BEWARE this Swapper/ Seller

[Bleh]

Anyway, very few of you may be aware that I no longer have my Storm as I was in need of a car and (foolishly) got ripped off by this guy from Notts/ Lincs.

Long story short... ultimately nobody to blame but myself as on the night, I said to him that I always like to listen to my gut and my gut was telling me no but my stupid ol' conscious came in to play and I did the swap with him anyway. Below is a link that will lead to his user page on such swapping site:

http://www.swapz.co.uk/profile/tomalmorf/

This guy makes my blood boil each time I think of him. Included in the deal was a kids bike which he told me his kid couldn't ride as it was to quick - this, along with maaaaannnnnyy other things were out and out lies. The kids bike, which was also up for sale on flea-bay (of which I have the screen shots) was a pure death trap with absolutely no throttle control available (wrong slide in carb for a start, interference fit!!!) and there were zero screws/ washers holding the sprag clutch in place (of which I also have pictures).

If you're interested in reading more, follow the below link (if it still works);

https://myswapreview.wordpress.com/

Anyway, I tried to make others aware of this guys dangerous nature and what he was bluffing people with. What I didn't do (again, foolishly) was read ALL of his feedback on the site. It sounds that 99% of his positives come from exchanging biros and mobile phones and nearly all of his negatives come from his dangerous nature within swapping automotives, one even resulting in an apparent car crash due to ill fitted parts!
So, I tried having it out with him but his biro swapping had others turn on me like a pack of hounds... This I don't understand, I was trying to make others aware for their own safety and they turn on me because I don't have a rating like he does??!!

Soooo.... he's put the bike on Swapz again and he can't even describe it correctly (the absolute monkey). No mention of the factory pro kit installed into the carbs and claiming the link pipes and cans only go for the right deal (ripped me off good and proper). But before you read how well the bike has been looked after in his description of the ad, please read how he slags it off somewhat in the rating he left for me after I left an honest review for him;

http://www.swapz.co.uk/profile/Bleh/history/

So, here's the ad (as of 03/01/2016);

http://www.swapz.co.uk/swapz/5568488/VT ... 000_W_Reg/

My point here is this guy is an absolute cowboy - my bike was in the best condition it had ever been in when he robbed it off me, please be careful with this guy if you come across him, he's a convincing liar and a dangerous one too, his lies can cause you harm - I dread to think what damage he's done to my beautiful VTR which I miss so so much
I've already spent near £400 on the car he conned me with and it's still not right - road worthy, but not ME worthy yet! And the kids bike - well, that's good for the scrap, it genuinely is!!!

[alanfjones1411]

unfortunately on swap sites one of the people swapping is always looking for something of more value than the item that they are swapping.So somebody will always finish up with the sh!tty end of the stick.

[Watty]

Thought you'd posted about swingers there!!

[Bleh]

unfortunately on swap sites one of the people swapping is always looking for something of more value than the item that they are swapping.So somebody will always finish up with the sh!tty end of the stick.

It wasn't the overall value of things that I was worried about. I already knew that 'financially' he would be getting the better end of the deal before we even met up... but it was just his extent of lies that has done me in. If everything was immaculate and he walked off with a £500 greater value of stuff then that's fine, but the fact that his lies have already set me back near £400 in repairs and the kids bike is no better than scrap as it stands, this bloke really has conned me.

Like I said, ultimately nobody to blame but myself... I should have sent him home like I stated I was going to at some point during the evening. I should have twigged with his first delay of 'mate, my dolly has a puncture, I wont be there by 18.00 on a summers evening while it's still light enough to look over things', and later with 'mate, traffic works are terrible where I am, will be delayed some more'.

He eventually turned up at 22.00 in the evening and left mine at 01.45 after I was so unsure about the car. Couldn't exactly start the kids bike, or try to, at that time in the morning around where I live (although, he was keen to hear the storm running regardless), so it was simply pulled from his van and in to my kitchen and that's where it stayed until the next day.

Ultimately, I am absolutely gutted on every front. 1) I got ripped off by a seemingly honest guy, and 2) I no longer have the storm which I brought up to a really nice standard.

