22/07/2023
Good Afternoon, we have been notified by a caring member of the community in Colchester that there is a Facebook Marketplace seller using our name and details, as a means to defraud people looking for appliances.
This person is using different names, most recently 'Diana Vickers'.
The scam runs as such; they advertise a flashy appliance, normally an upmarket brand, in this case a Samsung american style fridge freezer (they have now also been advertising LG appliances). The price is set very low to lure in buyers, with pictures of the appliance in a professional background. They may also say that the appliance comes with a warranty (FYI a private seller CANNOT offer any manufacturer warranty, as it is not valid).
They will then give you our address and ask if you would like to see the product in the shop. If you say yes, they will then create a sense of urgency, by suggesting someone has offered to buy it first. From here they will try to get you to commit to the purchase over Facebook chat and ask for a deposit to secure the appliance.
The details they have been giving are;
- A bank account under the name of a MR C PIKE
- Diana Vickers
- David
- Mobile number ending in 512945
- Mobile number ending in 598941
We DO NOT, nor have we ever sold appliances via Facebook Marketplace.
If anyone comes across anything similar under another Facebook account please let us know.
They may use our address which is 24-26 Fairfield Road, Braintree, CM73HF.
A good rule is to NEVER pay for an item you have not seen over Facebook.
If you come across this account a good tactic is to pretend to be interested, to waste their time. Then report the account as a scam.
Thank you,
John Mitchell Electrical (the real one).