Watch reviews 4U - ** Beware of the Refund Fishing Watch Service Scam** - Got a scammer from Ebay tried it on me. How to be aware of this new scam.

Watch Reviews 4U alert

**New Refund Fishing Luxury Watch Service Scam Alert !!!**

The Refund Fishing Luxury Watch Service Scam - Don't fall victim to these people -

This isn't the watch involved in the deal, its just something nice to look at before you read this stomach churning new scam and this watch is safe in my watch box.

The vast majority of the people you deal with on places like Ebay are great people to deal with and I have no problem with them or the transaction. Every so often and thankfully very rarely you get a bad transactor. A new scam has recently come along and here's how it works. DON'T GET CAUGHT!! 

Here is the Refund Fishing Watch Service Scam.

I recently sold a watch on Ebay which was an almost 5 year old luxury automatic Swiss watch in about as mint in the box with papers as you can get and all seemed well and good with the sale, it was delivered safely and payment went through ok. The buyer says he was delighted with it and it reported that it keeps very good time - 10 seconds a day. Nice 5* feedback. Thank you.

Fast forward a month and I get a mail from the buyer via Ebay messaging, he is just out of the 30 day Ebay money back guarantee time - he reports that he has wound the watch and it no longer goes. He then says it will need a full service to rectify the 'fault' and this will cost £450 of which he wants me to contribute. Done his homework on the service cost. Alarm bells time.

He is spouting Baloney and is at best a 'chancer' and at worst a 'scammer' I say he is both. A watch only gets a clean, oil and regulation on a service if nothing untoward otherwise is existing as you all know. 

Servicing a watch 'broken' by winding will not resolve the issue, but if the buyer is scamming you and just wants a free service on you, then he's got one if you pay up, or are scared it into it by what is essentially a con artist/chancer.

So, I was curious as to why my 'almost as new condition from the shop quality Swiss Watch with little use', having kept excellent time is now 'broken', in response I proposed to the buyer that he take it or send it into a registered for the brand jeweller and have it examined. At least he broke it.

I said that I would like to see their written report, estimate of work and list of any parts and costs required and have contact details of the watch examiner so that I can verify and discuss the situation with them. 

In other words see I am not being scammed. I don't think that is unreasonable. I'm just playing him along as I suspect he is trying to scam me as I know this is out of time on Ebay.

I don't think that is unreasonable to ask for this information if the claim was true, if you are legit and have nothing to hide and the issue is genuine although in this case he is outside of the Ebay limit and obviously trying it on to get more money out of me,which is the refund fishing scam objective. 

He replies to my 'suggestion' of the watch examination but the clincher is that he makes no mention of even considering this inspection in his reply. So, he's only after money and a con artist.

Instead, the buyer comes back with bluff and bluster and states he is 'an authority on the watch movement' and that the watch 'of this age requires a service.' Well, give him that approaching 5 years old the watch MAY need a service - next year, not now and as it is running at 10 seconds a day accuracy as he states, so I would say to him 'get on your bike sunbeam' and pay for the service yourself. 

The buyer makes no mention of agreeing to have the watch examined, which is a definite giveaway so it a definite attempt at scamming me for the money. I forgot to say that the buyer also offered me £250 less than the asking price on Ebay where he purchased it from me so the cad is already up on the deal. And greedy. Which is his undoing, like most criminals. 

It's the modus operandi of most blackmailers and con artists, they keep coming back if you pay them. So, if I pay now, what happens in a few months when another spurious 'breakage' happens with a watch part, will he come back with his hand out again? I'm not paying now or anytime soon and if he comes back he is in big legal trouble with the Police whom I shall pass this matter onto and where to find him as I have his name and address.

So this is how the Refund Fishing Watch Service Scam' works. I have already alerted Ebay to his modus operandi and if I do hear from him again the Police can deal with him.

Stay safe fellow watch lovers. Spread the word. Safe trading!