Social media and sites like Craigslist have made selling used vehicles a breeze but you never know who’s going to respond.
21-year old George Wood learned that lesson the hard way as The Sun reports he recently listed his Ford Fiesta on Facebook Marketplace. A short time later, a man agreed to buy the 16-year old car for around £300 ($397).
While everything seems pretty standard up to this point, the buyer allegedly showed up without any money. Instead, he promised to transfer it later.
While most people with an ounce of common sense would tell the person to get lost, Wood reportedly handed over the keys and sent him on his way. After the money failed to arrive, Wood sent the man a number of text messages asking about the money. Sometime later, he reportedly responded by saying “You won’t be getting your money but you will be getting a punch in the mouth.”
Aware that the man had no intention of paying for the car, Wood contacted police who allegedly told him there wasn’t anything they could do because he willingly handed the keys over.
Frantic, Wood posted pictures of the car on Facebook in the hopes that his friends or family would spot the Fiesta and get in touch. However, about a week later, the man sent a picture of the car being scrapped.
Speaking with The Sun, Wood said “I couldn’t believe it when I got the picture. I called all the scrapping yards in the area and one confirmed that my silver Fiesta had been scrapped.”
While the story sounds pretty fishy, police confirmed they are investigating the incident. Regardless, the whole situation could have been easily avoided if Wood refused to hand over the car until he was paid for it.
