Vehicle Link scam

[mickey b]

Have just the the experience of being scammed.
I was selling my car and Vehicle link called stated that they had buyers waiting for the car and guaranteed my car would be sold in 14 days or money back. So like a mug I agreed and now can't even get through as nobody picks up. Not even to ammend the advert.
I would tell all these Canvassers to go take a jump. After all the ones who run Cardata are multimillionaires!!!!! Seems a good money earner as it's all verbal.

[admin]

You paid by credit card? If so then issue a chargeback with your bank

[stoney2503]

I have also been duped into paying �90.00 with the promise of buyers waiting, and since paying I have now found this forum. I did manage to contact vehicle link and this is the address they gave me (it may be usefull incase you want to report them to trading standards) I also checked out vehicle link domain details and came up with the following details:-

Domain Registered to: MotorLink, Suite 2, King Harold Court, Sun Street, Waltham Abbey, Essex. EN9 1ER

Address:-
Vehicle Link
Crown House
Turners Hill
Chestnut, Herts.
EN8 8NN

The only problem now is that I have to wait until 30th May before I can do anything, as this is when the 14 days are up, I too was told that if my vehicle isn't sold within 14 days I am guaranteed a full refund. I did speak to my Local trading standards yesterday and was told that a verbal agreement is binding but in order to get my money back I would have to take them to a small claims court as the amount is below �100.

Hope this info is of some use.

[KBL100]

Have just the the experience of being scammed.
I was selling my car and Vehicle link called stated that they had buyers waiting for the car and guaranteed my car would be sold in 14 days or money back. So like a mug I agreed and now can't even get through as nobody picks up. Not even to ammend the advert.
I would tell all these Canvassers to go take a jump. After all the ones who run Cardata are multimillionaires!!!!! Seems a good money earner as it's all verbal.
IS THIS WAT HAPPENED TO YOU TO!!!!!!

I HAVE HAD THE SAME PROBLEM THEY HAVE TAKEN THE MONEY THE CAR HAS BEEN ADVERTISED FOR OVER A WEEK HAVENT RECIEVED ANY PAPER WORK FOR IT OR ANY PHONE CALLS AT ALL FOR THE CAR WHAT ELSE ARE WE SUPPOSED TO DO??? THEY SAY THEY CANT REFUND THE MONEY AS THEY HAVE MATCHES FOR THE CAR BUT I HAVE NO PHONE CALLS FOR IT
ANY ONE HELP OR HAS HAD THE SAME EXPERIENCE GET IN TOUCH

[Paul Syers]

I was contacted on Tuesday by a girl from Vehicle Link who gave me the line that they had buyers ready matched for finance to the car I am selling. This has been followed up today by a Shaun Griffin (Grisham) who gave me a 5 minute "to good to be true" speech which he must have given to you guys.

I said it sounded good about 30mins ago but I wanted to see the T & C's first before I went ahead which he has just faxed to me. However being the Cynic that I am though I decided to do a "Vehicle Link Scam" search on google and found this forum.

Whilst I'm typing this Shaun "Arthur Daley" Griffin has phoned me 3 times without success as my secretary has told him I'm on the other line.

I'm going to look up trading standards but am interested in your thoughts if you think it will help.

Paul (paul@blackboxconsulting.co.uk)

[davestan]

I, like all of you, have just been scammed by this company. They called me at the beginning of the week asking for my postcode 'as they had buyers and wanted to send details through the post' then again they phoned (yesterday) and like a muppet agreed to the deposit of �89.99 as they had 5 buyers who wanted to look at my vehicle. Quick as a flash, no phone calls and when I phoned their 'offices' there was no answer. Luckily I paid by Barclay Card and they have been very good to stop the payment being forwarded to this company including stopping the interest. I have also contacted the RAC and the AA as they are on this 'company's' website, I thought they they might wish to know that they are being used to convince clients that the company is real.
Anyone know of a computer hacker, to wipe their website????

[einav]

not like you I found this website forum after giving my credit card I am desperate anything to do with them??
feeling stupid !!!!!!

[miked4300]

Yet another mug i'm afraid.
The �80 I have written off frankly, however the feeling of being duped and the fact my car is still sat on my drive desipte my "guarateed sale" continues to annoy. However I propose a solution. I have written in to BBC Watchdog (I kid you not) and fair enough nothing may come of it but surely if enough of us follow suit I think these w*nkers can be nailed.

The following link is for the Watchdog contact page.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/consumer/tv_and_radio/watchdog/contact_index.shtml

Below is a transcript of my message to Watchdog..

Vehicle Link (www.vehiclelink.co.uk) advertise themeselves as a "Dating Agency for Cars" where they match up potential buyers and sellers for a "nominal" fee. The fee in question is �80.

The story began when I was trying to sell my car on Autotrader and was called by someone from Vehicle Link (who clearly trawl autotrader adverts selecting unsuspecting customers) who said they have 5 buyers "desperate" to buy my car and that they could "guarantee" a sale. I hesitated as I was going on holiday the following weekend but the sales girl insisted that with "the perfect mileage and pricing" of my car she could actually guarantee beating the price and the buyers would be calling me back that very afternoon as soon as she had given the go-ahead. I was also told that if the car didn't sell within 14 days or in the meantime if if I sold the car of my own accord they would refund any fees incurred. Despite feeling deep down it was probably a scam I stupidly agreed to pay the �80 registrated fee required to proceed.

Of course what happened next was very predictable. Nobody called, no paper work arrived, the customer services number for the most part rang off the hook, when I did speak to someone nobody would tell me what was going on, the girl who I originally spoke to had apparently vanished and I was told the "marketing team" were now dealing with my request and they would call me back, which of course they didn't.

I them called to tell them I had sold my vehicle myself and required my registration fee returning. They refused saying that this was never part of the arrangement and that I must have misunderstood. I then asked whether I would get my fee returned after the agreed 14 days and was told again that this was never the case and that what they actually said was "your fee will only be returned if we don't match you up" and they said that I had been matched up the buyers simply had chosen not to proceed and call me with an offer. This is a blatant lie. The fact is though I was never matched up, there was never 5 interested buyers and my car was never going to be sold.

