News
Watch out – eBay fraudsters about!
The number of stories and cases The Equipment Register (TER) receives about items on eBay continue to amaze them.
Words by: Auto Trader
Published on 29 August 2012 | 0 min read
It would seem that equipment thieves are increasingly looking to exploit innocent purchasers by selling machinery which, in many cases, does not even exist!
Last week, a member of the public phoned The National Plant and Equipment Register to discuss the TER Check service and mentioned that he was looking to purchase a 2008 JCB JS160 (16-tonne) excavator, pictured, which was advertised for sale on eBay for only £8,400 - considerably lower than the market value. Alarm bells starting ringing in the TER operator's ears and they decided to investigate the case further. The images of the machine and the serial number looked genuine on the advertisement but, following a little investigation, TER established that the machine was also being advertised for sale by the dealer’s to whom it was sold just a few weeks earlier - this time for the correct value of £25,500! All of the machine images on the dealer’s website were the same - they had simply been copied and uploaded onto eBay by the fraudsters who, in all probability, did not even have a machine to sell! The TER operator contacted the dealers and told them what was going on. They were aware of the situation and said that this happened to them frequently. Having saved himself a substantial amount of money, the prospective purchaser in Bridgend was relieved - and a little shocked: "It is frightening to think that I could have paid £8,400 for something which probably didn't exist. After my experience, I would urge anyone buying used machinery online to carry out proper checks with a company like TER before parting with your money".
Last week, a member of the public phoned The National Plant and Equipment Register to discuss the TER Check service and mentioned that he was looking to purchase a 2008 JCB JS160 (16-tonne) excavator, pictured, which was advertised for sale on eBay for only £8,400 - considerably lower than the market value. Alarm bells starting ringing in the TER operator's ears and they decided to investigate the case further. The images of the machine and the serial number looked genuine on the advertisement but, following a little investigation, TER established that the machine was also being advertised for sale by the dealer’s to whom it was sold just a few weeks earlier - this time for the correct value of £25,500! All of the machine images on the dealer’s website were the same - they had simply been copied and uploaded onto eBay by the fraudsters who, in all probability, did not even have a machine to sell! The TER operator contacted the dealers and told them what was going on. They were aware of the situation and said that this happened to them frequently. Having saved himself a substantial amount of money, the prospective purchaser in Bridgend was relieved - and a little shocked: "It is frightening to think that I could have paid £8,400 for something which probably didn't exist. After my experience, I would urge anyone buying used machinery online to carry out proper checks with a company like TER before parting with your money".