buyer beware

[gomer]

Was talking to a fellow club member last weekend old mate,And he told me this.
He put a $2000 dollar deposit on a macaw in Sydney through the bank .Drove 1200 kms there to pick it up.Only to find out the bloke was not home and would not answer his phone.Drove back 1200 kms,finally days later he spoke to him.He said he would drive it down here 2400 kms return.Didnt show up.Old mate days later got onto him by phone again.The bloke said he broke down on the way here.And had spent the $2000 dollar deposit fixing his car,And now had decided he wanted to keep the bird,Also he has no money to refund the deposit.Old mate has had legal advice and been told its probley not worth the trouble to chase.Old mate said he does not want to rock the bout in hope he will get his money back.and Macaw man is no longer answering his phone.

The add was on a Animal classified website we all look at.And is well known for scammers so buyer beware.

[finchbreeder]

Poor sod your mate.
LML

[jusdeb]

Old mate must be furious and I dont blame him ....bloody dodgy .

[spanna]

sucks to hear that there are still people out there that try and get away with things like that. thanks for the heads up. all my dealings are cash on delivery/pickup. mind you i don't have any finches worth $2000... but i think it's the best way to go. i'm very suspicious of people and my money

hope your mate gets some justice.

[Diane]

Karma will get the b----r I just dont know how some people can live with themselves doing things like that.
Feel sorry for your mate.

[E Orix]

I am not so sure you couldn't get your money back.
Not Solicitors but the common old Debt Collector it's quite legal and you would lose 15% to 25% in fees.Before that you can threaten to tell all his name and what he has done.If you tell the truth and exactly what has happened he can't sue you.
If he won't answer his phone write on a sheet of BLUE paper what you intend to do if he does not make an effort to repay your money.
You can register it so you will know he has recieved it. Don't feel sorry for the person as he will most likely do it again if he gets away with it from you.
You need to warn other people.
By the way I have purchased some very expensive birds over the years and unless I know the people personally no cash until I see the birds.
To ask for a deposit of $2000 seems to me to be far too big even though it is only a relatively small percentage of the total cost.

[toothlessjaws]

it funny how in my experience the person who has been ripped off never wants to "rock the boat" for fear of pissing the person off and not getting their money refunded. the truth is, whilst old mate has little chance of recovering the money no matter what they do - they have absolutely NO CHANCE of getting their money back playing kind.

debt collector is definitely the best option.

i'd say turn up with 10 blokes and take the macaw but then, there never really was a macaw to begin with.