Aldi Westside carpark/leather jacket scam

GalwayKiefer

This morning and about 5 months ago the same guy in a 08-D reg rental car pulled up beside me as I was about to get into my car. He had a really bad Italian accent and went on saying he was a sales rep for a large fashion company in "Milano" :rolleyes: who had just finished up at a conference and needed to sell off his sample stock before heading home...at "good price" etc. Had a very well done brochure etc with him and as I'm quite nosey and was in no rush I nodded along until he popped the boot which had a bunch of sealed jacket boxes in it. I said no thanks and was on my way but was somewhat surprised to see him again this morning. Anyone else see or deal with him or is it just me that has gullible written across my face

vulcan57

GalKiefer wrote: »

This morning and about 5 months ago the same guy in a 08-D reg rental car pulled up beside me as I was about to get into my car. He had a really bad Italian accent and went on saying he was a sales rep for a large fashion company in "Milano" :rolleyes: who had just finished up at a conference and needed to sell off his sample stock before heading home...at "good price" etc. Had a very well done brochure etc with him and as I'm quite nosey and was in no rush I nodded along until he popped the boot which had a bunch of sealed jacket boxes in it. I said no thanks and was on my way but was somewhat surprised to see him again this morning. Anyone else see or deal with him or is it just me that has gullible written across my face

Did you take the reg and call the gards?

GalwayKiefer

vulcan57 wrote: »

Did you take the reg and call the gards?

They said they'd look into it...

dwayneburke

Same thing happened to me in Texaco in oranmore last saturday...08 D reg rental car, italian accent and looking for shannon airport to get a flight back to Italy that evening....

Same as that i was in no hurry so i listened to him and then walked away after 20 mins, he was not impressed.

Also checked shannon airport website later and there was no flight to anywhere in italy that afternoon so a definite scam....

BTW the jackets werent even that nice...he was offering them for 200 euros down from 500 as he said he could not bring them on the plane...He also had absoulutly no luggage with him in the car or the boot so very dodgy...

Fighting Irish

they are still around because people are still falling for it

i say let them do their thing its the only way people will learn

321654

If the cops would act on info given to them as this scam is happening they would easily catch them. Its a common scam. I know several people who have called the cops, while still looking at the scamster and telling them if they come now theyll point out the person exactly then and there so easy arrest. But as in the OPs case the cops arent interested.

Thomas_S_Hunterson

Is this really an illegal scam? The right of the people to own and sell property is constitutionally protected. Provided it's a private exchange, I can't see the problem, apart from tax.

This is just a contract for goods. A bit like what goes on on adverts.ie. Grey market basically. /edit: Assuming no counterfeit or contraband.

PopeBuckfastXVI

Sean, at the very least they are dodging VAT.

Fighting Irish

321654 wrote: »

If the cops would act on info given to them as this scam is happening they would easily catch them. Its a common scam. I know several people who have called the cops, while still looking at the scamster and telling them if they come now theyll point out the person exactly then and there so easy arrest. But as in the OPs case the cops arent interested.

can the cops do anything? they guy is selling something, its up to you whether you buy it or not

i'd also prefer if the guards were out dealing with more serious stuff rather than just some fool losing their money

vulcan57

dwayneburke wrote: »

BTW the jackets werent even that nice...he was offering them for 200 euros down from 500 as he said he could not bring them on the plane

So how did he get them here in the first place?

dwayneburke

there were so many holes in his story i didnt bother even asking...

jenno86

Ya this happened to me a few months ago as well, around October I think. Was just walking home from college through Lurgan Park and he stopped me and gave me the same spiel! I told him that I didn't have much money because I'm a student and I offered him a fiver. He wasn't happy at all! Don't think its really illegal, is it? Not doing anything wrong is he? What could the cops do?

seosamh1980

That happened a friend of mine in Kilcolgan about 3 years ago, so it's been around a while

galwayrush

Ahh, real small Italian guy, met him twice. About three years ago. he came to my workshop , had some leather jackets left over from an expo in Galway but someone belonging to him suddenly took ill and he needed cash to get an emergency flight home.
last year, same guy came up to me in the car park at AIB Tuam Rd, same story, I asked him was he still trying to get the cash after 2 years of trying, his relation in Italy must be fed up waiting for him to return home at this stage. He said sometging nasty and fecked off in his car.