This of course is the clever part of any confidence trick, the wording of such offers and guarantees. However any recording of the original conversation would be completely damning in my favour, unfortunately it is something I do not have. This is why I have emailed yourselves as i'm sure it is something you could easily organise.

In addition there are many other complaines I have found on the internet, primarily on this forum

http://www.usedcarmart.co.uk/forum/t7797-vehicle-link-scam.html

The people on here have all been duped in an identical fashion and i'm sure would be happy to confirm my version of events.

In addition to the general con the customer services personnel are amazingly rude (probably due to the fact they are on the defensive due to so many complaints). I have had the phone answered with greetings such as "What", "What do you want" etc.. and have had the phone hung up on me on a number of occasions. I also managed to get my hands on a direct sales line number which I thought would be a clever back door in to finally get to speak to someone and each time I called the phone was picked up and reset each time, I know this because in the fraction of time the phone was lifted I could hear talking in the background. On one occasion this number was finally answered (presumably by coinidence as she was about to make another call) and upon hearing my voice the sales girl panicked and said "how did you get this number", I said "am i speaking to someone at Vehicle Link" and she said "Yes but how did you get the number, did you call back a missed call?" before abruptly hanging up. Clearly another example of the general avoidance of responsibility.

[What Car?]

Hello

My name is Tim Bowdler. I am the Group Consumer Editor of What Car? magazine and we are currently investigating a number of 'car dating' agencies. Already we have conducted a number of 'mystery sales' and, of course, like many of you, we have been stung.

Feel free to email me any experiences you might have had but also we would like to talk to anyone who may have worked for these companies in a bid to find out exactly how much effort these people put into finding buyers for seller (which we expect to be nothing). We would also like to hear from anyone who actually works for these people at present and would like to talk about what actually goes on with companies such as these and how they operate. Of course, we would not publish their identities.

We also think there could be a pattern in terms of the car sellers targeted (what kind of cars and where they are being sold).

If you want to contact me email me on the following address: tim.bowdler@haynet.com.

Regards Tim Bowdler

[Proud_smoker]

...don't bother with the 0870 number, use this one, they do answer it... eventually: 01992 784997.

Next Wednesday is my 14th day so no doubt I'll suffer the same fate as everyone else... I'm so mad with myself for falling for this!

[ptaylor1978]

I've had one of their guys call me today (Shane Thompson) and try to sell me their wonderful services. I must say that he wasn't doing a bad sales job until I asked for 5 minutes to think.....In that 5 minutes, I typed the company name into Google and found all this lot (that God I did).
Anyway, the phone call back to Shane was interesting. After being told that this was referring to 'another company':cool: and that I was being 'pitiful', my response of 'F**k you' was greeted with a 'don't say that to me, I know where you live'.
Well Shane, you get some of your mates together and I'll get some of mine and we'll see what happens darlin. :eek:

[Warren J]

Ok, i've just contacted Watchdog as well. I don't think for one minute that I will see my �89.99 again, but perhaps if we all do the same it may make Watchdog take an interest.

Lets f**k this bunch:mad:

Perhaps we should all arrange to meet at Vehicle Link, Crown House, Turners Hill, Cheshunt to "express our concerns!!"

[rayinbelfast]

WARNING - I was selling my car through a car trader mag, i got a call from this lot saying they had four buyers interested in this vehicle model, they told me they were a car finance company and the prospective buyers would have a bank draft for the FULL amount as they made there money through interest from the loan. I was asked if i would be interested, they asked for �99.99 security deposit, fully refundable in 14 days, this was to ensure that i would be there for buyers to view the car and it was in good mechanicle condition, i would be receiving calls from buyers within 1 hour. They have taken the money from my account and as you can guess, no phone calls - what a mug
My defence, i needed to sell the car and they sold me a great story..... be more careful than i was....

Ray:(

[MazzaB]

The other day I registered my car with Cardata, as they promised they actually had buyers lined up, and no-one had responded to my ad on Autotrader. Needless to say nothing has materialised but they have taken my money... Today I got called by Vehicle Link promising the same, but they offered to only take �50 of my hard earned money when they heard I'd already paid Cardata. I'm really annoyed that I was taken in by it!! If someone wants to buy your car off autotrader they will just organise the finance themselves - surely they don't need some 'car dating agency' to find them a car when it's easy enough to search the net yourself...

[stoney2503]

To rub salt into the wound, further to my post here at the end of May I have since sent vehicle link 2 letters requesting a refund to no avail, and would you believe the only response I have received is a letter thanking me for a progress report, and if I want too I can upgrade to their Platinum service (no doubt at a cost) what a f*!*#ng cheek. I think its a good idea about arranging a visit to their office, they robbed us so lets get something back. I'm now leaving it to my C/Card company I did think of paying �30.00 to small claims court but dont want to lose more cash

[stoney2503]

I have also now contacted watchdog

[Penfold69]

I too have been done by these crooks, tried all numbers, except my C'Card company gave me this one 01992 653469 (Head Office) just tried it and it doesnt reveice incoming calls. I am awaiting some documents from my CC company as they will claim it for me, I have also contacted watchdog about this. Totally gutted, as I believed it to be some scam before doing it but when told I would get a full refund no matter what I fell for it, I wont let this one lie

[stevejm]

hello i`ve just had a week of vehicle link calling me about a lexus i have for sale , i have been giving them the run around now for over week and i must say for a bunch of to**ers they keep ringing ,
i had heard of something like this sometime ago its all to good to be true.
please please please stay away from vehicle link or other companys like this its a scam .
i have informed autotrader of this company and trading standards .

p.s if anybody would like to buy a nice lexus let me know .

[unluckycarseller]

I've been conned by Vehicle Link as well. Same old story.

