RE: Ripped Off ?

daveg · 02-05-2003 10:50PM #1

Question is have you ever been or nearly been seriously ripped off ?

My own story....

About 4 years ago I was looking to buy a new (second hand car). I was looking for Mazda 323F. Anyhow I was checkin the buy and sell (:rolleyes:) and I saw one going cheap. About 2 1/2 K cheaper than normal so I rang up the owner. He told me his wife had passed away 5 months ago from cancer. It was her car so he wanted rid ASAP. So I said Id have a look in Dublin (from Galway). Met him in the Liffy Vally and the car was sound.

Arranged finance and a mechanic to check it out (in the Liffy Vally again - which I thought was strange). Mechanic said car was fine but he was concerned about the price. About to hand over 5,500 euro when the mechanic asked to see certificate of ownership. Appeared fine but on closer inspection (by Mechanic) it was a (very good) photocopy (colour). He noticed it had no crest.

Upon which the guy grabbed the certificate and sped off in the car. Reportred to the Gardas who told me that it was a regular thing. They would have followed me home and stolen back the car.

ballooba · 02-05-2003 11:04PM

Wan't to know the moral of the story?

If it looks too good to be true then it is. Don't pay in cash. Do an AA vehicle before you buy.

daveg · 02-05-2003 11:06PM

Originally posted by ballooba
Wan't to know the moral of the story?

If it looks too good to be true then it is. Don't pay in cash. Do an AA vehicle before you buy.

I learnt that lesson there and then. Thank god for the mechanic.

ballooba · 02-05-2003 11:14PM

Sisters bf's company got done for £250,000 with a stolen bank draft.

Annoying to say the least.

Same company has been robbed 4 times in 3 years.

Its getting f*cking personal.

The Gopher · 03-05-2003 04:25AM

When buying a CD which has been out a while from the likes of HMV I always check the bargain shelves to make sure Im not paying more than I should.An example is that you might pay full price(22 euro plus in most cases)for something which may be lying on another shelf for 8 euro.
Thankfully I have never to my knowledge been caught by this but i would be mighty pissed off if i was.Would they let you get a refund and buy the other cheaper CD?

Balloobla-Im not sure if they didin your case,but how come alot of companies either dont report internal fraud or the cops seem to do little about it?I know of somebody who swindled the company of which he was a high up manager out of several grand.He lives comfortably in a large house.Whether he was reported and the police did nothing or whether he was simply fired i dont know but the point is he made a profit out of it and appears to have gotten away with it better off than when he started.

Its the same with these tribunals-4 plus years of hearings,disputes and costly procedures to force people to testify and in the end they come out with a report stating the bleeding obvious,than Ben Dunne payed Fianna Fail TDs X and Y to do whatever(there have been so many tribunals it is hard to remember who Ben Dunne payed off,who was involved in the illegal land buying in Dublin,where did the many crimes of Charlie actually begin,what again has Liam Lawlor actually been accused of and how the feck Michael Lowry managed to get re elected).
Come to think about it tribunals and Fianna Fail go together like bread and butter.How has this country consistently re elected them despite highly dubious behaaviour among the present government regarding FF members being investigated?

Ste- · 03-05-2003 10:59AM

Originally posted by The Gopher
Balloobla-Im not sure if they didin your case,but how come alot of companies either dont report internal fraud or the cops seem to do little about it?I know of somebody who swindled the company of which he was a high up manager out of several grand.He lives comfortably in a large house.Whether he was reported and the police did nothing or whether he was simply fired i dont know but the point is he made a profit out of it and appears to have gotten away with it better off than when he started.

This happens alot more than people think and I reckon they don't report so it's kept out of the paper and any bad publicity the company might receive.

The Gopher · 05-05-2003 12:31PM

In the Blanchardstown centre yesterday I bought 8 batteries by a chinese manufacturer Id never heard of(koneko or something)for 2 euros from that shop near Virgin and Game that sells tonnes of cheap stuff.

I should have known at this price they were bound to be crap.Within 10 minutes of me putting 2 batteries into my CD discman the battery power low sign appeared:rolleyes: Within a little less than an hour it had cut out.

