I bought a Weber BBQ from www.BBQing.com.au which only had bank transfer as a valid payment. As soon as I made the payment I feared I could have just been conned, and now after a few weeks I've not received my order, there was no reply from any emails I sent, no contact number, and now the website is down/dead.
Does anyone know of how I can possibly begin to try and get my $270 back? Commbank have been less than useful when I tried with them.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Cheers
That's probably what happened to the guy who set up BBQing.com.au! lol
They were mentioned previously in this thread some good advice on what to do
Cheers, I've had a read through that thread now (wish it had come up in my searches when I looked before, no idea why it didn't). Doesn't seem overly promising that I'll get my money back.
Commbank have been less than useful when I tried with them.
I've no idea why you think CBA would or should help you. It's not as if your money went to them.
I guess we get spoilt with protection covers, etc., but I called them as I was hoping that they'd even be able to offer me advice on how I could go about trying to get my money back but they gave me no advice. The account I transferred to was to a CBA account, so technically my money did go to them.. (until the thieves withdraw it)
You transferred your money (with your wish and will) to another person..So now how CBA will know that why did you transfer money at first place and how do they believe that you are not tryin to BBQish them…
Hence why I was asking them for advice on what, if anything, I can do. Be it reporting to police/lodge a claim of some description/anything. I wasn't expecting CBA to just go 'oh, ok, here's your money back.'. I expected them to offer me better advice on where I could go to to try and start lodging reports/complaints to.
@evorgevol: Why should bank advise if you should go to police or council or anything. If there was any suspicious transaction on account, i understand that bank can advise.
I expected them to offer me better advice on where I could go to to try and start lodging reports/complaints to.
But that's got nothing to do with CBA. Just because you or the seller banks with CBA doesn't mean CBA has any special authority here. It's like if someone rear-ended you while driving a Toyota, and you were also driving a Toyota, and you went to a Toyota dealer to ask what you should do. ???
quoted from the other thread, credit to siger on 19/09/2016 - 15:24
"1. Contact your bank or credit union where the money was transferred from and let them know you have been scammed and ask for a reversal of funds, also tell them others have been caught.
2. Contact Ubank on 133080 and speak to "Jessica" ( this is who I spoke to )and tell her you have been scammed by Bradley Peter McGuire who has his account at UBank- Biller code 768-374 and that he has committed fraud, she will know about it.
3. The date the payment was made and from which bank etc you paid it from.
4. Your receipt number and also give them his ABN 13 908 916 182.
5. His given business address for the ABN is 3A Lenton Place North Rocks 2151.
6. Contact www.acorn.gov.au and fill out a fraud complaint online with the police (easy)
7. Go to www.fairtrading in your state and fill out a complaint.
8. I also filled out a complaint with the ACCC.
The most important thing to do is number 6 after you have contacted UBank and your bank.
I have looked and it appears the site has been taken down so don't wait to long as he will probably start it under another name, best of luck.
He was also trading as Bonza BBQ Deals at some stage, just keep an eye on the ABN."
Thanks, I have completed number 6. I contacted my bank, but as stated above they wouldn't assist me. The information given (biller code/ubank) isn't applicable as this was for a different site/scammer.
You can look up the website registration details using AusReg, then look at the listed ABN and ACN to determine the company details using this and this. This should give you the company associated with the website and, if you pay ASIC a little bit of money for a report, you should be able to find out the director's name too.
The scammers register the AU domain with a legit company's ABN, there's no check performed, and typically the company has no involvement in the scam. The scammer could have used OzBargain's ABN for that matter.
You really need to install an anti virus tool on your PC. BitDefender won't even let me into that site.
Yep same thing with mine, shows a warning sign although you can still access it. Link to the free edition of BitDefender if anyone's interested
why would you think bank transfer is a good idea?
It was the only payment option and offered an extra 5% discount, so just got caught up in the moment. Ordinarily I'd never consider it, so no idea why I did this time..
Because scammers know how to intice you, there livelyhood depends on it!
entice**
*livelihood
*their
lol bank transfer to buy something in 2017.
God paying via bank transfer, such a rookie mistake. If you see something which is a bargain you should be even more skeptical than normal, this means you absolutely would only pay via credit card or Paypal
Domain Info
THE PELLET KING PTY. LTD.
ABN 83609971977
ACN 609971977
Registrant Name: John macdonald
[email protected]
ABN Info
Main business location: VIC 3073
Address for service of documents: 23 Wattlebird Crescent Reservoir VIC 3073
Business names: Australian BBQ, American BBQ, American Rubs & Sauces
Rest assured OP, this "John macdonald" sounds like an upstanding citizen of unimpeachable repute, and certainly not a made-up name for proxy ABN holder fronting a fraudulent business scam now in possession of your bank transfer money.
That company likely has no involvement in the scam. Anyone can register an AU domain using any ABN they care to pluck from anywhere - there are no validation checks.
Edit: Googling finds their Facebook account.
https://www.facebook.com/Thepelletking/posts/182067829796156…
The Pellet King - 2 November at 01:34
If you are looking to contact us in regards to BBQING.COM.AU please note that this website is acting fraudgently using our business details. We have advised the Victorian Police and also the Cyber Crime Authority.
DO NOT PURCHASE ANYTHING FROM BBQING.COM.AU
Website is gone now
WE'LL BE BACK SOON.
WE ARE CURRENTLY UPDATING OUR SHOP AND WILL BE BACK REALLY SOON.
THANKS FOR YOUR PATIENCE.
In other equally shocking plot twists, it has recently come to light that Bruce Willis was in fact dead in "The Sixth Sense".
Find out their address and send some hired goons.
I was caught the same way with a BBQ and was never able to get my $’s back.
This guy is back again.
He was operating under the name bbqmaster.com.au back in November last year.
Don’t hold your breath waiting for your Weber, and don’t expect any help from……..
Your bank (privacy laws prevent you from reclaiming what is rightfully yours when you transfer money into a crooks account even though the account is still open.)
The Police ( unless you are the Govt. or a banking institution, they will tell you they don’t have the resources to investigate.)
ACCC
Scamwatch
ACORN ( they will all thank you for your wasted time filling out their forms, and then you will never hear from them again.)
In a nutshell, nobody gives a shit about your misfortune. This guys website was open for a full month after I was conned, that should tell you how seriously this sort of crime is taken.
My advice
Cut your losses, try not to lose too much sleep over it ( the scammer won’t) and most importantly only use PayPal when dealing with someone online
This guy must have been doing the same thing for a while. I found another dodgy site called BBQ City earlier in the year.
Yep that’s where my Clayton’s bbq came from!
Some things are worth buying from a bricks and mortar store or their online store even if it costs you a bit more. Now this webber will cost you $600+ if you buy another one
setup a new website bbqish.com.au and pull the same scam on the next guy