Buying car driver drove away with cash and car

tomstud12

Hello

I was buying a car off donedeal vw golf 2014 for €8000. Went up to Dublin met the person drove around so decided to buy the car.

I gave him the money we were in the car I that I bought. Filling out the tax book in the car that I bought and I asked did he have a pen he said no so I went out of the car to go get a pen but I was stupid and left the tax book in his car. He then drove off with the money and the car.

I was shocked didn’t know what to do so I rang him he said he his going to the shop and coming back.(But off course I didn’t believe him) and he never did come back . So called the gards filled out report they gave me an email and a number.

I must say the gards are completely useless just from this experience. I never heard anything back from them I rang them twice. First time I was told the case is being given to someone else as the first gard is gone on holiday. I called week later was told the second gard who had the case is currently on holidays now to.

Now when I email or call no one answers. I would like to know what can I do from here? I contacted donedeal but they can only give information to the gards when they request it. Don’t even know if they did request it.

Does anyone have any advice? We only know the year and the county of the reg as I didn’t memorise it.

Atlantic Dawn

Do you remember his address from the tax book? Where did you meet him, is it possible there's CCTV from the area?

Squidgy Black

Have you any screenshots of the donedeal ad, or search his phone number and try see if there's any other ads listed?

Outside of that, other than reporting it to the Garda there's not much else you can do.

As a general rule I never hand over the money until the logbook is signed, and get photos of the logbook and the sellers ID when buying private, bring a stamped envelope and both of you go and post the logbook.

wandererz

You handed over 8K in cash?
That's what banks are for.
You go to the bank, deposit money into his account & sign over the log book & get the keys... in the bank!

NATLOR

wandererz wrote: »

You handed over 8K in cash?
That's what banks are for.
You go to the bank, deposit money into his account & sign over the log book & get the keys... in the bank!

Very useful to the OP :rolleyes:

KevinCavan

I feel very sorry for you. That’s a very scummy thing that he did to you. He probably has a long criminal record. I’d gather as much info as I could if I were you. If you know anybody that knows a guard that might help.

antodeco

Where in Dublin was this OP?

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

Do you remember his address from the tax book? Where did you meet him, is it possible there's CCTV from the area?

Not saying this is useless, but surely if the Gardai have his name number and registration number, the CCTV doesn't really add anything to it? They could just find out the address from the reg and call up to him. I suppose the CCTV proves you actually met him.

Also, how did you travel to Dublin? Were you driven by someone?

tomstud12

Thank you for all the help

I don’t remember anything from the tax book. We were at a shop but no cctv outside it.

I was driven by someone but we both were in shocked and was to late to drive after him.

I have a picture of the advert and a link to the advert to. But that’s what I don’t know if the gards did get in contact with donedeal about it as they aren’t answering me.

If I went to my local Garda station would they be able to get in contact with them maybe or is there no point me going?

I don’t know if he was a person who does this a few times in a year and robs people or he was just thinking nothing will happen if he drives off with the cash

loveall

that's real misery Tom. You've gotta do what you've gotta do. Scumbags out there and it 'd be awful if we were all like that, so don't scold yourself for your honesty. Get to the gards with your pics, where you met and hopefully your driver for the extra help. All the best

KevinCavan

Did he post pictures of the car reg. in the original ad?I know he probably took down the ad straight away, but if donedeal have photos of the reg. that would be a great help. Also was the car cheaper than others its age on the website, out of curiosity?

antodeco

Did the person who drove you have a dashcam?

Heres Johnny

Year and county of reg and make/model /colour should be plenty to narrow it down if there is an agency in this country that will investigate, I. E. Garda.

The reg could very well be fake though its easy to buy a set of plates in a motor factor's.

I have a blue 530d which I reckon there are very few of and the girlfriend has a black a6 which there are loads of.

Loads of golf's out there too so narrowing it down might mean calling every registered owner of a golf of that year, County and colour even if the reg was real. Is it a Dublin reg?

Can't see the guards doing that to be honest which is wrong but there ya go.

