I have been ripped off (by Mick Mason of Leicester - Facebook scammer/thief)

[walshy]

Absolutely agree 100% A lot of sites would’ve just blanketed it and not allowed comments for potential ramifications but @ped has played a blinder. Kudos to him

[Jamiexsilver]

Guess what guys, I too bought a sansamp pedal off Mick. 

His mate is stuck in the sorting office so has not had chance to send it. 

He’s sent a refund through PayPal that just says pending but I get the impression I’m not going to see that.

Merry Christmas.

 

[prowla]

6 minutes ago, Jamiexsilver said:

Guess what guys, I too bought a sansamp pedal off Mick. 

His mate is stuck in the sorting office so has not had chance to send it. 

He’s sent a refund through PayPal that just says pending but I get the impression I’m not going to see that.

Merry Christmas.

 

Welcome to the club!

[Steve Browning]

The following link is to report a rogue trader to Leicester trading standards. I would say the level of t5rading suggests a business. In any event, it gets awareness of him to one of the right authorities. This is to report a scammer. Victims of his may want to look at this.

https://ssl.datamotion.com/form.aspx?co=3438&frm=general&to=flare.fromforms

[the hand of john curley]

Does he play in that Queen Tribute band? 

[DIYorDie]

30 minutes ago, Jamiexsilver said:

Guess what guys, I too bought a sansamp pedal off Mick. 

His mate is stuck in the sorting office so has not had chance to send it. 

He’s sent a refund through PayPal that just says pending but I get the impression I’m not going to see that.

Merry Christmas.

 

Sorry to hear! 

He also tried this approach with me, if you check the details you will see it is an "eCheque"....basically it will be pending for about a week and then will cancel and then if you mention it he will say "let me check with PayPal".

Just another delay tactic, don't fool for it

Edited December 24, 2020 by DIYorDie

[Maude]

9 minutes ago, the hand of john curley said:

Does he play in that Queen Tribute band? 

It looks like it, and a few other reasonably high profile tribute acts playing decent sized venues. 

Hopefully he'll get the boot from them as there's probably quite a few honest bass players that like those gigs. 

Unfortunately I get the impression that he actually runs these bands. 

[the hand of john curley]

8 minutes ago, Maude said:

It looks like it, and a few other reasonably high profile tribute acts playing decent sized venues. 

Hopefully he'll get the boot from them as there's probably quite a few honest bass players that like those gigs. 

Unfortunately I get the impression that he actually runs these bands. 

I’ll put a link about it on the local FB page and include the band name. He should be ashamed, but I very much doubt he is. 

[the hand of john curley]

Messaged the band on Fb and got a bit of a bizarre message back but it appears that they are aware of the issue 🤷🏻‍♂️

[waveydavy]

I bought a sansamp off Mick on Facebook 
Had the same stories about him being in hospital and Royal Mail accidentally delivering the sansamp back to him .

After two bounced refunds (one an echeque) I ended up reporting him to action fraud.

His last message before he stopped replying stated I was ridiculous and he would be happy to speak to the police. Hopefully he will get a chance to do that soon

[Paddy515]

9 hours ago, Ricky 4000 said:

Anybody mentioned his website? (shown on his LinkedIn profile): https://www.funktionjunction.com/

The contact button on that website reveals the scammers mobile number if anyone wants to let him know what they think of him in person!!

[Steve Browning]

You can also report tax fraud online. My VATman past tells me he isn't declaring any tax on any of his activities. 

This guy doesn't deserve any protection. 

[DIYorDie]

Ah, I just noticed my access to selling pages on FB has been restored after he reported me (probably for outing him publicly on FB, the post that's been getting shared everywhere the last couple of days). Winner!

[ForbiddenWytch]

I think it’s safe to say he’s shi77ing himself at the moment. 25 pages of evidence brought against him. I’ll be phoning Leicestershire Police and giving them the details to add to the crime ref number I had opened when he scammed me. 
 

I hope you’re reading this Mick, happy Christmas,m.