I have to say though that I'm amazed at the number of people who're just happy to let it go. How much is this company making? It must be thousands every day. And for some reason they're being allowed to carry on. It seems clear to me that they are misleading their customers. They tell you they have people interested in buying your car. So effectively they've 'matched' you before you've even put the money down and you're never going to get it back. Incidentally the 01992 number is likely to be in Hoddesdon according to this page (http://www.magsys.co.uk/telecom/codelook.asp) - their registered office is probably just an address.

One other thing - I've been in touch with Trading Standards and the Hertfordshire office has a case open on Vehicle Link. If you email hcc.tradstad@hertscc.gov.uk they will send you out a questionnaire that's been put together specifically for this company.

So, can we get together and do something about this please?

[beenhadtoo]

Phew! Thought it was just me, I was "relieved" of �99.99 for Vehicle Links Platinum Service, it's no better!! Not a single call and no refund (sold the car through Autotrader) after being on "hold" for 45 minutes on the phone. I've now contacted Trading Standards, Watchdog, Financial Services Authority (as V.L. provide a finance service) and Hertfordshire Police. Hopefully one of these can stop this Scam before many more are "had"

[unluckycarseller]

Sounds like you've covered most bases! Might be worth speaking to Visa (or Mastercard) as well. I spoke to my bank yesterday who said it was out of their hands (I paid using a Visa debit card). They've reported all these to Visa who won't do anything about it. If the payments could be stopped, the operation would be forced to close.

[beenhadtoo]

Have had a reply from the Hertfordshire Police who have told me that it is a civil matter which they can't do anything about. They suggested a solicitor but I think I'll stick at losing �99.99 for now!!! :rolleyes: They did however say that they have had several complaints about Vehicle Link so maybe something will get done eventually. Will keep you all posted on any other replies.

[mitch30]

:mad: hi folks, i have been getting numerous calls so far from this company about 2/3 a day but finally today i got a call from another operator now she gave me the best sales pitch ever, i was totally sold, she asked me for �99.99 deposit which i would receive back in 14 days without fail and if i sold the car to one of there customers in say a few days time i would get the money refunded to my card - as i was driving at the time i could not give her my card details and i asked her to call back later - she did advise that they were a reputable finance company which were recommended by parkers Guide and what car magazine?? and had a 98% sucess rate - so i thought pretty damm good and i will get the car sold in days but my battery on my phone went dead and when i came back to the house i had 21 missed calls from this company!!! i also had this email � i am just so glad i read all this information first - im just sorry for all the people who have been scammed, i am from scotland but would gladly travel to London with you all with my baseball bat to trash there office;)

vehiclelink wrote:
Selling your Fiat? No response from adverts?


For every vehicle there is a buyer! And for every buyer there is a vehicle, the problem can be finding each other. That�s where we succeed.

Vehiclelink intelligently matches buyers to sellers around the clock. We are one of the largest and longest running vehicle marketing services in the UK!

Our Service: We contact potential buyers and send out 150,000 tailor made letters, emails, faxes and texts to private buyers and sellers every month.

Once Only Fee: For a one off fee of just �99.99 your vehicle will be advertised UNTIL SOLD. There�s nothing extra to pay and no commission on sale. We start work the minute you register and you can change the details or price at no extra charge.

Money Back: As licensed credit brokers, if you or your buyer uses finance arranged by us we will give you up to �99.99 back.

Free Warranty: We give most of our buyers a free 3-month�s engine and gearbox warranty to give them peace of mind and help you sell at no extra cost.

Get that vehicle moving today! To find out more call us today on 01992 784988


If we fail to match you to a buyer within 14 days we will refund you.

Yours sincerely,

Fiat Department





TERMS AND CONDITIONS


These Terms and Conditions comply with all trading standards regulations and are a guideline to all new customers who intend to or have already registered with Vehiclelink.




1. Advertisements run for 28 days. If you ask us, we will repeat the advertisement free of charge for further 28-day periods until the vehicle is sold.


2. Our services to you will start as soon as your vehicle is registered with us, therefore you will have no right to cancel your advertisement and the normal 7 day cooling off period will not apply.


3. If you ask us to change the selling price of your vehicle, or correct any mistake, we will change the advertisement free of charge.


4. If you tell us that your vehicle has been stolen or damaged we will suspend the advertisement and run it again upon your consent.


5. If you cancel an advertisement due to circumstances beyond your reasonable control before the vehicle is sold you can advertise a second vehicle free of charge.


6. We are not responsible for: - the condition of any vehicle advertised; an advertisement not being responded to; a buyer�s or seller�s lack of good faith; any guide book valuation given; any foreseeable loss; or services suspended or interrupted as a result of circumstances beyond our reasonable control.


7. The number of buyer enquiries registered with us is given solely as a guide for you to assess the current market demand. They reflect vehicles of all types and all price ranges currently being sought after by buyers registered on our system.



8. Buyers of all vehicles advertised with us are eligible to apply for 3-months (engine and gearbox) warranty. Buyers should contact Vehiclelink Warranties Division on the day of purchase, quoting your reference number to claim the warranty. For full details of warranty terms and eligibility contact Vehiclelink Warranties Division on 0870 7377 373, or by e-mail to warranties@vehiclelink.co.uk. Terms and conditions apply.


9. Nothing in these Terms and Conditions affects your rights as a consumer. Any change must be confirmed in writing by one of our authorised officials.


10. Vehiclelink reserves the right from time to time to change and/or alter these Terms and Conditions without notification to the customer.


Our comprehensive database is updated literally by the minute. Where shown, the number of buyer enquiries registered with us is given solely as a guide for you to assess current market demand. They reflect vehicles of all types and all price ranges currently wanted by our waiting buyers

This e-mail and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed. If you have received this email in error please notify the sender by replying to the e-mail containing this attachment. Replies to this email may be monitored by Vehiclelink for operational and business r

[mitch30]

just a follow up, i had another call from them this morning a girl called natillie rivers - asked me if i would like to go for this and i said to be honest i have googled vehicle link and then she just hung up - i tried to call back but after ringing out a bit it just cut off - well they are answering then hanging up. need i say more TOTAL CROOKS PLEASE EVERYONE BEWARE!!!! DO NOT FALL FOR THIS, im getting in touch with trading standards and watchdog today..