Sorry for your troubles buddy, horrible thing to hapoen

bazz26

8k is a very low asking price for a 2014 Golf so it's very probable that this was a scam from the start rather than as a result of an opportunist moment. Even if the opportunist moment didn't arrive for the seller and the OP actually got the car it's very possible that it was stolen or had false reg plates and documents.

I feel for you OP but not sure what you can do now as I'd say it's very unlikely this guy will be easily traceable.

wandererz

NATLOR wrote: »

Very useful to the OP :rolleyes:

Yes, indeed, for the next car purchase.
Banks have cameras. One gets the sellers details etc at the same time.

No use repeating the same mistake.

Even Revolut would be better.

OP still needs a car and may need to purchase one soon (depending on cashflow).

tomstud12

No my friend didn’t have a dash cam and the ref was crossed off on donedeal

You see if he was a scammer then yeah probably no chance to trace him as I’m sure everything would have been fake.

But if he just took his chance to try to take the money then on donedeal he has to input the reg of the car to put up the advert. So if the gards contact donedeal they would be able to get it.

Just want to figure out weather the reg was fake or not. But since the gards are ignoring my calls and emails I presume they didn’t even contact donedeal.

As i presume they could tell me that the reg was fake and then I would know that probably will never find him.

BarryD2

Keep following up the Gardaí and DoneDeal until you get answers.

no.8

Post the advertised link (if still available)

punisher5112

Did anyone think to try a different number to see if car is for sale, try him again and use a male or female but obviously different to you op....

handlemaster

Keep an eye on done deal will likely put up similar ad again.

punisher5112

Google phone number? See if other ads were posted and maybe photos may show area he is in.

galwayllm

8k for a 2014 Golf!

The alarm bells should have been running OP!

Heckler

So what would have happened if you did have a pen on you and didn't have to leave the car ?

punisher5112

Heckler wrote: »

So what would have happened if you did have a pen on you and didn't have to leave the car ?

Car was probably cloned/stolen or at best clocked.

Sheedy234

tomstud12 wrote: »

No my friend didn’t have a dash cam and the ref was crossed off on donedeal

You see if he was a scammer then yeah probably no chance to trace him as I’m sure everything would have been fake.

But if he just took his chance to try to take the money then on donedeal he has to input the reg of the car to put up the advert. So if the gards contact donedeal they would be able to get it.

Just want to figure out weather the reg was fake or not. But since the gards are ignoring my calls and emails I presume they didn’t even contact donedeal.

As i presume they could tell me that the reg was fake and then I would know that probably will never find him.

Put the reg into vehicle history checker and it will show up the model colour and any details of milage accidents etc.

Cotts72

If you provide gardai with the phone number or email Address used gardai can apply to donedeal to release details of the user information provided and maybe even the advert that was initially posted

RossieMan

8k in cash and you left him the cash while looking for a pen, is this a troll?

wonski

punisher5112 wrote: »

Car was probably cloned/stolen or at best clocked.

The scammer would find a way to get the op out of the car either way. Common thing in other countries, too. Usually low price to attract the victim and meeting place picked for purpose, too. A helping hand nearby, too if things go wrong.

Keep pressing the Gardai, but the reality is there isn't much they can do unless there is good evidence available of who was behind it.

ROVER

The gardai need to engage with done deal. The scammer had to use a credit / debit card to pay for the advert.

RossieMan

ROVER wrote:

The gardai need to engage with done deal. The scammer had to use a credit / debit card to pay for the advert.

You can pay for ads with phone credit.

ROVER

RossieMan wrote: »

You can pay for ads with phone credit.

There is a chance the seller did not think this out and saw an immediate opportunity to dash with the cash. What was his plan b if the seller had a pen.

wonski

ROVER wrote: »

There is a chance the seller did not think this out and saw an immediate opportunity to dash with the cash. What was his plan b if the seller had a pen.

