Worst scam you've fallen for

Murt10

Sgt Hartman wrote: »

I also stupidly called a gutter repair "company" I found online.!

A tradesman working on my house previously told me of a "scam" another tradesman he knows was using.

Scammer pays to takes out a big ad in the local papers/FB etc. When he gets called out, he always asks the customer where they got his name from. If its from an ad, he knows there's not going to be any repeat business. He immediately doubles his fee and rips them off and sticks it to them as much as he possibly can.

If, on the other hand, they tell him that they were recommended by John Murphy from wherever then he charges the normal price. He wants repeat business from customers, not ripped off people going back to previously satisfied customers, who were getting him new business for him.

Distasteful as it is, that there's a certain logic in his methods.

randd1

Lotto tickets.

partyguinness

Murt10 wrote: »

A tradesman working on my house previously told me of a "scam" another tradesman he knows was using.

Scammer pays to takes out a big ad in the local papers/FB etc. When he gets called out, he always asks the customer where they got his name from. If its from an ad, he knows there's not going to be any repeat business. He immediately doubles his fee and rips them off and sticks it to them as much as he possibly can.

If, on the other hand, they tell him that they were recommended by John Murphy from wherever then he charges the normal price. He wants repeat business from customers, not ripped off people going back to previously satisfied customers, who were getting him new business for him.

Distasteful as it is, that there's a certain logic in his methods.

I wouldnt go so far as to call that a scam. That is just sharp practice.

storker

MY wife and I were renting in a flat in Dublin when one Sunday morning, at about 11, I answered the buzzer to a guy claiming to be there to do some maintenance on the shared coin-pay washing machine and tumble dryer. So I went down to let him in and he gave the landlord's name saying he'd been told there was a problem. Then he said his assistant was bringing his tools and did I have a screwdriver he could borrow, so I brought him down a screwdriver and a cup of tea. A while later he was gone, and he'd left the empty mug for me. Grand.

Fast forward to Monday afternoon,. when Mme Storkeuse called me at work to say there was a problem with the washing machine. I rang the landlord's maintenance guy who told me he knew about it - someone had broken into the machine for the coins over the weekend and he would be round that evening to fix it. I responded with a Basil Fawlty-esque "Tch! Typical, eh?" and hung up quickly, then called Mme Storkeuse back; "Remember that guy on Sunday morning...?".

We applied the principle of least said, soonest mended, and we never heard any more about it. The machine was back in action the same evening.

I reckoned the guy had been very clever with his timing. 11am Sunday, chances are someone would let him in, but chances also were they'd be too tired/befuddled/hungover to ask awkward questions, and yes, we had been out the night before. That and being able to drop the correct name of the landlord had been enough to get him in. I was still raging, though - less about the theft itself than being taken for an ejit. For months afterwards I kept a weather-eye open for him in the local area, but I never saw him again.

pgj2015

storker wrote: »

MY wife and I were renting in a flat in Dublin when one Sunday morning, at about 11, I answered the buzzer to a guy claiming to be there to do some maintenance on the shared coin-pay washing machine and tumble dryer. So I went down to let him in and he gave the landlord's name saying he'd been told there was a problem. Then he said his assistant was bringing his tools and did I have a screwdriver he could borrow, so I brought him down a screwdriver and a cup of tea. A while later he was gone, and he'd left the empty mug for me. Grand.

Fast forward to Monday afternoon,. when Mme Storkeuse called me at work to say there was a problem with the washing machine. I rang the landlord's maintenance guy who told me he knew about it - someone had broken into the machine for the coins over the weekend and he would be round that evening to fix it. I responded with a Basil Fawlty-esque "Tch! Typical, eh?" and hung up quickly, then called Mme Storkeuse back; "Remember that guy on Sunday morning...?".

We applied the principle of least said, soonest mended, and we never heard any more about it. The machine was back in action the same evening.

I reckoned the guy had been very clever with his timing. 11am Sunday, chances are someone would let him in, but chances also were they'd be too tired/befuddled/hungover to ask awkward questions, and yes, we had been out the night before. That and being able to drop the correct name of the landlord had been enough to get him in. I was still raging, though - less about the theft itself than being taken for an ejit. For months afterwards I kept a weather-eye open for him in the local area, but I never saw him again.

what kind of maintenance man wouldn't have a screwdriver? pity he wasn't got on cctv.

partyguinness

razorblunt wrote: »

Came across that before.
We'd quote the actual price and then answer "yes" when asked if it was the best price.

Plus we had the added bonus of not being racist!

To be fair we are lot stricter now and so busy we tell them or least gently imply "Take it or leave it".

B.A._Baracus

partyguinness wrote: »

I wouldnt go so far as to call that a scam. That is just sharp practice.