[mitch30]

sorry forgot to add i have contacted trading standards and emailed the met police

[Bud1977]

Dear Rear readers.

I have also just been scammed this morning my vehicle link (Part of the Blue Bell Group company registration 471 2739.

I initially recieved a call by a lady yesterday who told me that they had buyers interested on a car that I am selling and that she needed to check my details. The next day i.e today I was called by a guy called Paul Cooper who gave me a massive and convincing pitch that they had buyers ready to buy my car for thier clients and that i need to give a �99 security deposit which is fully refundable weather the car is sold or not. he gave me a 6 digit bar code and a number to call when the car is sold 0870 737 0103 (Surprise surprise you cant get through it rings and goes dead.)

I then saw this forum and realised that it is a scam. Non of thier numbers on the website work. I did get some other numbers though. 01992784980 (Blue Bell - IT) I spoke to a guy who brushed me off would not reveal his name but told me that the manager at Vehicle link is called Mrs Brodevitch
01992784981 - (Blue Bell Recruitment - I spoke to a girl who said that she has not ha trouble getting through on vehicle link customer services number and that she would put me through but then cut me off and when calling back just put the phone down over and over again.

I then found another number 01992 784 989 I spoke to a guy called Jay in their call centre who put me onto thier supervisor called Stuart Becks (They probably use pseudonyms so not sure if the names are correct) This guy sounded like a real loser and was not interested in helping at all. He told me that if they sell the car the deposit is non refundable which is contrary to what the initial sales guy Paul Cooper told me. He did not want to help.

Any way those are the numbers I found if you want to call and give them hell go for it.

I suggest that no one should beleive them. Call your debit/credit card fraud numbers and dispute the transaction saying that you paid for a service that you did not recieve and hopefully you will get your money back. Also report them to trading standards.

Good luck people.

Regards

Bud

[mitch30]

hi guys

these people never stop, had calls today from vehicle connect(01992 703310) spoke to amy brown!! trying to scam me again but under a different company name there website is almost identical to vehicle link, but i just cant beleive that these people have the cheek to call me again i only wish i stayed in essex if you know what i mean:mad: sorry to hear that you were all scammed. i will not be giving up on this, i had this email back from the met police yesterday. i have reported this to scams@oft.gov.uk and i would advise everyone else to do so as well

Steven,

Thank you for the E-mail.

However there is not much we can do, as this is a matter for the OFT. I understand that they are looking at this type of thing.

I believe that you can report this at Scams@OFT.gov.uk

Regards

DS Stephen Truick


cheers fellas

[unluckycarseller]

Stuart Becks' real name is Steve, so feel free to use this although he may try to deny it! I'm getting quite a regular at calling them - they seem to be getting a little annoyed with me!

If they don't answer and it goes to voicemail, keep redialling. Eventually someone will answer.

[BeckyL]

Sorry to say that I've just become a victim of the wonderful Vehicle Link also. So annoyed with myself as generally astute with business transactions. Not so on this occasion!
I was contacted by someone called Kaley Clarke on Saturday afternoon - it was a hot day, I was feeling pretty good and she told me that there were 4 buyers that wanted my vehicle. Almost without question I gave her my card details, she sold such a great vision.
Immediately I hung up I realised that I'd been taken in like an idiot and tried to stop the payment - as others report they have also tried. Couldn't happen unfortunately as Halifax told me I'd 'willing provided my details'. I then tried to contact them on the number they'd contacted me on (01992784988) and Kaley's 'direct line' was answered by someone else who promised to e-mail me details of the transaction (surprise, they've never arrived in my in-box or via post).
I've written off the �99.99 as I guess that's lining some fat cats pocket (instead of providing a good contribution to a couple of weeks food shopping for my family).
This is now a 'principle' thing for me - as a result, I've now contacted the Office for Fair Trading, my local Trading Standards, Hertfordshire Trading Standards, Hertfordshire Police, Watchdog, Visa and Halifax fraud line.
Good luck to everyone in getting their money back and putting this company out of business (not that they are registered according to Consumer Direct....)
Out of interest, I did a Getdotted.com search based on the www.vehiclelink.co.uk domain address to see who had registered it and their details. This is the info I've acquired from that search (interesting.....)

Let's give them hell guys and gals!!!

Domain name:
vehiclelink.co.uk

Registrant:
Motorlink

Registrant type:
Not supplied

Registrant's address:
Suite 2
King Harold Court
Sun Street, Waltham Abbey
Essex
EN9 1ER
GB

Registrant's agent:
PIPEX Communications Hosting Ltd t/a 123-Reg.co.uk [Tag = 123-REG]
URL: http://www.123-reg.co.uk

Relevant dates:
Registered on: 30-Jul-2002
Renewal date: 30-Jul-2008
Last updated: 05-Jun-2006

Registration status:
Renewal request being processed.

Name servers:
ns.hosteurope.com
ns2.hosteurope.com

[BeckyL]

Sorry, just realised an earlier post has the information on the domain (and there I was feeling all chuffed thinking that I had been clever!!)

[whitecaticeman]

Hey ppl, I got done as well, they sold it to me for �89.99, no buyers, and what is with there answerphone, ive just had an argument with one of there ppl who are refusing to give refund, im contacting my solicitor, and im going to report it to BBC's Watchdog, if all of you lot do the same then we can bring these scumbags down. If you are interested in making sure they dont do this to anyone else then email me at Matt.Crate@hotmail.co.uk with your statements and consent to use your statements and lets take these mugs down.

[whitecaticeman]

I have spoken to Trading Standards and they say they need a few more people to report this scumbag company to be investigated, so I urge you all to contact your local Trading Standards agency.

