GUMTREE LIVE HELP CHAT, SCAM.

Liam H: Hello, my name is Liam, how can I help you?
You: Why do you allow scammers on your site?
Liam H: We do not
You: you sure do
Liam H: THen it appears that you know more about it than I do
Liam H: We do not "allow" scammers on the site
Liam H: that's not to say that there aren't any
Liam H: We do all we can to screen fro dodgy ads....
Liam H: but of course some slip through the net
You: okay, I gave you a few ref numbers
You: maybe you should check them out
You: I was ripped off by £500 last week
You: via a Gumtree Ad
Liam H: Aaah... hate to hear that
Liam H: thanks for the ad refs....
Liam H: did you report this matter in writing to safety@gumtree.com yet?
You: nope
You: you wont get my money back
You: unlike ebay
You: which you are apart of
Liam H: That's right.... since Gumtree do not get involved in the transaction in any way...
Liam H: there's little we can do with regards to refunds
You: but since the ad was place via your website you have to be held liable
You: so what are you going to do about the two ref numbers I gave you
You: or more to the point the people that placed them
You: HELLO
You: have you stopped talking to me?
You: HELLO ANYONE THERE?
You: Nice BBC Watchdog material this!
You: Great customer service - NOT!
You: Ignore complaints
You: GUMTREE scams will go viral now
You: well done
Liam H: hello, so sorry for the long wait
Liam H: I have to deal with multiple chats at one time
Liam H: and unfortunately I only have 10 fingers
You: and type with 2
You: so please answer my questions
Liam H: just a moment pls
Liam H: with you very soon
Liam H: Well, I have checked on the first ad ref you submitted....
Liam H: our fraud team have alrady removed it as they feel the item is suspiciously underpriced...
You: really
You: I just viewed it
Liam H: Are either of these ad's related to you being defrauded of 500 last week?
Liam H: 1017673742 is no longer live on the site. Removed by fraud dept.
You: the one that has telephone number 07599857980
You: who placed another ad
You: but from Middlesbrough
Liam H: Their account has been marked for fraud...
Liam H: all ads have been removed
You: but with same tel number
Liam H: and user can not post further ads
You: He robbed me of £500
You: It was for a Canon 5D mk2 with lenes
You: lenses that should be!
You: He also has another ad with you
You: XP DEUS. Remote Control Unit in Isle of Wight | Other Sports
You: It's no good just blocking Ads
You: This guy needs to be nicked
Liam H: I totally agree with you
You: you have the means to do this
Liam H: No, we are not the police
You: so how are you going to help me
Liam H: I am going to send you an email requesting a whole bunch of info from you....
Liam H: we will then register the crime with Action Fraud
Liam H: and then get back to you with a reference number
You: Yeah, I have already done that
You: so where do we go from here
Liam H: I see...
Liam H: just a moment pls
You: okay
Liam H: Have you already been contacted back with your crime reference number?
You: yes
Liam H: Well, basically now wer're awaiting contact from the police
You: (DELETED FOR SECURITY REASONS)
Liam H: they will no doubt get in touch at some point and request info on the advertiser
You: i DOUBT IT
Liam H: Should you require an update on your case then please contact the police quoting that reference number
You: They cannot give updates
Liam H: Why's that?
You: you tell me
Liam H: I do not work with the police
You: They all get swallowed up by the agency in London
Liam H: I don't understand, sorry
You: Action Fraud is a front for a specialised unit
You: they dont pick up on all complaints
Liam H: I see....
Liam H: that is something I was not aware of
You: GumTree does have a duty to follow this up
You: they are implicite in the crime
Liam H: We make no guaruntees as to the volidity of any ad on our site....
Liam H: and we always advise our users to meet face to face in a public place
Liam H: preferably with a friend accompanying you
Liam H: validity*
You: implicit that is
Liam H: Did you see my last couple of messages?
You: yep
You: that doesnt count in law
Liam H: OK. Well, that's the situation
Liam H: Then I suppose you had better investigate this matter with your solicitor
Liam H: As there's no further assistnace I can offer you I'm afraid
You: So what you are saying meet face to face with the seller, take a friend with you
Liam H: Yes.... please read our safety advice pages...
Liam H: you will see that amongst other safety tips written there
You: is that so you wont get beaten up!
Liam H: Or mugged, yes
You: ahhhhh
Liam H: also why we advise a public place
You: I see now
You: so Gumtree advocates that it sellers are probably crooks who will rip you off, mug you, or even worse..
Liam H: Sir, I understand your disgruntlement, I really do. But I think you know that is not the case
Liam H: we make that warning on the off-chance
Liam H: the vast majority of buys and sells go smoothly
Liam H: unfortunately every now and then someone get's had
Liam H: and I'm sorry that it had to be you
You: can you tell me where this guy lives?
Liam H: No, I cannot tell you that
You: but do you know
Liam H: we must abide by data protection laws
Liam H: no, we do not know
Liam H: we would have the IP address....
Liam H: but if it is a mobile I.P. it's not going to be of much use
You: agreed
Liam H: The police can request this kind of info..
Liam H: We can't realease this kind of info to the public
Liam H: data protection laws
You: Freedom of Information Act
You: allows you to give such info
Liam H: Sure, then pls have your solicitor contact us on lawenforcement@gumtree.com with the required forms and we'll do what we can to assist
You: okay
Liam H: Sorry there's not much more we can do
You: Thanks for you help with this matter, I will now post it on web
Liam H: Just be more careful next time.... Don't trust that someone will be of good faith
Liam H: always better to meet and do the exchange and check the item works there and then
Liam H: food for thought
Liam H: OK, have a good day sitr
Liam H: sir*
You: watch YouTube
You: for this conversation, along with Twitter and Facebook
Liam H: OK then
The agent is typing.

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