I said I would purchase them if he would agree to using escrow, and proposed a company. He agreed to use escrow but said he wanted to use DPD Express for both shipping and escrow. I checked the website and it looked legitimate. It has international offices, over 100 staff, is accredited by several international shipping institutions, etc, etc.
I then received an email from a second website where he had hosted his advertisement saying that the advert was bogus. I therefore looked into things a lot more carefully. I found:
1. Andy Murron doesn't exist on Linkedin or Facebook and doesn't show up in any internet searches. Not definitive but odd for someone whose father could afford £15k loudspeakers
2. DPD Express is not linked with DPD. The company number on the website is actually for "The Shipping Company Limited". A check at Companies House shows that company has assets of a few thousand pounds and just one director, "GODDARD, Michael", who is also company secretary. I don't believe a company with over 100 staff and offices around the world would have a single director and almost no assets
3. The websites of the institutions DPD Express claims to be a member of do not list either it or The Shipping Company as members
4. The international offices listed on its website do not look like the locations for international shippers when I check them on Streetview.
I forwarded the "bogus" email to "Andy" who explained it was caused by someone complaining about being asked to provide a deposit. I agreed to continue with the transaction, to see how things would go.
Today I received an email from DPD Express giving me shipment details and telling me where to send the money. I checked the account at the Walthamstow branch of Lloyds (Name "DPD G. EXPRESS", BIC LOYDGB21K31, sort code 77-91-56, account 21053662) and it's valid but I cannot tell who owns it. I sent a message to DPD Express asking for a callback. To my surprise I received a call! The man, who sounded East European, did not answer my questions but said that the loudspeakers were already in the depot at head office. I asked him to confirm the address and he did so eventually. He said that if I had a problem I could go there and pick up the speakers rather than have them shipped. We agreed that I would go on Friday morning. To be honest, since the registered office is a house in a rural road (Streetview again) I do not believe anything is held there, but it was brave of him to offer for me to go! Since they were only picked up in Scotland this morning I think the truck must have moved very quickly!
So what does anyone think? Is this indeed a fraud? Should I go along and see what happens, or cut my losses and pull out? What might happen if I do pull out?
(2nd attempt to post here... not friendly that it allows you to write your post and then forces you to login again, at which point your text is lost
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