I'am contacting my solicitor to send a gentle threat to them to pay up or I will take them to court and drag there name through the papers, so I need all of you to stand up and help out where you can.

Email me on Matt.Crate@hotmail.co.uk

Kind Regards.

[Sellingmycar]

I was called a few days ago by a company (cant remember their name) advising me they have buyers lined up to buy my car, and if I pay them �79.99 they personally match up buyers to cars, and there are already people interested in my car. Same story as all of you.

I told this woman I absolutley under no circumstances could afford to pay that. End of conversation.

But just now I have had a call from a company called Vehicle Connect, saying they are a finance company, and some people have contaced them to get finance to purchase my car. They required no payment of any kind, as I asked if this was the same thing, all they wanted was my address to send me through some information relating to the purchase. So i gave them it, can they do anything deceptive with my address?

Anyway, I googled Vehicle Connect, and a bit down the page found a link to this place. So does this sound like a scam?

[BeckyL]

Just a note to advise that I haven't really got anywhere in the respect of reclaiming my money.
Have received a questionairre from Hertfordshire Trading Standards who are currently preparing an enforcement case to stop them from trading *which is good news! Apart from that, my bank have advised that as I gave them my card details I am not covered against Fraud.
Hertfordshire TS have told me about something called the Bank Issuers and Merchants liability which apparently means that the bank can unwind deals if they are deemed fraudulent or incorrect. My bank doesn't want to listen tho. I have now been advised to take the matter to the financial ombudsman, which I will, to try and get my money back. To be honest, I've waved goodbye to my �99.99 but I am now like a dog with a bone desperate to bring these scumbags down.
Let's bring it on!!!

[g_attrill]

If anybody reads this thread whilst they are being pursued by any of the companies mentioned, then I'm sure it would be very useful to get a recording of what is said, try not to lead them into giving you the answers you want, just ask open-ended questions to give them enough rope, eg:

- How many buyers do you have?
- How many other vehicles do you have listed which match what they are looking for?
- Do you guarantee to refund my money if they don't buy?
- Is this refund conditional in any way?
- How to I get this refund should I require it?

Most modern mobile phones can make a recording of a call, otherwise you can get a suction cup microphone which attaches to a normal phone and hooks into a cassette recorder or computer.

Finally, you could mention that you heard about a scam, and could they repeat the name of the company they are calling for. Then say "Yes, I'm sure that was it" and see what they say.

This Mirror article was about similar activities by some employees of "Cardata":
Link (http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/mirrorinvestigates/tm_column_date=01092005-name_index.html)

Gareth

[Eamy]

This is a really nasty sting. The scammer sees your car advertised and emails/contacts you offering to buy the car. They will tell you that as they are overseas, you will need to allow a courier service to collect it. They offer to send you a cheque for an amount far exceeding the cost of the car and transportation and ask you to contact the transportation service once the cheque has cleared.

Here�s the rub. The cheque apparently clears in a few days and when the courier/transportation service turns up, you give them the car, the cost of the transportation and balance of the cash. Of course, the bank will allow you to draw the money because the cheque has cleared. However, two weeks later, the bank withdraws the funds because the overseas cheque has actually bounced.

You lose your car, the cost of transportation and the balance while some (usually) Nigerian crook sits back laughing at you as he sells your car on for even more profit.

[sfox]

This lot of scum bags not only rip off their customers they also rip off their staff. In their previous incarnation as MotorLink my daughter made the mistake of getting a job with them. It was her first job after leaving school and while we were a little concerned all the info she got sounded legit.

However once she started working for them she began to realise what a bunch of rip-off merchants they were.

She was employed as a converser, which meant she was given photocopied pages from Autotrader and other local and national car ads papers and had to ring the advertisers up and try and get them to agree to speak to a sale rep.

She was bullied and constantly threatened with being sacked if she didn’t meet her quota of sign ups; they were always trying to bully her into working through her lunch and after her normal finishing time. She never got a proper payslip or contract of employment.

When she had finally had enough and asked her supervisor about quitting the job, he basically told her she could quit there and then by handing in a written resignation, which she did, only to have them not pay her for her last two weeks work.

We took advice from the CAB and took them to an employment tribunal and won, however they wound up the company before we could enforce the judgment and have re-launched themselves as Vehiclelink (I’d like to think we did at least our small bit to shut down that incarnation of the F**KERS).

While my daughter was there, she said that people were always quitting as they couldn’t stand the bullying any longer. The carrot that was dangled to make them stay was that they were told they could be sales reps if they met their quota, but the quota was always changed so that she could never meet it. Conversers like my daughter were not on commission, the get a set weekly wage and did not benefit in any way from the sales made by the sales people.

They are actually based at the Crown House address in Cheshunt and their sales persons do use false names. They work from a pre-prepared script and as you all know by now don’t have 5 people champing at the bit to buy your car.

I urge anyone ripped off by these guys to contact Trading Standards, Watchdog, Top Gear, whoever and get them shut down. They are a dog turd on the pavement of life.

As not only do they rip off their customers they also take advantage of vulnerable young people mostly just out of school, treat them worse than dogs and then don’t pay them.

[sfox]

I forgot to mention this is my original post.

Beware any good on-line reviews for them, as when they were Motor Link, they would regularly post glowing too good to be true reviews on sites, posing as satisfied customers. Any good comments are most likely written by them.

:eek:

[teresann]

With reference to all of the correspondence which I have recently read in connection with this company, I strongly believe that I have also fell victim to this company�s scam which was instigated by a representative from Vehicle Link.

Furthermore, I have had similar communications and dealings (as others have also stated) with Kayley Clarke, who promised me that my car would sell provided that I registered with her company (Vehicle Link) for the sum of �99.99 (which would be totally refundable after a 14 day period whether my car was sold or not).

I have also had communications and dealings with a Mr Jordan Taylor, who told me a totally different story which was contrary to that of Kayley Clark�s version.

I am also experiencing the same problems and dissatisfaction with this company and remain very doubtful if I will receive any of my money back.

