac.

In the front garden was a man talking to a young lad. The lad came over to inspect the bike and, after they had got it off the trailer, asked if he could hear the engine running. He sat on the bike (with no helmet on), put it in gear and set off up the narrow passageway at the top of the cul-de-sac. Thinking that the lad was just taking it for a test ride, my nephew went over to the man, believing that it was the lad’s dad as this was the address he’d been given. The man claimed that he didn’t know the boy and that he had come out to see what he wanted as he’d been loitering about.

Buxton police were not very helpful and said that this was not the first time such a thing had been reported in Buxton. The bike would most likely have the number plates changed, stripped down for parts or found burned out. It is very unlikely that the insurance will pay out as he let the lad sit on the bike with the engine running. Sellers, beware of this type of scam that is going on.

JM Hollingworth, Manchester

While it’s easy to have hindsight, we would always say, make the buyer come to you. If they want the bike enough, they will travel. It’s always better to be on your own ‘territory’. Always be extremely wary of test rides and ask for some security first, such as full payment, the buyer’s car keys or his wife!