Its funny how these guys put shady descriptions on their products.Mine said"ultra power"and"japan technology".But when you think about it,is there a defination for how much power is ultra power?Not really.You could describe something that runs your discman for nearly an hour as ultra powered in comparison to batteries than run it for half an hour.

And Japan technology?It was made in China for chrissakes!And since when have the Japanese been so internationally renowned for battery making?Swiss watches,German cars,Italian cuisine and Japanese batteries?My arse:D

There is a chinese address(written in english)on the back of the box.What are the chances of a response if i send the batteries to china demanding a refund?They will most probably throw away my letter,send them back to Ireland in different packaging for sale and knowing my luck Ill fall victim to a bargain of a lifetime yet again and buy back my original batteries:D

Saruman · 05-05-2003 02:50PM

Jaysus Gopher... just buy Duracell and stuff like that... REAL batteries!! Its not like they cost that much...
And if you plan on sending the batteries to China for a refund.. remember it will cost you as much if not more to send them than the whole €2 they cost you!

STaN · 05-05-2003 03:26PM

lol @ the batteries. Get rechargable Ni-Mh's

Spunog UIE · 05-05-2003 06:22PM

had to get some pages printed and left them with a friend who ****ed them up for a second time (giblet ya waster)

then went to another friend to get them done, printer fecked.

then went to a print shop that says "printing" on the window. Go into the shop,

me: can you print a few pages for me?
them: is it on a disk
me: yup:
them: sorry we don't do printing, we can photocopy.
me leaving shop:good for you
them: you can try the computer shop across the road.

anyhew, the stuff has to be handed in with in 1hr, 30mins drive away.

computer shop across the road
me: the printing place across the road said you might be able to print a few pages for me.
them: is it on a disk
me: yup
them: well we charge €1 for coloured pages from a colour printer and 60c for a black and white from a lazer printer.
me: wtf?! ... here take my money

damn bastards must have seen me coming in a rush...tis all ur fault giblet!!!!

anyhewwwwwwww thats the worst it added up to like €15

on another note when i was collecting them i was eves dropping on a conversation they were having with another victim i mean customer, they basically charged her €65 to check her computer for virus, viri whatever, anyway thats not the kicker. She already had norton antivirus on her computer and they had basically hit scan for €65!!!! hmmmm checkin the list of prices on their wall, feckin madness.

But thats teh worst for me, basically i knew i was been ripped off they knew it too but was fecked and had to get them done.

oneweb · 05-05-2003 06:41PM

Was in a computer shop a good while back. Bloke about the same age as me asked how much xxMB memory was. £xx, fair enough. Then he asked how much it'd cost to install it. I nearly croaked on the spot when I heard the shopguy say £20 (I did say it was a while back!). Just to pop a stick in a slot!

Anyway, the bloke said he'd be back with the comp in 20mins. Only for the fact he probably would've thought that I was a wierdo I would've told him I'd do it for nothing.

koneko · 05-05-2003 06:48PM

Originally posted by The Gopher
In the Blanchardstown centre yesterday I bought 8 batteries by a chinese manufacturer Id never heard of(koneko or something)for 2 euros from that shop near Virgin and Game that sells tonnes of cheap stuff.

I sold you batteries?

Got similar dodgy very cheap batteries once. Work okay in very low power devices but for everything else they're useless.

ballooba · 05-05-2003 07:02PM

Originally posted by The Gopher
Balloobla-Im not sure if they didin your case,but how come alot of companies either dont report internal fraud or the cops seem to do little about it?I know of somebody who swindled the company of which he was a high up manager out of several grand.He lives comfortably in a large house.Whether he was reported and the police did nothing or whether he was simply fired i dont know but the point is he made a profit out of it and appears to have gotten away with it better off than when he started.

This isn't what happened the company in question, just the business they are in.

Different company but my dad was doing interviews for a senior sales postion a few years ago and he was interviewing this guy who he knew and who had an impressive resume. He had a feeling that something was fishy, that the guy had left his last job very suddenly, he rang up his previous employer. The guy had been let go on the quiet for taking kickbacks.

They don't wan't the bad publicity. I guess it reflects badly on them that they were robbed by their own.

RE: Ripped Off ?

Comments