I am considering seeking professional help & advice as to the best course of action to take in order to retrieve my money back from this company.

[Huffyman]

If you have been called by a company called Vehicle Connect UK Ltd, please do not enter into any discussion with them.

They called me after seeing my ad in Auto Trader. I fell for their sales pitch after I paid a "refundable deposit" of �99.50 . They promised to match my car with a buyer within 7 days or I get the deposit back even if I sell my car privately. I was told by an Amy Brown that this fee was apparently a fully refundable deposit because they make their commission through selling finance from approved buyers. The only time I would not get the deposit back would be if I lied about the condition of the car I was selling.

When I advised them that I sold my car privately, no-one was willing to deal with my request and was passed from pillar to post. I've even written to them 3 times and received a standard reply which is nonsense and nothing like their sales pitch.

Please be warned that you have no rights to your money back despite their alleged promises of a refundable deposit. In the sales pitch, there was no mention of their T&C's which cleverly excludes a 7 day cooling-off period (which breaks the distance selling regulations).

As their "service" is based entirely on a phone call, you cannot claim your money back because nothing is in writing. My credit card company will not touch this matter without evidence to back up my claim. I have learnt my lesson and pursuing advice on how to get my revenge on this company, e.g. reporting them to Trading Standards, Watchdog, Small Claims Court, etc.

[richie78a]

Hi all

Was called by a company called Vehicle Connect yesterday... a week or so after placing an ad in auto trader. From previous posts, it looks like slightly different tactics... so beware... they are persistant. The number I was called from was 01992 703??? number.

First call was that they told me they had some buyers.... I told them to get the buyers to call me direct and hung up. They then called back and asked if they could send me some free literature that would help me selling my car.... I agreed gave them my name and postcode. They then called back the next day telling me they had 4 buyers with 60 miles of my postcode... one of whom wanted to see the car immediatly and would pay cash if that was ok.... I was then told about the �100 refundable deposit... I quizzed the person (William Spencer) extensively about what this �100 was for.... he said Vehicle Connect was basically hired by finance companies to check cars out for potential buyers... the �100 was to cover them if my car details were wildly inaccurate. I was told I would get the �100 back if I sold my car privately or though Vehicle Connect.... The dude on the phone was VERY convincing, VERY slick and I was almost at the stage of paying when I thought this sounds too good to be true..... so I pulled back and checked the web, found this forum and told them I wasnt interested... A close shave..

So beware. Thanks to all on this forum who posted and saved me from being scammed out of 100 bucks. Have reported vehicle connect to autotrader and bbc watchdog.

cheers
richard

[mitch30]

well done Richard good to see that the forum has helped a few of us keep our cash in our back pockets - i did the same by searching the net and posting about vehicle link and vehicle connect, i just wish that we could shut these crooks down, im down in london in a few weeks and will be having a look while im down to see if there address match, might pop in and say hello, :rolleyes:

Thanks again for all the posts

Mitch30

[vehiclelinkscam]

I was scammed by Vehiclelink too. Hertfordshire County Council has a questionnaire and is trying to compile a report that may lead to enterprise action or criminal action against the company, contact Susan Shanahan, senior trading standards officer ther email tradingstandards@hertscc.gov.uk if we all complete the questionnaire we can get the company shut down at least

[sajansamuel]

Hi everybody
I am also cheated by vehicle link
when i treid to spoke 2 them a gentle man told there numbers are premium
is it tru?

[sajansamuel]

I too have been done by these crooks, tried all numbers, except my C'Card company gave me this one 01992 653469 (Head Office) just tried it and it doesnt reveice incoming calls. I am awaiting some documents from my CC company as they will claim it for me, I have also contacted watchdog about this. Totally gutted, as I believed it to be some scam before doing it but when told I would get a full refund no matter what I fell for it, I wont let this one lie
Hi there,
i too have been scammed by this cheaters
Can u say have u got back ur money back if yes how?
sajan samuel

[dizzy2121]

Since advertising my car on autotrader precisely 1 month ago I have had on average 20 missed calls from car data on a daily basis, they are driving me bonkers!:mad:

[whitecaticeman]

Hi there people, after being scammed by vehicle link, i got my money back. I went to my bank and told them the situation they then processed my fraud claim and I got cheque from bank last tuesday for a full refund. I also told them this website to visit to see all of your complaints and they are also forwarding them on to the Police so they may investigate into it further.

My advice is go to your banks, and get trading standards involved.

[unluckycarseller]

Hi there people, after being scammed by vehicle link, i got my money back. I went to my bank and told them the situation they then processed my fraud claim and I got cheque from bank last tuesday for a full refund. I also told them this website to visit to see all of your complaints and they are also forwarding them on to the Police so they may investigate into it further.

My advice is go to your banks, and get trading standards involved.

Can you let us have some more information on this - I'm with Lloyds TSB, and they said it was an issue with Visa and nothing to do with them, even though I used a debit card to pay...

[dopeydoris]

I've been had as well, serves me right as my husband said it would be a scam and I really fell for the sales pitch. I was approached by telephone from James ?? and then Anna Michaels. Parted with my 99.99 last friday and have not recieved one call yet. keep trying to phone but never get anywhere.

[richie78a]

Man these people are driving me nuts.. they are phoning every couple of days.. I have tried every strategy to get them to stop. They are all the same company I guess (Vehicle Connect, Car Data etc)... I have tried hanging up, telling them I am on the telephone preference service, telling them i am not interested... but they still keep calling.... some women has just called me and was totally abusive when I told her I was getting trading standards involved... I hung up and she immediately tried to phone me back.......

trading standards and watchdog are my next port of call

beware everyone these people will perservere!

richard

[whitecaticeman]

Can you let us have some more information on this - I'm with Lloyds TSB, and they said it was an issue with Visa and nothing to do with them, even though I used a debit card to pay...

All I did was phone HSBC, they maybe different as I used switch, best bet is to phone Visa.

