Ive been Conned

ando

I read this topic a few days ago: (http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=190620&page=1&pp=20&highlight=blanchardstown), I said I'd never fall for it.. but guess what, I did. Yesterday morning I was in the same car park as that topic, between Argos and the Motorway store in Blanch. At 11:20am I was approached by an Italian in a '04 D 27674' Mercedes Benz. I was in my Van cleaning it out after buying some equipment from Motorway. He asked me to go over to him and he explained he was an Italian sales agent trying to sell Leather Jackets. He explained that he was going back to Italy tomorrow but he would have to pay taxes on these jackets if he flys home, so he was trying to sell off the jackets at bargain price to avoid these taxes.

Anyway at this time I taught no way, he's a con but then he started showing me all his info, where his Irish business partner was based in Co Kildare, he showed me his passport and well, his leather suitcase. He really looked the part. He had designer gear on, shirt tie, designer glasses, a Tan etc.....

All this started to convince me that maybe, just maybe he is telling the truth here (you don’t see knackers going round in 04 mercs) He said if I bought one jacket, I'd get two others for free. The Jackets were all in high quality bags, the smell of leather was strong, even had spare buttons and a certificate of authenticity.... He even got his lighter and put a flame to one of the suede jackets to prove its quality.

At this point I remembered this topic and decided to buy one of the jackets, but I personally would check the jackets myself, and then put them into my van, lock the van and then pay the man. He agreed, so I went ahead and gave him the money. I was half expecting his Italian accent to change into a Finglas accent and for him to pull out a knife, but he was happy, I was happy and that was that. I taught I found a bargain until I got home, went on the internet and found this story from New Zealand which sounds very similar to mine


"Police are warning New Zealanders to be on the lookout for people peddling ‘leather jackets’ after receiving numerous complaints and enquiries throughout NZ over the past four months.

Police have established that an Italian male has imported a container load of Italian branded jackets at the price of between $16 - $24 per jacket.

His associates then travel around the country targeting small businesses. The scam begins with ‘salespeople’ telling prospective buyers that they have attended a leather expo or conference in New Zealand and are flying out of the country shortly. They do not wish to run the risk of paying for over-weight baggage and will offer the prospective buyer a special deal for their remaining leather jackets at cost price"

OKay, I'm young and I fell for it. I guess the best teacher is experience. I have learnt so I'm just spreading the word about my experience so that others may avoid it.

My brothers a gard, and he's checking out the reg. If I find that the car was rented, I can contact the rental company and find who was renting the car at the time. Of course the conman could of given false info to the rental company but I'm going to have a go at getting my cash back.

Although the jackets are nice ....

This seems to be on the increase as my father, of all people was approached on Dollymount beech by an Italian selling jackets. Luckly he didnt fall for it as I did

RE*AC*TOR

So how much did you spend?
If the jackets are nice, then its not the end of the world.

Raam

RE*AC*TOR wrote:

So how much did you spend?
If the jackets are nice, then its not the end of the world.

yeah at least you actually got something out of it that you can use!
Some unsavoury-character-type tried to sell me a cam-corder once. Told me it was worth a grand and I can have it for 200 quid. I said no thanks, so he lowered it to 100, then to 60. Eventually he drove off when he realised I didn't want his piece of metal with nothing inside it

RE*AC*TOR

it probably was a camcorder....

a stolen camcorder.

impr0v

I don't really see the con. You got two 'nice' jackets for what you considered a bargain, before you found out the cost price of them on the net. The jackets haven't turned out to be polythene or ripped at the seams have they?

Am i missing something?

jor el

Well at least you got the jackets and not a couple of cartons of milk.
Are they good quality?

RE*AC*TOR

at least you know they're fire-retardant, imagine the possiblities for irresponsible fun!!

Prozium

Oh sweet jeybus,


When will people learn not to buy things from the boot of a car (unless it's some really good drugs!!).

Dodgy man + nice car + really good bargain = too good to be true.

FX Meister

At the end of the day you didn't get a milk can, you paid over the odds for some jackets. Sales people do the same to you in shops so it's not much different. As David Brent once said if a saleman is struggling he doesn't sell his car, he goes out and buys a new one. The guy may have looked the part, that's all part of his sales pitch.

Dr. Loon

Er... I'm not sure I see the con! You checked the jackets out, put them in your van and then paid the man an obviously good price - I say obviously because you bought them and obviously thought the price was good.

You have what you bought. So where's the con exactly? Or are they fake leather or something?

kleefarr

"Police are warning New Zealanders to be on the lookout for people peddling ‘leather jackets’ after receiving numerous complaints and enquiries throughout NZ over the past four months.

Police have established that an Italian male has imported a container load of Italian branded jackets at the price of between $16 - $24 per jacket.

