Deus Scam

[oldartefact]

Please spread the word 13th December 2014

Gumtree.........Deus for sale with 11" coil, remote & WS5, the seller shows a picture with all items then makes an excuse for payment direct to his/her account, there is no Deus !

One person has already lost £760, please let all forums know.

[tigtog]

well spotted

[slowsweep]

Gumtree is a meet and exchange site, there is no paypal protection there, anyone who sends money is asking for trouble

[Harry Digger]

There are between 250 and 390 complaints to Gumtree about this sort of scam every week
Wouldn't go near the place

[digger360]

without a doubt there are plenty of scammers on gumtree
but i have bought and sold metal detectors on there amongst other things with no problems
by either meeting face to face or using paypal to paypal ....just trust no one and if it sounds too good to be true !! back away and forget it

[sweepstick47]

Thanks for spreading the word oldartifact - I wouldn't trust anyone on 'scumtree'.

[colgoldlyn77]

Hi everyone,
I'm so glad this problem has been highlighted on the forum.
I was scammed out of £50 for a deposit for an Etrac woth £650,it was supposedly been sold on gum tree from a person fro the Isle of Wight' she sounded so genuine over the phone.
I know I was silly in sending a direct payment of £50, but things could have been so much worse if the full amount had been sent.
I was lucky my bank refunded the money, but only because they had made a mistake by telling me that I was fully covered, direct payments are not covered by banks normally.
Anyways it was a scam, reported it to the action fraud squad, which is then passed on to another government body, and if they think it is deemed reasonable to carry out an investigation they will do.
I've heard nothing since, and to be honest I think it's a total waste of tax payers monies, to this government set up especially when the same person was still operating on gum tree 6 weeks after, still scamming lots of money from innocent people.
My advice is that a lot of sales are genuine on gum tree and other sites like them, unless you can actually go and see the item, meet up in person and always ask for the serial numbers on the machines and check the company on where it was purchased, dates etc.
There is a good saying I wholly believe in, IF ITS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE, IT PROBALLY IS.
Regards
Colin

[pasttarg]

always ask for serial number and check with nigel at regtons if it exists and who it was sold to ,and if seller has original receipt as he should keep it for the warranty
ask them to send you a copy for verification with Regtons

[Nigel at regtons]

Hi everyone,
I'm so glad this problem has been highlighted on the forum.
I was scammed out of £50 for a deposit for an Etrac woth £650,it was supposedly been sold on gum tree from a person fro the Isle of Wight' she sounded so genuine over the phone.
I know I was silly in sending a direct payment of £50, but things could have been so much worse if the full amount had been sent.
I was lucky my bank refunded the money, but only because they had made a mistake by telling me that I was fully covered, direct payments are not covered by banks normally.
Anyways it was a scam, reported it to the action fraud squad, which is then passed on to another government body, and if they think it is deemed reasonable to carry out an investigation they will do.
I've heard nothing since, and to be honest I think it's a total waste of tax payers monies, to this government set up especially when the same person was still operating on gum tree 6 weeks after, still scamming lots of money from innocent people.
My advice is that a lot of sales are genuine on gum tree and other sites like them, unless you can actually go and see the item, meet up in person and always ask for the serial numbers on the machines and check the company on where it was purchased, dates etc.
There is a good saying I wholly believe in, IF ITS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE, IT PROBALLY IS.
Regards
Colin

It was me who put up this information on the XP forum asking for it to be shared, the person I refer to had been conned out of the money by someone in Devon but a few days later saying they were in Isle of White (coincidence ?)

[Dibnah]

ALL please note

it is always better to meet face to face accompanied by another person, if you are intending to meet and buy a detector worth £££ then it maybe that you are being setup to be robbed,

unless its a valid uk address, DONT GO, dont meet in a pub or car park, etc as they tend not to be covered by cctv,

when viewing, dont carry the money on your person, have it stashed deep in the car, just agree your price once viewed and haggled , then fetch the cash if all looks ok,

Have 999 on speed dial and if anything happens dont leave the scene,

happy hunting

[oldartefact]

ALL please note

it is always better to meet face to face accompanied by another person, if you are intending to meet and buy a detector worth £££ then it maybe that you are being setup to be robbed,

unless its a valid uk address, DONT GO, dont meet in a pub or car park, etc as they tend not to be covered by cctv,

when viewing, dont carry the money on your person, have it stashed deep in the car, just agree your price once viewed and haggled , then fetch the cash if all looks ok,

Have 999 on speed dial and if anything happens dont leave the scene,

happy hunting

How do you guard against it being stolen? Would an idea be to meet at a rally (someone is less likely to rob you with 20+ other detectorists about). I have been ripped off to the tune of £250 someone inviting me to buy a detector that they knew was faulty!!! I wont buy second hand again!!

[Dibnah]

good idea about the meet at a ralley etc, you can give it a full test etc,

when buying private its always a gamble as we tend to let politeness take over and not fully test, or take up to much of the sellers time,

id rather be rude than ripped off

[TownCat]

I wouldn't trust anyone on 'scumtree'.

After reading this topic, I count myself very lucky because I have bought all my previous detectors second hand off Gumtree, (now have a new machine). I have never sent the money and always tried out the machines before buying, and if they are not what I expected I have not purchased them ( simples!!)
I have also sold stuff on Gumtree and Ebay, and I consider myself to be honest and will not swindle someone out of their hard earned cash. I think every auction site has its "bad apples" and there are a few taking advantage on Gumtree. But the majority of people are genuine, it's a bit unfair to tar everyone with the same brush.

[Nailman]

I've only ever purchased privately once that was off a fellow club member so I knew the machines history and did a field test.
My other machine was baught secondhand from a dealer, I know you pay more but piece of mind is a must.

[Titus Pantus]

I paid £640 a little while ago for a Deus and got ripped off but luckily got my money back as I paid through the "pay for goods or service" tab. I did put a post on here about it.

I have since used Gumtree to buy an Arai motorbike helmet and some bike leathers and all has gone well.
I will only make contact with someone who has been a member for at least a year as in my mind, this person should have already been banned if they have been reported. Its a shame that this happens as I would never dream of doing this to anyone but I guess we all use ourselves as the benchmark don't we.