Just an update on taking this scumbag company down, police are looking into it altho i dont see why as they wont really be bothered. Trading standards are hopefully going to close them down. Also thank you to all the emails I got regarding this matter, I presented all the evidence to Trading standards and they were very interested in this. Thank you all.

[whitecaticeman]

Also if you went and advertised in autotrader isnt it against data protection for them to release your details to these scumbags and other companys?

Also if anyone does want to buy a car, im selling mine. Its a Ford Fiesta ST �10250 ono. 9000miles. Electric blue, alloys, 2.0l. PAS, immobiliser, alarm.

If interested email @ Matt.Crate@hotmail.co.uk

Scammers beware as well we know all..........

[richie78a]

hi all

got my car sold.. so hopefully these muppets will stop calling me...

couple of tactics i used that seemed to have paid off..

1) The telephone preference service.. Register and these companies should not call you and can be reported for breach if they do

2). Trading standards. Very helpful. Have had a couple of calls of them and they are collating a case

3). BBC watchdog. No answer from them, but I raised it up.

4). The information commisioner. http://www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk

5). On vehicle connect, vehicle link etc website, they often have logos and link to other organisations (AA, RAC, etc) that infer some kind of link to these companies in an attempt I suppose for authenticity. I contacted a couple of these companies (AA, RAC) and asked them if they were aware they were on these website... they are contacting vehcile link, connect etc and ask them to remove there logos. Not really a way to get your money back.. but may prevent some other sucker being roped in..... and provides some hassle factor for these morons

[Tess_hk78]

I am soooooo angry with myself. I've just been scammed by these folks.

the weird thing is that they followed the exact pattern mentioned by all these posts, except they gave me 7 days.
But when the girl on the phone took my credit card number she put me on hold, that seemed a bit odd and I was on hold for quite a while.
I do a fair amount of shopping on the phone and internet and they almost never put you on hold while they take payment.

Then after I got off the phone I got a call within seconds from a woman at Autotrader, where I had originally advertised the car, asking if I'd had any calls.....when I mentioned vehicle connect she said 'watch out for them, they are a scam', then the phone went dead - from which I can only assume she hung up.
too much of a coincidence if you ask me........why should she call immediately after I�d spoken to the girl at Vehicle connect...

Anyway, I've written to watchdog and emailed the Herts. Trading standards.

I have also cancelled the credit card I used as I suspect this is not the only thing they will do with it.

I have a week to go to fully realise my stupidity at getting done by these people.

[mR_X]

What I Kno

A) They Have Young Kids Selling You Thin Air For 80 - `100 Pounds

B)none Of Them Use There Real Names

C)if You Go To The Office You Receive Full Refund

D)there Is No Customer Service The Giggly Girls Just Put You Through To The Friend Next To Them

E)they All Have A Script Of Which One I Have On My Pc

F)they Receive 13 Quid For Stealing Your Hard Earned Money

G)they Are Not Associated With Aa Rac Or What Car? Or Any Other Companies They Say They Are.

H)you'll Never Receive Your Money Without Going In Person

I)THEY RECEIVE prizes for most cons of the day and get certain amounts of cash in hand money for certain milestones i.e 5 10 20 they all receive 20 pounds etc.

I Heard A Story From One Of The Workers That They Took A Old Mans Last Hundred Pounds And Told Him He Would Have It Back Without 48 Hours That Is Sick, Whats The Difference Between That And Stealing His Wallet?

[mR_X]

Vehicle Link, Connect And Car Data Are Not The Same Company!!! I May Not Have Listed Everything I Know As Dont Remember All But If Anyone Wishes To Contact Me To Find Out Amy Info Id Be Honoured To Help Fight This Until They Bankrupt

[meatpies0]

:mad: I too was scammed, 99.99 phoned up to have a go at them got through to airport baggage handling services phoned the number on internet 01992784988 got through but now is engaged trading standards told me to send a letter recordered delivery and ask for a telephone transcript of the conversation, two weeks still no reply. Hertfordshire trading standards informed me you have 3 months and seven days after that no chance they have had lots of complaints they are taking proceedings against them. If we win and they still dont give money back we will have to pay for a bailiff ourselves to get the costs back. In their letter they are part of the Bluebell group limited, being a limited company as they are ( like I myself am ) their liabilities and therefore payouts are limited and they could close business and nothing can be done, trading standards will give a copy of a format letter to send to credit card companies to see if they will give it back to you? i have informed my credit card company of this fraud and are sending me a letter to sign to stop them operating via creditcard sales

[whitecaticeman]

I got my money back from HSBC, now Vehicle Link are trying to turn it round onto me and they are contesting it!!! I got letters from the bank saying they are challenging it!! I cant believe these scumbags!!

Any ideas on how to take them down!!

[flyinghatter]

I advertised my car online and then got a cold call from Cardata. They were very persistent and said that they had buyers lined up to buy my car at the full asking price. All they needed to do was take my credit card details so that they could put people in touch. They said that any money they took would be refunded after the sale because most people bought using their finance service. I found that they had taken �99.50 off my card and there have been no buyers whatsoever.

[Beglin]

Hi Vehicle connect are on to me offering a cash buyer to visit tonight - full asking price etc etc.
A happy story here - I've been fortunate to have read this forum before parting with my CC details.
Thanks for your posts - they have really helped.

[blackice29]

:mad: hi,

I would like to personally thank everyone who has posted on this site informing people about the fraud these people are commiting. I am selling my modified Citroen Saxo VTR on autotrader its an 03 plate with over 7k spent on it. I have never quite known what people mean when they say no canversers in there descriptions but know i know. Im not going to explain simpily because if you read this thread you will get the gist of it.

Vehicle Connect UK Ltd has called me up a number of times explaining that people are interested in purchasing my car so like anyone selling a car you imediatly become interested in the idea. after a convincing telephone conversation with a Mr Daniel O'neil he explained about the deposit and so on. i was not convinced at first so continued to question however in the end i was convinced and stupidly gave my debit card details to the person who had informed me that they would debit �129.00 from my account as a deposit which i was guaranteed to get back so long as my car was not stolen, this sounded ok so i let him take the money.

