22 May 2013

Dodgey fellas in Dodgey van offering free Home Enterntainment System?

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So 5.15pm today I swing into Fyshwick to pick up the wife from work (no not what you think), just as I pull up and the wife gets in a van pulls up next to me toots the horn ???? I wind down the window and this middle eastern fellas says “moit do you want a free home theatre, its all legal like, just need to get rid of it”

So tell me this what is a white Victorian registered Pregio van doing running around Fyshwick randomly asking people if they want a free Home Theatre system ???

Yes I did report it, and all I got from plod was ” we will look into it”

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Lookout Smithers10:49 pm 24 May 13

Lol, these fools have been around for a few years now in the major Australian capital cities. Its nothing new and has been going on for more than a decade round the world. Classic ‘off the back of a truck’ style sell. Only the goods aren’t stolen from anyone. Its distributors usually with ties to the manufacturer that set up the operation in first world countries and recruit sales teams to do their dirty work. At the source of the junk, its a serious crime. At a street selling level its nothing more than a fool trying to get rich quick, albeit for the millionth attempt. I was approached at the lights once and just immediately assumed that it would be stolen. I got out of my car and tried to open his van to see what else might have been in there as I’ve had mates have all their instruments taken from their cars after gigs and even while unloading. When I told a friend about it he informed me about the scam and how it worked. I felt like a bit of an idiot for assuming something without actually having anything to validate my thought process. But anyway, its basically just small time petty crooks trying to sell rubbish AV gear and other home entertainment products as high end goods that are “left over” or “excess” orders that would otherwise be underwritten or given away, rubbish ect. Usually they drive a van or trade ute that they’ve rented and even stuck on dodgy home made logos in an attempt to appear legit. Websites, business cards, you name it, they have tried it. It won’t be long before all the smaller cities and large regional towns are all on to them it not already. But authorities regard the van scammer the same as they do the rouge cabbie (addict) cruising for drunks in need of a cab at times where cabs are in short supply. Though here they are caught out more as women report men in cars offering lifts rather than rouge cabs with junkie drivers. How people fall for this shit is amazing. How people think its an easy buck in 2013 is just sad.

This is Canberrans for you. “Doesn’t look like me? Must be ‘middle eastern'” I had the same thing at a servo in fyshwick a few years back by some white mid twenties types. Stock gone missing and they understandably wanted to make some money from their scumbag boss. I put it down to them being everyday criminals because they must have been middle eastern.

HiddenDragon10:34 pm 22 May 13

Pork Hunt said :

HiddenDragon said :

If Canberra had proper, old fashioned pubs, this mobile unseemliness would not be necessary.

On another angle, this wonderful anecdote (“moit” – love it) suggests that an episode of Fat Pizza, set in Canberra, may be just what we need to redeem ourselves in the eyes of our fellow Australians after Skywhale.

How about an episode of Swift and Shift and they pick up the Skywhale to deliver it somewhere in the same load as some Porcupines and the Porcupines escape their cages etc etc…?
Someone from O’Connor will seek to have a fatwa issued on my person though… (-:

Quite possibly (re the fatwa). I grew up with an archetypal Aussie pub on the corner of my street – a very different world (so Canberra never ceases to amaze me).

HiddenDragon said :

If Canberra had proper, old fashioned pubs, this mobile unseemliness would not be necessary.

On another angle, this wonderful anecdote (“moit” – love it) suggests that an episode of Fat Pizza, set in Canberra, may be just what we need to redeem ourselves in the eyes of our fellow Australians after Skywhale.

How about an episode of Swift and Shift and they pick up the Skywhale to deliver it somewhere in the same load as some Porcupines and the Porcupines escape their cages etc etc…?
Someone from O’Connor will seek to have a fatwa issued on my person though… (-:

It comes under fair trading. IANAL but in various circumstances it’s illegal to discount from an imaginary price that nobody has ever charged out there needs to be a cooling off period out a way to make returns if something is wrong. In some cases they may be lying about the quality of the product or even just misrepresenting value when compared to similar product or using high pressure sales technique might be illegal business practice in the right circumstance. Any lawyers care to chime in with a clarification?

thebrownstreak693:39 pm 22 May 13

Report it to ORS also, they have been looking for these guys for a while now.

poetix said :

Dodgy. Dodgey is dodgy spelling.

Unless that was intentional. Wheels within wheels. And under vans.

Jardeath said :

RadioVK said :

I reported them, but according to the rozzers, they weren’t actually doing anything illegal.