[walshy]

Just now, ForbiddenWytch said:

I think it’s safe to say he’s shi77ing himself at the moment. 25 pages of evidence brought against him. I’ll be phoning Leicestershire Police and giving them the details to add to the crime ref number I had opened when he scammed me. 
 

I hope you’re reading this Mick, happy Christmas,m.

I spoke to them last night. They are awaiting contact from Action Fraud before they continue. 

[Steve Browning]

If anyone has his address and phone number, they are welcome to PM with the information, I am happy to report my suspicions to HMRC.

I have no qualms about 'snitching' as I don't actually understand anyone's reluctance to report criminal wrongdoing.

[walshy]

Ok, so he has just messaged me to say he’s with the Police but they want to talk to me? I’ve happily given my mobile number to him. 

[DIYorDie]

1 minute ago, walshy said:

Ok, so he has just messaged me to say he’s with the Police but they want to talk to me? I’ve happily given my mobile number to him. 

He asked me for my contact number the other day when I was trying to get my money back (I didn't give him it as I don't trust him in the slightest).........be careful mate I wouldn't be surprised if he is using it for something else 

[ped]

I have received an email asking for the thread to be taken down on grounds of it inciting hate (email from Mick obviously). It would be much obliged if everyone would check their posts and change any remotely offensive language to something like ‘silly Billy’ or ‘naughty man’ ASAP - I’ll try and do some later if I get a chance. 

Cheers

[prowla]

There is a seller who is advertising bass gear for sale (eg. SansAmp pedals on Facebook) and failing to deliver them.

They look to get you to pay by bank transfer or PayPal Gift/Friends & Family.

    (TIP: learn from other people's mistakes and don't agree to pay by an unsecured method!)

After receiving payment the seller will promise to send the item, possibly via their daughter.

You won't receive the item and after a time to allow it to come through, you'll get back to the seller to ask them about it and (after a few more days delay) they'll respond that the postal service messed up and returned it to them.

    (NOTE: At this point they have confirmed that they have both your item and your money.)

They may give you tracking information; read it carefully and check that it shows a failed delivery attempt to you.

    (NOTE: We have people who have been given the SAME tracking ID as proof of the "failed delivery".)

They may offer to re-send it. If you agree to that, start again from the beginning.

    (TIP: Learn from other people's mistakes and don't agree to that!)

So, you request a refund. They get back to you and ask for your bank details or PayPal, which you give them and they promise to refund you after work.

You check next day and there's no refund, so you ask for an update; if you gave them bank details, they may ask for PayPal. Repeat this several times until you begin to wonder if something is not quite right.

You then start to do some online checks and the penny drops that you're not the first person who has gone through this.  Oh dear, you're being scammed...

Your searches may have even turned up a caravan fraud conviction. If you message the seller that you know about this, they may come back and say they took the rap for a dying friend. Whether or not this is true is irrelevant; the point to note is that their claim to make you trust them is that they lied in a court of law and they prevented the actual scammer from being brought to justice.

    (LINK: https://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/news/local-news/single-mum-pensioners-ingoldmells-caravan-3743529)

You then message the seller with a more strident request for your money back and an escalation occurs; they will try and take control of the process and tell you to either "do one", or start saying "do you know who I am?".

From this point on, be very careful to plainly, calmly, and politely insist that you want your money back; do not respond in kind to their escalation.

If you have chosen to post messages in fora or Facebook groups. You may find that the seller will demand you take them down before they will refund you and may escalate matters further, posting abuse and insults, telling you they will get you removed from Facebook groups who their friends run, threatening to sue you, saying they want to come to your house and sorting it out face-to face.

    (TIP: Make sure that what you post is true and could not be interpreted as threats or lies, so be sure that they are factually correct statements; there is no point in posting speculation about possible outcomes, the evolutionary maturity of the seller, and suchlike.)

Do not respond in kind, but keep insisting they refund you.

