A few weeks ago I posted on the classified forum looking for a roof harness for my XF to retrofit come features.

The following daya member of this forum sent me a PM, saying he knew someone who’d have that cable harness for sale. I contacted the indicated address and got an email with a link to images showing the correct cable harness with the offer to pick it up in Grenada MS or have it shipped. I choose to have it shipped and we settled on a price including shipping. I wired the money to the fellow's bank in Grenada. That was right before Christmas. I was not too worried when the shipment was not here by the end of the year, but started contacting the fellow beginning of January. He said he would ship right away. I did ask for a shipping reference, never heard of him since.



I searched name and email address and found another thread in a Bimmer forum that has the same issue with that seller.

I tried to contact the Forum member who initially pointed me to the seller, no answer. That member is a newbie but has posted a few times with a somewhat reasonable issue. Did not ring any security bells on my side. Also the picture search did not reveal anything suspicious. The price was not unusual either.



Now I’m not sure if I was cheated on, or if just something bad happened to the seller. That’s why I don’t want to reveal the sellers name. The amount I spent on this is small and does not hurt.

If I was cheated then this is on me. I trusted someone from this forum that I normally would not trust in internet because I thought this is a small community of Jag owners.

Chris

 

Can't say for sure about your specific transaction, but we've had a rash of these on another forum that I frequent, a far, far, smaller community than this. I think that's actually an attraction for such thieves. Maybe they target Honda forums too, I don't know, but when the car is rare and the parts even rarer, people are more desperate and willing to take chances they ordinarily might not.

 

Yep, I think you've been had. That's a big problem with the internet. You don't have to face a person, and there is no honor in anyone anymore, so sorry it happened. But Caveat Emptor, or let the buyer beware.

Jack

 

Maybe you give it 4 more weeks and then post the name. Tell the seller you are leaving no recourse but to protect others.

That is a more than fair amount of time.

Scumbags! Sorry for your troubles!

 

Thanks, but I'll probably not publish names here. It is quite possible that the seller is just not able anymore to fulfil his duties.
And if it was a scam, then that name is most likely not going to be used anymore.

Chris

 

You are a good person and you are making a good move. A negative move attracts more of the same - wise to move forward.

 

Sorry to hear of your troubles. I suspect it was a scam (most concerning is the drop off in contact with the seller).

Wire transfers are always dangerous, since you have very little recourse if it does turn out to be fraudulent. As a general practice, I would recommend only wiring funds when you are certain of the identity of the other party. Fraud with respect to wire transfers can be quite elaborate. I work in corporate law (big firm) and we will only wire to accounts that have been confirmed on the phone with someone we are familiar with/able to identify. Obviously we are bigger targets than individuals buying car parts, but as others have pointed out, rarer vehicles may present larger targets for scammers since owners may be willing to take a risk to source parts that are hard to come by.

Unfortunately this isn't helpful in your situation, but moving forwards I would suggest that you (and other members) only pay for things online through PayPal or credit card where you have the ability to request a refund in the event it is fraudulent.

There's a special place in hell for scammers!