On Friday December 9th I responded to an ad on Craigslist SF bay area, California for an imac computer for US$400. The name I responded to is Lindsey Vallee. Lindsey emailed that he/she had just moved and is currently at 6409 Vine Street, Vancouver, BC V6M 4B1, Canada, and would ship the package from there. He/she suggested we use ParcelForce to act as the "holding company" that would collect the package from him/her, collect the money from me (cash via Western Union "Money In Minutes" to ParcelForce's agent Kieran Harrison in Bolton, United Kingdom) ship the package via FedEx Expedited Freight Services to my home, then upon my approval or 10 business days the money would be released to the seller Lindsey.
Well, I fell for it hook, line and sinker. The package was supposedly shipped Monday 12/12 and was to arrive Wednesday 12/14 at 1pm. When I tried to track it with the ParcelForce tracking number I received (US728303468CA) on ParcelForce's website (http://www.parcelforce.com), I was unable to do it. Also unable to telephone ParcelForce and my emails to them have not been responded to. No response from the seller Lindsey Vallee to my many follow up emails.
This is the last communication I received from ParcelForce:
Invoice Number: US728303468CA
Dear ParcelForce Customer,
Western Union has confirmed your payment.
Your ETA is: Wednesday, December 14 at 01:00 PM EDT.
Please be advised that a signature will be required.
Ralph Craddock - ParcelForce Customer Department
ParcelForce Vancouver, BC Delivery Office, 1900 W Broadway, Vancouver, BC, V6J 3N1, Canada
Customer Department Email: [email protected]
ParcelForce Ltd 2011. All rights reserved.
The following are Lindsey Vallee's emails to me:
#1 12/9/11
Hi, I am getting back to you regarding the 21.5-inch iMac from Craigslist
My name is Lindsey and I am now in Vancouver, BC, Canada.
The iMac is still available and I hope you are still interested.
I am selling the iMac for $400 USD. I have attached some pics with it to this email.
The iMac was bought brand new from Apple a couple of months ago.
About the iMac I can say it's in perfect shape, as I used it only for a few weeks.included in the $400 price is everything that came with the iMac and also the warranty papers.
I tried to be as thorough as I could with the presentation so you can have all the info if you decide to go ahead and buy it. So what do you think? Do you want my imac?
Thanks,
Lindsey
#2 12/9/11
Hi Murray,
I was checking for a way to make the exchange from here to you in the US and I came across this option, which is a very good way to make this exchange.
It's provide by a company called Parcel Force and it will help us with this transaction.
They seem designed specifically for internet transactions, they handle both the payment and delivery part of this transaction. They seem pretty nice and trustworthy and they provide a service that we can use for our exchange.
The link below is from the Parcel Force website and it explains their procedure. Please check the link and the procedure and let me know if you agree to the terms.
Http://www.bc-parcelforce.com/en_language.internet. Transactions/index.html
With this procedure Parcel Force will deliver the imac to you, receive your payment and I will receive the payment for the imac only after you instruct them to do so.
I will pay the shipping.
Let me know if we can proceed.
Thanks.
#3 12/10/11
Hi Murray,
I will sell you the imac for $400 with everything in the pictures included, I will use 2 day delivery and allow you 5 days to inspect it. Shipping is on me. So, do we have a deal? At this point I need your name and address to start the deal.
Thanks.
#4 12/12/11
Hi,
I sent the imac earlier today. The Parcel Force clerk said that they will inspect the imac and then send you the invoice.
Please add [email protected] to your email address book in order to guarantee the delivery of their emails to your inbox.
Thanks.
#5 12/12/11
Hi Murray,
FYI I have received the invoice from Parcel Force, their email transaction confirmation. Have you received it?
Thanks.
That was the final email I received from this person.
Looks like I was scammed out of $400 trying to get a Christmas present for my kids...
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