'I had no reason to doubt any of it, they all seemed so professional on Facebook - now I'm out thousands'
22.08.2023 - 05:57
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
A beauty therapist is thousands of pounds out of pocket after she fell victim to Facebook Marketplace scammers who sold her a garden office which was never delivered.
Lucy Fletcher, 46, bought a £3,600 ready built shipping container office from a man after spotting the listing online. She wanted to upgrade to her beauty therapy studio so she could offer laser hair removal.
She burned her previous out-house studio to make way for the new one - but then lost out on work when it never arrived. She transferred the cash after exchanging messages and phone calls and receiving official looking invoices on business headed paper.
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But the office was never delivered and now she's out of pocket for the £3,600 office, loss of earnings, and buying and converting a new container. Now her bank will only refund half the amount.
Lucy, from Evesham, Worcester, is speaking out after a recent study showed the number of scams on Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp surging. Lucy said: “I feel really vulnerable now - this guy now has my address, he’s had a lot of my money and I've lost out on work, so I’ve lost business as well.
“It was just how professional the scammers were – I had no reason to doubt any of it at all. The emotional stress has been unbelievable. It’s been an absolute mess. If I've been scammed – and I think I'm quite switched onto it – if other people aren’t already then they need to be more aware basically.”
The seller on Facebook said the room would be delivered to her property and provided her a quote from a business email address on headed paper. She also received an invoice on headed paper with bank details – and when she