His associates then travel around the country targeting small businesses. The scam begins with ‘salespeople’ telling prospective buyers that they have attended a leather expo or conference in New Zealand and are flying out of the country shortly. They do not wish to run the risk of paying for over-weight baggage and will offer the prospective buyer a special deal for their remaining leather jackets at cost price"

You got the jackets?
Were they the same jackets he showed you?
Doesn't sound like much of a con, more like a business deal. The only thing is he may not be declaring VAT etc, but thats not your problem. :rolleyes:

Raam

RE*AC*TOR wrote:

it probably was a camcorder....

a stolen camcorder.

it might well have been, didn't want to take the chance though!

okidoki987

How much did you pay for the "buy one jackeet and get 2 free then?"
Are they actually real leather or imitation or what?
I have read the post twice and I can't see the con?

Seeing as everybody (on here) knows what's going on in the Retail Park,
why don't the cops do one of their undercover operations?

Hagar

I don't see a con here. The real con is when you buy the same jackets in a shop and pay 200 or 300 euros for them. What you paid is typically the sort of wholesale price the shops pay for them. The markup on shoes and leather goods in this country is nothing short of criminal.

woosaysdan

okidoki987 wrote:

Seeing as everybody (on here) knows what's going on in the Retail Park,
why don't the cops do one of their undercover operations?

that would mean they would have to do some work then!!!

The Muppet

What was your Father doing on "Dollymount Beech"?

LegacyUser

I am confused.

tribble

cheesedude wrote:

I am confused.

Same...

you bought some nice jackets from a nice Italian bloke for a bargain price and you now feel ripped off?

Mr E

Same thing happened to me a couple of years ago in the Superquinn carpark in Limerick. Got 3 lovely high quality jackets for €150. 1 regular leather jacket, 1 leather bomber jacket, and 1 brown suede jacket. I was suspicious, but he seemed convincing (nice new car, nice suit, tan, italian accent). Exact same story (didn't want to pay extra in the airport etc.)

I tried on the jackets, liked what I saw, went to ATM to get the money. When I got back to him, he had the jackets packed away in a plastic bag. Alarm bells started ringing, so still being highly suspicious, I had a look at them again. They were fine, so I handed over the cash, and that was that.

Did a google when I got back, saw that it was a common enough practise, and that the jackets were probably stolen. Sure, I was naive, but no-one got hurt, and I got some nice jackets out of it.

Ando - your situation is nothing like Astraclub's story in Blanchardstown. He was robbed. You weren't. You got a good deal, probably stolen goods, but nobody got hurt...

ando

I feel ripped off because I payed €320 for 3 designer jackets which turned out to be not what he said they were. He was promoting Alta Moda as a gucci brand, Alta Moda being the name of the jackets, each jacket costing over €500, he was even telling me the buttons cost €70 each

Lenny

I can get info on that car if you want and do a job..

ando

lol lenny thanks for offer

RE*AC*TOR

€320 !!?!?!?!

:eek:

I'd be pissed if I spent that much. You must have wanted a leather jacket really badly!

okidoki987

That's not cheap even for 3 jackets?
You could buy a jacket in a shop for nearly that.
Must take a trip up to Blanchardstown Retail Park and see what else is on offer?
I'm looking for a 42" LCD screen, how much should I bring with me?

Prozium

I feel cheated because I paid €1.35 for a bottle of Diet Coke this morning.

I gladly handed over the money and drank the coke, but I feel hard done by.

Oh woe is me .


Maybe I'll start a tread about my Diet Coke !!!

mycroft

ando wrote:

I feel ripped off because I payed €320 for 3 designer jackets which turned out to be not what he said they were. He was promoting Alta Moda as a gucci brand, Alta Moda being the name of the jackets, each jacket costing over €500, he was even telling me the buttons cost €70 each

Bloke was in a black bmw?

Tried the same stunt with me last year.

I hate to say this but there is very little you can do. You purchased the goods, and recieved the goods. The price you paid is irrelevant. You may claim that they were overvalued, but the guy can say you got what you paid for, a italian designer jacket.

The Gardaí could prosecute him for trading without a licence, and you might get a chance to take him to the small claims court and get your money back, but he'll properly just change address and carry on as always.

Once again. If it looks too good to be true it probably is too good to be true.

Interceptor

I buy stuff I don't need all the time but I would draw the line at THREE leather jackets. Thats like buying five electric tin-openers only not as useful. I came across the same scam in a truckstop in the UK - same story, rental car documents, business cards, the lot, and even though I bargained him down to £80stg for the three jackets, I pretended I was broke and he drove off giving out about 'tight Irish'.

At least you have three nice crimbo presents for your bling bling mates who appreciate flame retardant fashion. And lets be honest, being trendy never goes out of style.

