Ripped Off on Gumtree

Undeadfred

about 2-3 weeks ago i bought an iPhone 4S for €150 from an ad on Gumtree. I met up with the guy and the Phone seemed to be working fine so i gave him the money and he gave me the phone. It was only when i got home that i realised the phone kept turning off by itself and the sound wasnt working on it.

I thought this could possibly be repaired so i gave the phone in to GSM Solutions in town. Just got a call from them today saying that the phone is unrepairable.

I know it was stupid of me to buy the phone in the first place but I'm not going down without a fight. Is there anything i could do to possibly get my money back? I have the guy's first name and number and i know that he lives in Tallaght somewhere. He's Indian with a child. I'm thinking of going to the Gardai for help, maybe they could track his phone number and find out where he lives. Surely you can trace a phone number nowadays.

I was also told i should message Gumtree about it but I doubt they'd be able to do anything.

If anyone has any advice on what i should do or if anyone has experienced fraud like this before please comment with advice

L1011

Private sale, caveat emptor. The Gardai will do absolutely nothing as you have no comeback anyway.

col.in.Cr

He told you he was from India?

Undeadfred

col.in.Cr wrote: »

He told you he was from India?

He was Indian. I met him in person

Judgement Day

Undeadfred wrote: »

He was Indian. I met him in person

I think you upset col.in.Cr's politically correct sensitivities. :rolleyes:

flyguy

Bit late but you made a good few mistakes there (don't worry I'll give advice at the end)...
Don't buy an iPhone without all documentation; receipt, box etc.
Don't buy anything in a public place, always at the sellers home address so you know where to go if there's a problem.
There are a lot of scams with iPhones, read a few articles lately about massive increase in theft but I bet at least half of them are insurance fraud; sell phone them claim it stolen, phone will then be blocked and useless to buyer, this even happens with brand new sealed boxes ("unwanted upgrade"). Basically beware, don't buy unless you know where to go back to...
Sorry but Gardai are really not gonna care, you bought a product and got it. Where's the crime? Oh it doesn't work properly? Well, who's fault is that...
Tracking phone numbers? I doubt they'll find reason to do that.
Then you brought it to the worst most dodgy repair shop around, do a search on board and you'll see. They may have even made it worse!
Now here's the advice; try another repair shop (personal recommendation is sycron.ie) or even try apple, it's a 4s? Could still be under warranty. Call apple or arrange a repair online, they'll collect the phone then let you know if they can fix it & what it will cost (max around €211 for a 4s) and then you can decide if you want to go ahead with it. I assume you re-registered it to your own iTunes account?
Good luck!

Ps, dunno how gumtree works, but if its like adverts keep an eye if he tries to sell more stuff, Easy way of meeting him again...

Undeadfred

He has another ad on Gumtree. I think I'll text him asking to buy it then when i meet up to buy it force him to give my money back for the phone

flyguy

Be great if that works out. Would use a different number to contact him just in case he has yours stored, also I wouldn't go alone to meet him...
Let us know how it went down.
Good luck!

Tannnn

I'd like to know too! I just got ripped off as well. Still frustrated and figuring out how to explain to my parents.

Jarren

Tannnn wrote: »

I'd like to know too! I just got ripped off as well. Still frustrated and figuring out how to explain to my parents.

Go on ...

Tannnn

Well I swapped my Galaxy Tab for a Galaxy S2 over gumtree since I've not own a smartphone before and I don't use the tab often enough. When I got home and turned it on, and after a minute or 2 it suddenly switches off. I tried charging it and everything but it showed no signs of life. I negotiated this with the dealer and he said it was my fault, and so he has no responsibility over the phone. So I went to a technician to see what was up and was told the phone had a faulty mother board to begin with. I've gotten back to the dude and he says he's good at his end since the phone got messed up in my possession. I mean, my Galaxy Tab wasn't even 1/2 year old (pretty much brand new) and now I have a completely dead phone. I know where he works and have his initials and phone number. Not sure what to do now.

alyssum

flyguy wrote: »

Bit late but you made a good few mistakes there (don't worry I'll give advice at the end)...
Don't buy an iPhone without all documentation; receipt, box etc.
Don't buy anything in a public place, always at the sellers home address so you know where to go if there's a problem.
There are a lot of scams with iPhones, read a few articles lately about massive increase in theft but I bet at least half of them are insurance fraud; sell phone them claim it stolen, phone will then be blocked and useless to buyer, this even happens with brand new sealed boxes ("unwanted upgrade"). Basically beware, don't buy unless you know where to go back to...
Sorry but Gardai are really not gonna care, you bought a product and got it. Where's the crime? Oh it doesn't work properly? Well, who's fault is that...
Tracking phone numbers? I doubt they'll find reason to do that.
Then you brought it to the worst most dodgy repair shop around, do a search on board and you'll see. They may have even made it worse!
Now here's the advice; try another repair shop (personal recommendation is sycron.ie) or even try apple, it's a 4s? Could still be under warranty. Call apple or arrange a repair online, they'll collect the phone then let you know if they can fix it & what it will cost (max around €211 for a 4s) and then you can decide if you want to go ahead with it. I assume you re-registered it to your own iTunes account?
Good luck!

Ps, dunno how gumtree works, but if its like adverts keep an eye if he tries to sell more stuff, Easy way of meeting him again...

garda would be interested if it is a result of theft as the seller would be dealing in stolen goods

alyssum

Undeadfred wrote: »

He has another ad on Gumtree. I think I'll text him asking to buy it then when i meet up to buy it force him to give my money back for the phone

did you met him?

A Dub in Glasgo

Tannnn wrote: »

Well I swapped my Galaxy Tab for a Galaxy S2 over gumtree since I've not own a smartphone before and I don't use the tab often enough. When I got home and turned it on, and after a minute or 2 it suddenly switches off. I tried charging it and everything but it showed no signs of life. I negotiated this with the dealer and he said it was my fault, and so he has no responsibility over the phone. So I went to a technician to see what was up and was told the phone had a faulty mother board to begin with. I've gotten back to the dude and he says he's good at his end since the phone got messed up in my possession. I mean, my Galaxy Tab wasn't even 1/2 year old (pretty much brand new) and now I have a completely dead phone. I know where he works and have his initials and phone number. Not sure what to do now.

Not much can be done other than trying it out for a few minutes when buying