There was a plan. Especially if the scammer was in the driving seat at the time. 100% sure about it.

bazz26

These scumbags are very experienced and good at covering up their tracks. Using a burner sim card/phone, etc. It's very unlikely that the plates on the car or the reg documents were genuine either in the event the scammer actually has to part with the car. Its very unlikely the scammer went out and actually bought a 2014 Golf to use as part of this scam. It was most likely stolen with the keys as part of a property break in and had the plates and documentation cloned from a clean similar car so even if you did a history check it would come back ok because you were doing a history check on a clean reg from another car.

This wasn't an opportunist.

tomstud12

Sorry I was mistaken it was 2013 golf

Donedeal are able to check what up address put up the advert and are able to get the location of that. If the person used his home network.

But it’s just I’m not getting anything from the gards so I don’t actually know what the gards have done so far which is ridiculous.

1874

handlemaster wrote: »

Keep an eye on done deal will likely put up similar ad again.

and then what? personally I would not leave the money, but then again, I wouldnt bring that much cash, maybe Im cynical, I wouldnt turn my back on a 20, as much chance of getting mugged by a gang of lads who happen to know you have 8k on you. Be thankful you didnt have the **** kicked out of you, could have been a car load of guys waiting in the wings in case you stopped them.
I'd like to say Id have given chase?, but then what, cornered him and? but now Im thinking do I need to bring a crowbar with me if Im buying a car even for much less and then what, block someone in, then they are probably prepared for these kind of dealings.
Dont make yourself a target for these kind of things, dont carry large sums of cash around, I wouldnt even bring money with me to view a car, maybe a small deposit, maybe nothing, just be ready to go to the bank, if anyone even asked Id be suspicious.



If it was a set up, then they probably were prepared for this, had the money in a bag and already passed (threw) it to someone else, then if caught, they have no money and you're now just chasing them down.


Basically, you should have done it by cash transfer to their account in a branch as someone said, dont know how if anyone ever gets nabbed for this that you would ever see a penny back? how do you prove you had 8k? the other person could just say you low balled him or threatened him and drove off. How would you even prove it was them?

There is no good reason for a person legitimately selling an ordinary car to be cagy about providing details in the end, if you are to buy/sell a car you need to exchange details, as a seller Id want to see details, ID, address proof, even proof they are covered to drive my car etc, as a buyer Id want to see details ID, address proof, priced too good to miss, then theres probably a reason and its better to pass it up, going around with 8k in your pocket is madness.


This is either a joke or really careless, if its true, Im sympathetic but then again Im not, hard to know if its true or not.

Atlantic Dawn

Was the seller insistant on your bringing the full amount to buy the car?

Breaston Plants

Sorry, don t believe a word of this.

BorneTobyWilde

tomstud12 wrote: »

Sorry I was mistaken it was 2013 golf

Donedeal are able to check what up address put up the advert and are able to get the location of that. If the person used his home network.

But it’s just I’m not getting anything from the gards so I don’t actually know what the gards have done so far which is ridiculous.

You have his number though? Why not have someone else call him about the Golf for sale, act interested and ask best price for a cash deal. That will tempt him into meeting up for a viewing, tell them you have cash and want to view it. When meeting him make sure it's a one way in and one way out place, once he's in have the entrance blocked.

wonski

Breaston Plants wrote: »

Sorry, don t believe a word of this.

Why not. Common enough scam. Just because you never heard of it doesn't mean it doesn't happen.

Very easy to run, too if you have balls to do it.

Hard to prove afterwards as well even if you identify the scammer.

tom_k

Return to the garda station where you reported this crime, ask for the PULSE number asigned to the crime, if you feel you're being fobbed off by the Garda, ask to speak to the member in charge.

Keep in regular contact with the garda, if you strongly feel that they are making no effort, write a letter to your area superintendent.

Show (print off if necessary) the donedeal info to the garda. Remain very polite but firm at all times.

Squidgy Black

wonski wrote: »

Why not. Common enough scam. Just because you never heard of it doesn't mean it doesn't happen.

Very easy to run, too if you have balls to do it.

Hard to prove afterwards as well even if you identify the scammer.

Plenty of cases of the opposite happening also, sellers getting kicked out of their own car on test drives etc.