I don’t really see it as illegal, selling junk to people who aren’t smart enough to realise what’s going on isn’t really a crime.

True enough. I’d assumed that the gear was stolen though, which is why I reported it.

Dodgy. Dodgey is dodgy spelling.

HiddenDragon said :

If Canberra had proper, old fashioned pubs, this mobile unseemliness would not be necessary.

On another angle, this wonderful anecdote (“moit” – love it) suggests that an episode of Fat Pizza, set in Canberra, may be just what we need to redeem ourselves in the eyes of our fellow Australians after Skywhale.

Hidden Dragon is spot on . If only we had old fashioned pubs complete with a few Arthur Daley types .

RadioVK said :

I reported them, but according to the rozzers, they weren’t actually doing anything illegal.

I don’t really see it as illegal, selling junk to people who aren’t smart enough to realise what’s going on isn’t really a crime.

Captain RAAF said :

I had these blokes approach me at Bunnings Tuggers, reported it to Plod along with the rego number of the van and Plod informed me that they are aware of these blokes and that there is nothing criminal going on.

Apparently they’ve been doing it for years.

Yep, the Rozzers said the same to me. I ran across them 5 or more years ago in Belconnen. Same Pregio van with Victorian number plates. They had the cheapest, nastiest gear I’ve ever seen, complete with fake price tags and fake invoice.

I reported them, but according to the rozzers, they weren’t actually doing anything illegal.

Captain RAAF said :

I had these blokes approach me at Bunnings Tuggers, reported it to Plod along with the rego number of the van and Plod informed me that they are aware of these blokes and that there is nothing criminal going on.

Apparently they’ve been doing it for years.

Nothing criminal? So they’ve checked these people, checked the goods in their possession and determined that it’s legit? Or is it that the porcine constabulary can’t be bothered checking.

Captain RAAF11:38 am 22 May 13

I had these blokes approach me at Bunnings Tuggers, reported it to Plod along with the rego number of the van and Plod informed me that they are aware of these blokes and that there is nothing criminal going on.

Apparently they’ve been doing it for years.

ezy10z said :

Are you sure he said free??

I know exactly what the scam is and pretty sure they dont give them away for free.

Absolutely, the guy had a bag of snakes and another of freckles. Said I’d get them both if I got in his van.

HiddenDragon11:34 am 22 May 13

If Canberra had proper, old fashioned pubs, this mobile unseemliness would not be necessary.

On another angle, this wonderful anecdote (“moit” – love it) suggests that an episode of Fat Pizza, set in Canberra, may be just what we need to redeem ourselves in the eyes of our fellow Australians after Skywhale.

I’ve just spotted them spruiking in Fyshwick ( Wollongong St.), gave the cops a description of both the gents, rego etc.
we’ll wait and see!

Are you sure he said free??

I know exactly what the scam is and pretty sure they dont give them away for free. I know one silly man who actually fell for it… they pull out fake invoices and convince you that the system is worth $5000. then offer it to you for $2000. Then after a short haggle they accept your offer of $800.
They always do it in places where there is people around and they act like they’re in a big hurry to get back home, forcing you to make a quick (irrational) decision.

Its been happening for many years…. shows how many stupid people are around

Haven’t they discovered the internet yet?

WIkipedia doesn’t really explain how the scammers can make money out of this, if it was being offered for free? Apart from the “beer money” angle.

Of course, such scenarios do occur – I recently bought a pair of good quality speakers on Ebay from someone who (said they) had received them as part of an insurance claim (flood from hail), but although they were fairly direct replacements for what he had, he had gone ahead with a different installation (wall mounting to keep them out of any future floods!) which these ones didn’t suit. Still sealed in the box, and pretty cheap. I collected from his house (on the South Coast) and paid in cash.

IP

cbrjoe said :

It was probably these guys:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_van_speaker_scam

Had a few approach me over the years.

Damn, I only get the ‘free candy’ and ‘I lost my puppy, come help me look for it’ vans.

You reported it to the plod? Good luck with that!

It was probably these guys:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_van_speaker_scam

Had a few approach me over the years.

Sounds familar: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_van_speaker_scam

Offering it for free isn’t much of a business plan, though.

I had the same in a Belconnen carpark a couple of years ago. Blokes saying “It’s an amazing system but it’s not the one the customer ordered, boss just told us to get rid of it ASAP”.

Yeah, likely! One of the oldest scams in the book.

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