'c

stevenmu

Did nobody ever buy the "genuine" nike runners or "genuine" levi jeans at that little market just off Henry St beside the Ilac centre ? The only difference I see here is that you get an italian accent in a BMW instead of a northside accent in a lite-ace.

Maybe there should be some type of licensing system for money users, just like cars. You have to pass a theory test to show you have a rough concept or what money is and how it works before being allowed to go out and buy stuff (under supervision of a fully licensed spender of course). Then you need to do a practical test where they follow you around and make sure all your transactions are conducted safely and within the rules of common sense.

You could even get companies to insure you against being ripped off. The only thing is they'd probably charge more each year than being ripped off would actually cost and people who buy stuff out of the back of cars in parking lots would drive up premiums for the rest of us young male spenders.

Interceptor

stevenmu wrote:

You could even get companies to insure you against being ripped off. The only thing is they'd probably charge more each year than being ripped off would actually cost and people who buy stuff out of the back of cars in parking lots would drive up premiums for the rest of us young male spenders.

Wow - I though I had an over-active sarcasm gland but it looks like I could learn a thing or two.

'c



New Thread:::I'VE BEEN CONNED _ I JUST BOUGHT ALL MY GROCERIES IN SUPERQUINN....??

bus77

interceptor wrote:

I came across the same scam in a truckstop in the UK - same story, rental car documents, business cards, the lot, and even though I bargained him down to £80stg for the three jackets, I pretended I was broke and he drove off giving out about 'tight Irish'.

LOL! Nicely done

skywalker

maybe this should be moved to the rip off ireland forum?

Seanie M

I have to say, I did the same thing 2 years ago. An italian, in a new rented Merc. Said he was at an expo in the K Club (I was in Maynooth at the time). The nice suit, passport, airline tickets to go that evening, and stubs from his arrival the previous day. Was getting rid of shirts too.

I paid €250 for 3 leather jackets. They are leather, and I was suspicious, but I was thorough in my search of the items. I still have the jackets (1 black leather, 1 black leather bomber, 1 brown suede bomber), and they are all fine. 1 pocket in the black leather is torn, but nothing a needle and thread won't cure.

I wouldn't call it a con per say. Ando, you came up trumps compared to others buying empty camcorders. You just feel stupid now that you found out what was going on in New Zealand. I don't feel very stupid, or did for that matter. He seemed like a genuine enough guy BUT was peddling a little bit.

Still, I gave him cash in hand, got 3 jackets and they are fine.

You'll be fine too!...

...minus the €320!



Seanie.

irlirishkev

Same thing happened to me in East Wall last year.

An italian in a Merc drove up to me and offered me some cut price leather jackets, as he was flying home in a few hours. I not only found this suspicious, but I was constantly looking over my shoulder in case two of his mates were waiting to mug me. I said thanks but no thanks.

Some guy came up to me and offered me a digital camcorder at the Esso garage by the Point Depot a few weeks later. Again, I politely declined his offer..

Generally, (Out of the back of a van/car) = (stolen) as far as I'm concerned, steer clear.

Kevin.

axer

The only leg you have 2 to stand on is that the goods were not as described (or wrongly described) which is covered in the sale of goods and supply of services act 1980 but other than that he did nothing wrong except maybe selling without a licence or not paying vat or declaring it as income but that has nothing to do with you with regards paying money for a product - which you got.

jor el

If the jackets are fine I'd say keep them and say no more. If you go after the guy and it turns out the jackets were stolen then they can be taken off you by the Gardai. Then you're left with no jackets and chasing a thief for your money back.
Say nothing, you got a good deal.

Fysh

axer wrote:

The only leg you have 2 to stand on is that the goods were not as described (or wrongly described) which is covered in the sale of goods and supply of services act 1980 but other than that he did nothing wrong except maybe selling without a licence or not paying vat or declaring it as income but that has nothing to do with you with regards paying money for a product - which you got.

Ah yes, but that section of the sale of goods act tends to be interpreted as referring to fitness for their intended purpose. As the jackets are wearable italian-label jackets, they are fit for their purpose. The fact that the designer label sells dirt cheaply in another country is incidental, since there is no law regulating pricing of goods in Ireland.

Besides which, I can't imagine a judge taking you seriously when you complain about buying something out of the back of a car...

LegacyUser

In all fairness, this is all your ****ing fault. That is all that needs to be said really. After getting reputation back into green at last, i can see it going into negative but **** it, it is your own fault. If they were real authentic gucci, you would not report it to the guards. So swallow that fact that you are at fault`.

fjon

I met the exact same guy in the Blanch shopping centre about a year ago. It was the car-park beside the AIB bank, and an Italian guy came over to me. He was in a rented Mondeo and said he was just at an expo in Brown Thomas (showed me the brochures) and was going home and had to get rid of the jackets because of VAT or something.