Following this i imediatly googled Vehicle Connect and boy am i glad i found this website within half an our of giving permission for the Vehicle Direct to debit �129.00 from my account i have contacted lloydstsb and cancelled my cards with them, i have been informed by them that the figure of �129.00 was pending payment from my account and that there is a good possibility that it will not go through, if it does i have been given a number by the woman on the phone for the disputes department who should be able to help me i am informed.

I will let you know how i get on with my refund and must say that if anyone needs a hand in visiting Vehicle Connects office i will gladly accompany you.

"fingers crossed"

[beenhadtoo]

At last I think something has been done about Vehicle Link, I tried to go to their site tonight but it seems to have disappeared, does anyone know anything? Hopefully one gang of scumbags has been caught up with!!

[Moleender]

Me too. Tried the site tonight to check if my Discovery was still there and like you it says Access Forbidden. Done a runner with the money I expect. anyone else out there finding contact now impossible

[whitecaticeman]

All I will say if they have been closed down im happy.

Has anyone tried to phone them to see if they answer?!!!!

Well done ppl for all of your good work at closing these scumbags down, its a shame about the money but at least it stops anyone else falling into the same trap we fell into.

:)

[EngeeBengee]

Hi

Thanks for posting all this about these scumbags.

Vehicle Connect phoned me day before yesterday (25/10/06) and gave me some very convincing spin about having a buyer for my car and 'I don't pay anything blah blah and then oh please give us �99 deposit, but its a win win situation' I can see how people would be tempted by this offer, unlucky.

Fortunately I thought better of it and after checking the net for them discovered this thread which confirms what I believed. Well done everyone for posting about these scumbags and the alias or similiar companies, hopefully such tactics and deception can be stopped.:mad:

Goodluck.

[billclinton]

You don't need to hear the datails again. My story is the same as usual however, I managed to lose �129 to Vehicle Connect. I am still in discussion with my bank who are pretty useless and clearly havn't even read my letters. Failing that I will go for small claims. Anyone know of anyone who has tried this route? Hertford trading standards know but say the distance selling regulations don't apply????
I can't believe the police / trading standards / banks havn't acted together to kill off this company. They would be nothing without the support of Visa / Switch / Delta etc.
Think about it you guys!
Why arn't the police chasing down these guys for their other doubtlessly nefarious activities. I doubt they are chuch goers / pillars of society!
Somebody with some clout GET THEM PLEASE!!!

[oggyengineer]

To all those scammed by Vehicle Connect Uk Ltd.

This is what I have done over the past 2 days, please do the same so hopefully pressure will be put on them to stop this!

E-mail Watchdog www.bbc.co.uk/watchdog and tell them all about it.

E-mail the Police www.police.uk go to the Non emergency minor crime incident report, and report them.

Call the National Trading Standards on 08454 04 05 06 and tell them about it (they were very helpful).

Go on www.companieshouse.gov.uk and input Vehicle Connect Company Number which is 05612784 and find out their address, which is:-

Vehicle Connect UK Ltd
4-6 Darby Drive
Waltham Abbey
Essex
EN9 1EQ

Write to them stating that "They are in breach of contract under The Supply Of Goods & Services Act 1982" asking for a refund. This must be sent recorded delivery.

Good Luck with your efforts. Please conatct me (oggyengineer@aol.com) and let me know what you have done, how it went and if you have achieved anything. I'll keep you in touch.

Cheers

Martin.

[oggyengineer]

After reporting them to the Police (via the Police website), I have had a reply back today saying that they are dealing with it as deception and have passed it on to Essex Police for investigation.

Lets hope that something comes of it. I will keep you posted.

Martin.

[whitecaticeman]

Dear all, just to warn you I think Vehicle Link have closed down and reopened as Vehicle Web.:mad:

[martin hobbs]

I to have fallen victim to the same scam.
I can tell an exact same senario as yours as to how i was ripped off by this company.
I paid my �95.00 using my MBNA credit card and have contacted MBNA and said I do not recognize the payment on my statement as this was the only way.
They have temporarily refunded me the money pending the fraud team looking in to it.
This I think, is the only chance of a way of getting my money back!

When I spoke to the security team at the bank the guy on the other end of the phone new all about the scam ,indicating he had dealt with them before.
How did you get on with watch dog?
I to, intend contacting them and also my local trading standards office, this should'nt be allowed to happen.

[martin hobbs]

Stay away from this Greedy scamming company
Same story for me too, lost �90.00.

Report them to

scams@oft.gov.uk

hcc.tradstad@hertscc.gov.uk
(This is a web site spacifically set up to bring these bas***ds down!)

or try these numbers and phone them to death, MAKE SOME NOISE FOR THEM AND ANNOY THEM!!!!!!!!!!!1

01992 784981
01992 784989
01992 703310

The first two arefor blue bell recruitment,treir staffing provider and iT team

We need to stick to gether and bring them down

[eknurface]

I've been getting a lot of calls also maybe about 5-10 calls a day I'm always coming up with random stuff to say to them as in I lost my card. I sold the car but they still keep calling. So don't know if anyone tried this but now when they call and say their company name I tell them to hold and say "This call is being recorded for training and security purposes" can you please state your company name again. The guy just hung up. So far the number of calls have decreased after I started doing that.

[ian firth]

i paid over 70 pounds a few years back to this company.i was advertising in the local free paper and i started getting the calls every day telling me how good there company was and how they could sell my cavravan in a matter of days and they where so sure that they could sell it that if they couldnt they would give me a voucher for a weekend break of a lot greater value.needless to say once they got the money the calls everyday stopped and the only place i was getting any interest for the sale was off the free advertisement....this company is worthless so avoid it like the plague....if they ring you do yourself a favour and hang up.

[john5]

Browse and Apply to numerous New Car Sales at http://www.octopusmtr.co.uk, the motor trade recruitment website of
Octopus MTR.

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