Smart Fortwo - Fraudulent private sale

Honest John Back Room » Legal matters
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Wed 8 Mar 2023 17:38
Smart Fortwo - Fraudulent private sale - Joe-Man Wan

Hi Honest Johns,

I have been a victim of a fraudulent private sale. Long story short, substantial damage from suspensions was not found during initial inspection, in addition the "full service history" smart service book is fraudulent (which was advertised on Autotrader). The reason that it is fraudulent is because I found out 1) Mercedes doesn't have any service record of this vehicle since 2013 2) The MOT date and mileage on government website exactly matches the "service date" on the service book, where the MOT is done in Lewisham London and the service was supposed done by Smart Hertford with their stamp. (i.e. the seller bought the service book and filled it out himself with some Mercedes service stamp that he clearly somehow sources from somewhere) The car clearly has been at two places at the same time! Note that the car is HPI clear not written off nor stolen.

Now with such criminals of course they are unreachable after the sale. Is there any legal advice someone can offer so pursue any loss I have suffered? (i.e. reduced car value)

Your advice would be much appreciated.

Many thanks.

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Thu 9 Mar 2023 06:57
Smart Fortwo - Fraudulent private sale - FiestaOwner

One of the main recommendations when buying a car privately, is to view the car at the seller's address as listed on the log book.

If the seller is a trader, then they won't have the full log book!

Did you buy it from the address on the log book? If you did, you then have someone (or at least an address) to TRY to claim against for your losses.

If you bought the car in a supermarket car park or motorway service area, then you don't know who you were dealing with (or their address) and are very unlikely to get anywhere.

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Thu 9 Mar 2023 08:34
Smart Fortwo - Fraudulent private sale - 72 dudes

Sadly, you will have no come back against these fraudsters.

It's an awful thing to happen and a hard lesson to learn.

But ask yourself, was the few hundred (or thousand?) pounds you saved over buying at a Smart dealer worth all this hassle?

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Thu 9 Mar 2023 09:15
Smart Fortwo - Fraudulent private sale - skidpan

But ask yourself, was the few hundred (or thousand?) pounds you saved over buying at a Smart dealer worth all this hassle?

The car is 10 years old (at least), no Smart dealer would sell such a car.

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Thu 9 Mar 2023 13:16
Smart Fortwo - Fraudulent private sale - Gibbo_Wirral

I always verify any service book stamps with a corresponding invoice or receipt.

If seller can't provide one then don't assume the stamp is genuine. You can have one made up to any design on ebay.

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Thu 9 Mar 2023 13:24
Smart Fortwo - Fraudulent private sale - 72 dudes

But ask yourself, was the few hundred (or thousand?) pounds you saved over buying at a Smart dealer worth all this hassle?

The car is 10 years old (at least), no Smart dealer would sell such a car.

Fair point, I should have perhaps said "reputable dealer" if that's not too much of an oxym****

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Sat 11 Mar 2023 16:11
Smart Fortwo - Fraudulent private sale - Adampr

Not sure about this. It's possible that the car was MOTd in one place and serviced in another on the same day, or are you saying the mileage was the same? Have you checked the MOT history to see if it was done in Lewisham?

As for the suspension damage, it surely can't be that bad if you didn't notice it on inspection or a test drive. Was it on an old MOT or anything? One man's 'major damage' is another man's couple of loose ball joints.

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