I started speaking to him in Italian, and he changed attitude quite quickly. This kind of thing happens frequently in big Southern towns in Italy ( for example Naples or Palermo), so I wanted to call his bluff. He did sound slightly less dodgy in Italian, and I was convinced that I was although it wasn't 100% legit he was not going to rip me off. I managed to bargain him down from €400 to €90 (!) for three jackets - one Armani, a Gucci and something else.

Off I go to the ATM, but as I was there I had a change of heart and decided not to go for it. I went back to him, talked for a good 10 minutes and we parted on good terms. He showed me his flight tickets (which were for that day), and I gave him some directions on getting to the airport.

At the time I still thought I had done the right thing by not taking him up on his offer, although now I am not too sure. Reading some other people's posts I think if I had bought them I may have ended up getting a bargain price for 3 very nice (albeit probably stolen) jackets.

By the way I am really sorry to hear what you paid for them Anto!

frodi

Maybe the retail parks could start collecting rent from these guys. Say €100 per day for a Merc, €200 for a van. Dodgy jacket scam in far corner, laptop scam by the gate (always handy for a fast getaway.

WhiteWashMan

i'll take the suede one of your hands for 40 euro

kensutz

Same thing happened to me in Waterford earlier this year, but they were driving an Almera with all the works inside it. I ended up getting 3 jackets but flogged them off myself for a profit. And yes they were 2 Italian blokes too.

positron

Same here, my mate bought 3 leather jackets off an italian dude for 100 euros, this was in Galway few years ago.

Gordon

So what, the problem is that
"ALTA MODA THOUGHT DESIGNED & MADE IN ITALY SPARE BUTTON" label isn't a "designer label"?

But you saw the label before you bought it? And the guy told you that this was a Gucci designer label or something? It doesn't say Gucci anywhere on the tag. In fact I bet he didn't say "This is Gucci" he probably said "And look here at the label which is with the Gucci kind of logo, it is a designer label". Sure is a designer label that one:

Anyone that can pass off "ALTA MODA THOUGHT DESIGNED & MADE IN ITALY SPARE BUTTON" as a designer label sure is one hell of a good designer. Therefore he spoke the truth!

Can't believe you paid that much money but I guess this is what people will do for designer clothes. Sorry... this is what people will do for buying a piece of material to clothe their body that has a piece of material that people have seen before on bigger pieces of material such as posters... tv.... milk cartons... other people with material on their bodies... the list is endless.

gs39t

ando wrote:

I was in my Van cleaning it out after buying some equipment from Motorway......

You bought stuff in Motorway ?

Conned twice in one day, i feel sorry for you

ykt0di9url7bc3

its all about the trading\negociation...

if a boot selling guy says "trust me", "geniune" I dont tend to have much faith in them.... if you want brand names then go to a store... if its from a boot, then take it as you see it, forget the label

delly

I got offered some jackets from an Italian driving a Nissan Almera in the carpark of McDonalds on the Naas Road. It was a tempting offer, but those cheese burgers were calling my name even louder.

On another note, i piss myself when people compare this to 'milk cans'. Its become a byword around here for been ripped off. I can see it becoming an urban legend, about the guy who bought an expensive milk can. I still don't even know what a laptop shaped milk can looks like, thats what i was most curious about LOL

impr0v

Judging by how many people here have run into him, the odds are some other one of us is going to to get the jacket offer of a lifetime fairly soon. Whoever you are, take a photo.

unkel

Hagar wrote:

The real con is when you buy the same jackets in a shop and pay 200 or 300 euros for them

This is it. Saw a documentary recently about a company in Honduras that produced t-shirts for wallmart in the us. The company got paid $2 per 16 t-shirts. Price in walmart was $15 per t-shirt iirc, a markup of 11900% :eek:

ando

kensutz wrote:

I ended up getting 3 jackets but flogged them off myself for a profit.

anyone want 3 lovely Italian Designer label Jackets, only €379.99

MadsL

anyone want 3 lovely Italian Designer label Jackets, only €379.99

At least you don't claim they are leather (they aren't)....friend of mine got caught by the same con last year...

rubadub

ando wrote:

He was promoting Alta Moda as a gucci brand, Alta Moda being the name of the jackets, each jacket costing over €500, he was even telling me the buttons cost €70 each

Do Gucci make there jackets from magical cows or something? If the label had different letters on it would it suddenly be a brilliant jacket? Were you planning on reselling the jackets to make a profit or were you just going to wear them? If you are just going to wear them I can make you up an armani label and sew it on all of them for €50 each.
Don't see the con, I get told the same designer crap by the "salesbouncers" in those shops in liffey street and in and around the ilac