    (TIP: If they do try and intimidate or threaten you, for example saying they want to come to your house and sort it out face-to-face, do not agree, but instead call your local Police and tell them - they may say call 999 if they do turn up.)

You've now got to the point where you realise that they are not intending to refund you and would prefer you to just meekly go away.

Raise a case with Action Fraud (https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/) detailing the transaction and payment (they have several such cases already logged) and contact your bank's fraud department (if bank transfer). Inform the seller. They may respond with a derisory comment and more threats, etc. They may even try to dig up some dirt, or make false accusations against you to try and frighten you, and will again say they're going to sue you; they have tried this tactic on many of their victims.

    (TIP: If you found the caravan fraud article, you will see that they are a convicted fraudster and used similar techniques in fobbing off their victims then.)

It will at this point likely be a month or more after you initially paid for the item which you haven't received.

You may be contacted by an intermediary or proxy who will offer to help get it sorted. They will also try and get you to remove your posts, reiterate how bad it would be for you if the seller decided to sue you, and so-on. Humour this person, as they may help get your money returned. But do not agree to any conditions regarding taking any of your posts down; the rightful refund of your money is not conditional.

If the refund is still not forthcoming, the next step is to register a case with Money Claim Online (https://www.gov.uk/make-money-claim); there is a £25 fee associated with this, but it will be added to the seller's debt, and you can also add daily interest on the amount (from the date of payment).

It may be the case that they agree to refund before that; if so, it will feel like a small victory, but the reality is that you have got back to the position you were in before the start of the whole sorry process.

If they do not refund you at this point, then they are facing the fraud action you have raised, for which there will be plenty of corroborating evidence, and a CCJ (County Court Judgment) and further debt resulting from the Money Claim Online proceedings.

Once you do get your money back, consider leaving your posts up to help warn others.

    (NOTE: You have not entered into any "gentleman's" agreement with the fraudster and are not held by any code they think they have imposed on you.)

    (TIP: If you need advice, feel free to ask, either in the thread itself, which is publicly viewable, or by messaging members)

Relevant links:

• https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/
• https://www.gov.uk/make-money-claim
• https://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/news/local-news/single-mum-pensioners-ingoldmells-caravan-3743529
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/mick-mason-344b21104/?originalSubdomain=uk
• https://www.facebook.com/everythingchangesshow/
• https://twitter.com/FunktionJ
• https://www.funktionjunction.com/
• https://www.facebook.com/thecarpentersexperience/

 

Edited December 24, 2020 by prowla

[prowla]

4 minutes ago, ped said:

I have received an email asking for the thread to be taken down on grounds of it inciting hate (email from Mick obviously). It would be much obliged if everyone would check their posts and change any remotely offensive language to something like ‘silly Billy’ or ‘naughty man’ ASAP - I’ll try and do some later if I get a chance. 

Cheers

For the record, I don't hate him.

And I only want to see justice according to the laws of the land for past, present and future victims.

Edited December 24, 2020 by prowla

[DIYorDie]

Just received this...........

[prowla]

18 hours ago, ForbiddenWytch said:

Nail on the head. Royal Mail confirmed to me that that particular tracking number I'd been given was for a parcel he was receiving. My name and address had never been on it. Caught him out when I used their post code checker so I got straight on the phone. Recorded the call, showed him the video recoding and he said "Yeah, I had it re-routed so it wouldn't go to you" blah blah blah. Lies and more lies. He's thick as pig slew.

That's really good to know, because he was using that "proof of" tracking as the basis for saying I had slandered (sic) him.

(Subsequently changed from slander to liable (sic).)

Edited December 24, 2020 by prowla

[cetera]

Extremely late to the party, but I have shared the info regarding this individual on my Facebook and to various other theatre show musos that I know in the East Midlands. Hope he goes down for a decent stretch in 2021.

[walshy]

*** UPDATE***

I have received my money in FULL this morning.

I have been asked to speak to the ADMIN about having the thread removed/frozen, which I have done. 

Thanks All

Edited December 24, 2020 by walshy