1874

BorneTobyWilde wrote: »

You have his number though? Why not have someone else call him about the Golf for sale, act interested and ask best price for a cash deal. That will tempt him into meeting up for a viewing, tell them you have cash and want to view it. When meeting him make sure it's a one way in and one way out place, once he's in have the entrance blocked.

And then what?
If they consider selling this car again? probably not, either abandon it or worse, they certainly wont be using the phone number again if they did make 8k, just ditch the SIM and get a new one, and anyone ringing it even if its on and not disposed of might be walking into a beating or a stabbing.

1874

Squidgy Black wrote: »

Plenty of cases of the opposite happening also, sellers getting kicked out of their own car on test drives etc.

Why I dont want a gang of lads turning up to view a car, at most anyone needs is two and even thats 1 too many to be dealing with, if I was selling an expensive car (not likely) then they bring themselves and the AA to look over the car.

I'll have to start setting up a booby trap in cars I sell, blow it up die hard stye in case they drive off, or get the hell out of there if I forget to disarm the booby trap, yippe kay a mofos.

tom_k

Any joy using the URL of the original donedeal advert on https://archive.org or similar, cached copy of the ad could have identifying info in it, if not reg. no. then locations etc. ?

greasepalm

Sorry to hear the bad news but could i ask has the system changed in selling and buying cars as i thought if buying or selling a change of ownership paper is filled out by both parties and maybe a passport or drivers license produced?Log book sent to shannon for updating and then sent to new owner.Cars at e1000 value log book gets handed over to me as last car i bought.

bazz26

greasepalm wrote: »

Sorry to hear the bad news but could i ask has the system changed in selling and buying cars as i thought if buying or selling a change of ownership paper is filled out by both parties and maybe a passport or drivers license produced?Log book sent to shannon for updating and then sent to new owner.Cars at e1000 value log book gets handed over to me as last car i bought.

No such rule exists or ever did. Seeking proper ID is a best and wise practice but a seller giving you the logbook on a 1k car is not any more correct than it is with a 100k car.

OldMrBrennan83

Breaston Plants wrote: »

Sorry, don t believe a word of this.

Do everyone a favour and click the unfollow button then.

Turbohymac

I wouldn't bother trying a vehicle check as most likely he had cloned plates which will only give you information on some other genuine car that's not linked to him..I wouldn't have been too suspicious about 8k for a golf either. As if it was petrol with high mileage it wouldn't be worth much more..
The common denominator I would concentrate on would be his mobile phone number..a guard should be able to track this easily..however proving that he drove away with your 8k cash could be difficult... difficult to trace cash..
No doubt if gardai catch up with him he'll probably have some lame excuse to say he was alone and there was 2 guys came to view car and he felt vulnerable and drove away... oh of course without your 8k op..
Really scum people out there

ted1

NATLOR wrote: »

Very useful to the OP :rolleyes:

Useful for other people who might be buying

bazz26

Turbohymac wrote: »

I wouldn't bother trying a vehicle check as most likely he had cloned plates which will only give you information on some other genuine car that's not linked to him..I wouldn't have been too suspicious about 8k for a golf either. As if it was petrol with high mileage it wouldn't be worth much more..
The common denominator I would concentrate on would be his mobile phone number..a guard should be able to track this easily..however proving that he drove away with your 8k cash could be difficult... difficult to trace cash..
No doubt if gardai catch up with him he'll probably have some lame excuse to say he was alone and there was 2 guys came to view car and he felt vulnerable and drove away... oh of course without your 8k op..
Really scum people out there

Out of interest how do you trace a phone with a disposable sim card that was most likely ditched after the scam took place? You can get disposable sim cards for next to nothing these days and their is very little in the way of tracing who bought them.

_Brian

Plenty of similar scams about.
Another one I’ve heard happen to local lad.

Meet in car park to sell stolen car, false plates. Make a deal for car, he’s left logbook at home. Drive to sellers house and he has to go in for logbook takes money with him, runs off and leave buyer sitting stunned outside some strange house. Guards take car as it’s stolen.

Esse85

I'm surprised he answered the phone when you rang him after he took off, why would he answer to say he's gone to the shop rather than just ignore your call?