I agree.
At the end of the day it's up to someone to agree to get the job done and someone should always shop around.

Feisar

Mister Vain wrote: »

The obligatory extortionate drinks for the girls in strip clubs is another one.

A lad I know left one €2K lighter than when he went in and he was a student.

partyguinness

Lads, there is a difference between unwittingly scammed by a deliberate con artist amd beng a bit stupid with your money. Being a bit stupid is not being scammed.

Gmak2442

I was young, in my 20's and I fell for for some drugs. Impressive scam.

bronkobilly

getting married:)

Mister Vain

Feisar wrote: »

A lad I know left one €2K lighter than when he went in and he was a student.

Never go in with a credit card unless you can tap their arse with a contactless payment. At least then you won't go over 50 quid.

AndrewJRenko

Murt10 wrote: »

A tradesman working on my house previously told me of a "scam" another tradesman he knows was using.

Scammer pays to takes out a big ad in the local papers/FB etc. When he gets called out, he always asks the customer where they got his name from. If its from an ad, he knows there's not going to be any repeat business. He immediately doubles his fee and rips them off and sticks it to them as much as he possibly can.

If, on the other hand, they tell him that they were recommended by John Murphy from wherever then he charges the normal price. He wants repeat business from customers, not ripped off people going back to previously satisfied customers, who were getting him new business for him.

Distasteful as it is, that there's a certain logic in his methods.

Except that when you quote double the market price, customers tend to say "no thanks" and walk away. Why would any business place an advert with specific intention to mess around those who respond.

Feisar

Mister Vain wrote: »

Never go in with a credit card unless you can tap their arse with a contactless payment. At least then you won't go over 50 quid.

We were on a trip, his bank card wouldn't work outside of Ireland, so brought cash with him.

gozunda

CruelCoin wrote: »

I have another in Bangkok.

We went for some drinks on Pat Pong (the road where you can find those "ping-pong" shows, don't judge me, i'm human).

Up some stairs to a strip-bar, and they start doing some ping-pong shows, some blowing darts through blowpipes in their ahem....to pop balloons, etc. Fascinating stuff altogether.

Anyway, we get some drinks, and then I notice, **** lads, we're the only westerners here and all of the bouncers and strippers have drinks also. Bugger.

I point this out to the lads, and we try to leave, only to be confronted by what can only be described as a literal wall of angry hookers demanding we pay the entire clubs tab.
Some shouting later (threatening to call the tourist police works wonders btw), we manage to leave with only paying for our own drinks. Ran down the road, got into a taxi, stopped halfway and changed vehicle, then back to the hostel.

I've never put that story on paper before.

Stay on the ground floor in Bangkok lads.....

Jayzus :eek:

For Forks Sake

6541 wrote: »

Drinking in a pub in London and a geezer comes in selling jocks - underpants. 3 in a packet.
One would wonder why did I buy jocks in a pub ...
Anyway they actually fell apart after one day of wear ! Disintegrated.

You spend a day drinking what they pass off as Guinness in London and you'll realise soon enough why spare jocks are a sound investment.

BraveDonut

Both Tax and PRSI have been mentioned earlier in this thread.
But not USC!
How did the whole country fall for that one? - still paying it 13 years later

10000maniacs

razorblunt wrote: »

I remember my Accounting teacher for the Junior Cert telling us that if our parents had any spare cash to throw it into Eircom. He even said "if the can remortgage for the cash they should".

Brilliant Accounting teacher but awful investment advice.

Fianna Fail were in a greed frenzy (as per the norm in 1999) and set the starting price at least 50% too high.

GoatBoy74

Sex & Sexuality forum, nuff said.

pgj2015

BraveDonut wrote: »

Both Tax and PRSI have been mentioned earlier in this thread.
But not USC!
How did the whole country fall for that one? - still paying it 13 years later

we didnt fall for anything.They can bring in anything they want and the public will go along with it most times, except water charges.

Purple Mountain

GoatBoy74 wrote: »

Sex & Sexuality forum, nuff said.

This has already been explained to you in that thread.
If you were expecting filth/titillation etc. there's subscription services for those.

fryup

VRT

seriously are we the only country in europe that has to pay such a tax??

GoatBoy74

Purple Mountain wrote: »

This has already been explained to you in that thread.
If you were expecting filth/titillation etc. there's subscription services for those.

Geez, it was a joke!
You’re a touchy bunch, and not in a good way!

Purple Mountain

GoatBoy74 wrote: »

Geez, it was a joke!
You’re a touchy bunch, and not in a good way!

Yea, you won't be touching me anytime soon

GoatBoy74

Purple Mountain wrote: »

Yea, you won't be touching me anytime soon

Good to know you’re following current government guidelines.

Never thought I’d see an upside to COVID!