My husband and I found a laptop listed on Craig's list. IT was a DELL XPS 1710 ($2200 value) being sold by one Michelle Scott. She claimed she couldnt use it in the UK due to the differences in electric voltage and plugs etc. She already had another one and this one, which was brand new, was just sitting there not being used and she just wanted to get rid of it. She had pics of it and everything. We low balled her with a figure assuming she would haggle us up. We should have know when she accepted it outright. She said she would use the courier service TNT which we researched and found was a real company so we were OK with that. We received an email from Michelle stating she had already shipped the laptop and that TNT (the courier and escrow type service) would take our payment but hold it until we could inspect the laptop and we would have 5 days to inspect it.
We received the following email with payment instructions:
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Tracking Number: 775425692
Important TNT Payment Instructions/Shipment Details
Please read the Instructions carefully.
Click here to track your package: http://ukdepot-tnt.com/tracking.html
Dear TNT Customer,
We have your package in our custody.
Description of goods: 1 x Dell XPS M170 Laptop Computer
Sender of package ( Seller ): Michelle Scott
Receiver of package ( Buyer ): John XXXXXXXXX
Delivery Address:
Address: XXXX X XXXXXXX
City / State: XXXXXXXX
Zip(City Code): XXXXX
Country: USA
Premier packet
Delivery Type: TNT Express 2nd Day Delivery - After the Payment is received and verified by TNT
Amount to be paid by the Buyer: US $460.00
Payment Instructions - Receiver of the Payment - Joseph Davis
The payment must be made through Western Union Money Transfer to the Name of the TNT Agent who is in charge with this transaction - Joseph Davis using the Money in Minutes Service from Western Union.
Important Note: The Payment must be made at one of Western Union's Agent Locations, in person by the Buyer. The payment must not be made using Western Union's Send Money Online Service due to the high Credit Card fraud risk. We will not confirm any payments made online.
You must go to a Western Union Agent Location and make a Money Transfer to the Name of the TNT Agent who is responsible with this transaction - Joseph Davis .
In order to complete the Money Transfer using the Money in Minutes Service you will need the Payment Details of our TNT Agent:
Please make your Money Transfer payable to:
First Name: Joseph
Last Name: Davis
Address: 214 Bowery Street
City: Wolverhampton
Zip(City Code): S22 1TF
Country: United Kingdom
After you complete the payment you need to send the Payment Information for verification to our Payment Department at their e-mail address:
[email protected]The Payment Information that you need to send to us for verification are:
- MTCN - Money Transfer Control Number (the MTCN is the 10-digit number located on your Western Union Confirmation Receipt)
- Sender's Name and Sender's Address - (the name Name and Address of the Sender of the Western Union Money Transfer)
- Amount Transferred - (the amount transferred)
Please read our TNT Payment Privacy Policy to learn our payment release and payment refund conditions.
1.The Payment will be sent to the Seller by TNT only after you receive the package, check the merchandise and if you are completely satisfied with it. Only then you will instruct us to release the Payment to the Seller.
2.TNT acts as a third party holding at the same time the merchandise and the Payment.
3. After the merchandise is received by the Buyer, the Buyer will have up to 21 days depending on the nature of the merchandise to review the merchandise.
For transaction No. 775425692 the inspection time is 5 ( five ) business days.
a) If the Buyer decides to keep the merchandise the Buyer will instruct TNT to release the funds to the Seller.
b) If for any reason the Buyer does not want to keep the merchandise, the Buyer will ask TNT for a refund.
The refund procedure is very simple, the Buyer will receive the money from TNT through Bank to Bank Wire Transfer, or by Check or by Western Union Money Transfer.
The refund method is at the Buyer's choice.
TNT Logo
Thank you for using TNT
Nicole Card - TNT Customer Department
Wolverhampton Depot
214 Bowery Street
Wolverhampton
S22 1TF
Customer Department
General Manager: Robert Kay
Email:
[email protected] Intellectual and other property rights to the information contained in this site are held by TNT Holding B.V. with all rights reserved 2007
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We did as asked and sent the money. OUR GODSEND was the fact that my husband typo'd the western union number in the email we sent back. When in the process of trying to figure out what was wrong with out WU number, I decided to look up TNT one more time. I tracked using the number they gave me and came up with an OLD shipment from back in May 2007 (Its Jan 2008). I looked at their branch locations and saw NO record of a Wolverhampton Depot branch AT ALL. We looked a little more and found another victim of this exact scam listed here on this site. We were SICK about it. Our money had not been picked up yet due to the original typo in the transfer number, so we were able to call Western Union and cancel it. They are sending us back out money. THANK YOU GOD FOR MIRACLES!!
Just goes to show you...if it seems to good to be true IT IS!
Megismad
Tampa, Florida
U.S.A.