It's knock off goods, he claims them to be top brands like Gucci etc, but apparently they fall apart if they get wet a few times.

ErnieBert

Sean_K wrote: »

Is this really an illegal scam? The right of the people to own and sell property is constitutionally protected. Provided it's a private exchange, I can't see the problem, apart from tax.

This is just a contract for goods. A bit like what goes on on adverts.ie. Grey market basically. /edit: Assuming no counterfeit or contraband.

He need's a Trading Permit to sell stuff on the street.

Bet he doesn't even know that is.

FX Meister

PopeBuckfastXVI wrote: »

Sean, at the very least they are dodging VAT.

No he's not. It's up to him to decide if he wants to register for VAT or not.


I think the cops have more to do than busting a guy selling jackets. You get something for your money. If you believe they actually retail at €500 then that's your problem.

TK Max have a RRP for the stuff they sell and it's nowhere near the price of the stuff in a different store. Would you call the police about that?

luckat

Would be interesting to know if any consignment of leather jackets has been stolen - though he may be doing something perfectly legal, just relying on people's love of the slightly dodgy-seeming.

Hotwheels

Does he have bad french as well? like for example "allemagne dix points" might have been Delboy

vulcan57

Has anyone actually bought one off of him? That way we will know for sure if it is a scam. Alarm bells would start to ring if he was showing me one and then opens the boot to show you sealed boxes of jackets. Smells a bit like the laptop and water bottle scam. If it was so legit, why is he stopping people in the street and supermarket car parks, seemingly quite at random?

MySelf56

omg! i can't blv it. It is still going on Galway. nearly 5 years back same tihng happend to me when i am working Marvue Ind. Estate. I couldnt bought any thing i simply said i have only 10 yoyo in my packet, he vanished afterwards..

Madame Razz

Ha! My mate in Waterford actually encountered this guy aswell.....in Wterford city, Tesco I think it was.

He had leather jackets and italian suits at the time, twas a few years back; my mate bought two jackets and two suits from him for arond 300yoyos; I never saw the jackets but did see one of the suits, didn't really look all that bad tbh.

Weird he's still around after all these years though, his 'scam' obviously works!!!

Discodog

He hovers in Tescos carpak usually on a Friday. He actually approached me two days running & gave a different excuse.

Of course if he misrepresents what he is selling then that is illegal.

m83

What a ridiculous thread. You all sound so terrifed of a bit of a harmless albeit dodgy deal. Lame.

GalwayKiefer

m83 wrote: »

What a ridiculous thread. You all sound so terrifed of a bit of a harmless albeit dodgy deal. Lame.

I wouldn't go that far now, I just find it amazing he's been on the go so long (assuming its the same guy in the majority of cases) with that craic. Normally all I ever hear of being offered out of car boots/vans are powertools and dvds. The funniest thing i found about him was that for a "Milano fashion rep" he had the cheapest looking tie/sports coat combo I've seen in a long time.

ScumLord

I actually bought one of these jackets about 3 years ago. He pulled up outside the local supermarket one Friday with the same story.

He said he had 3 jackets for €500, they looked ok but there was no way I'd ever spend that. So he said he'd give me one jacket for €200. I said I only had €50 on me (had just been paid) so he made me sware on my catholic religion :rolleyes: that I had no more money and gave me one jacket for €50. It was a nice jacket for €50 and it's still in great nick 3 years later.

Discodog

m83 wrote: »

What a ridiculous thread. You all sound so terrifed of a bit of a harmless albeit dodgy deal. Lame.

I have a nice leather size large please as you must be him or his mate