But I needed a car and as of tomorrow, the reason for such comes in to play. They have built a new school where my sprogs need to go and it's a further mile down the road to where their original school was. Top that with I live pretty much at the top of a hill and walking the kids home an extra mile, 5 days a week, up a hill when the wind and rain could (and likely will be) lashing down is just not fair on them. My youngest is 4 and oldest 7! So needs must but I'm gutted that in a civilization where people whinge about the lack of common decency, and 'stab you in the back' politicians, not even a middle aged working class man can treat a younger (me) working class man with enough respect as to be up front and honest, but instead be intent and content with ripping them off!!!

That kids bike, for someone who knows nothing about bikes could have seriously ended up in harm on a youngster. If some unknowing parent just sat their kid on it and kicked it over, it would've just thrown the kid straight off in a possibly violent manner, and this bloke who was a father himself, advertised the bike as a little pocket rocket and was actually willing to sell it - unbelievable

[StormingHonda]

I have done a few deals on Swapz site, and to be honest with you I will NEVER do any more deals on swapz site.

The problem is that you either get a swapper who genuinely doesn't know the problems he has on his bike, or the swapper who is out to rip people off. But more often than enough you get the swapper who is genuine, the problem is the site is plagued with so many bad swappers now its very hard to trust anyone on there.

When the site first started you had a really good group of people who would royally name and shame people away from the site who stuck together, but that changed as the site got bigger.

I personally could never give someone a bike that I knew was bad, I live by my own code, and have acted when I have been ripped off, this is what annoyed me here on this site when I posted about being ripped off and taking matter into my own hands ( you have very little recourse through the police or courts ) it should never be a case of put up and shut up, because often what happens is that if these people get away with it once, they will do it again and again, and often they do.

Problem on swapz site

1. I swapped a mint CB900F Hornet for a Triumph T509

I gave the swapper the benefit of the doubt, because he seemed clueless about bikes, but the Triumph came with a host of problems which he didn't tell me about, I gave him a bike that needed nothing.

2. I swapped a Honda Fireblade for my Honda Hornet 600.

The blade I knew needed work, which I was happy about, what I wasn't happy about was the engine that he had done the spark plug trick on to hid the fooked piston rings, the bottom end was slightly knocky, he paid for a second hand engine after a lengthy phone call.

3. I swapped a nice BMW R1100 for a ZX6R, I really fancied a pocket rocket.

It turned out to be a pile of sh1t on very close inspection with a history he promised me it didn't ( had trouble getting HPI site to work until after had swapped bike which I told him about ), I gave him the choice of bringing the bike back and swapping back over or paying me out the difference in value, he paid out the difference.


I do feel for you Bleh, its not a nice feeling being ripped off, and like I said you have to deal with this not just because he ripped you off, but he do it again and again.

The best advice I can give you and ANYONE on this site is NEVER swap bikes or cars on Swapz, you will get good bikes/cars, but those odd crappy bikes/cars are there and the owners don't care what you get.

[Bleh]

I have done a few deals on Swapz site, and to be honest with you I will NEVER do any more deals on swapz site.

This was my second swap on there.

The first went as smooth as. Again, I knew and the other guy knew he was getting the better deal in financial terms, but in terms of being content, we were both winners. I even said to the first swapper 'We both know you're getting the better deal financially here but I'm not after cash and you've come to me without asking for a penny so fairs fair in that respect', and he agreed with me without hesitation but said he wanted the car to keep and not sell. To be fair, the cars were both in as good condition as the other and both mechanically sound --- that is what swapz is meant to be about, mutual agreements and deals!

This second guy --- complete blagger who seems to have made his ratings through swapping biros, mobile phones and bits of wood (or putting it blunt, things that rarely go wrong).

When I tried naming and shaming, I really was set upon, especially by one member on there who seems to have a lot of respect amongst the regulars, but some of the messages he sent me my misses found very intimidating and when I responded without fear, he would publicly chat about me being on his case and spout a load of untrue crap. I could do no more than laugh it off.

What I do have here (as I did ring trading standards and make them aware of my concerns, took the car to VOSA for an inspection too), is evidence that the car was kept on the traders slip of the V5 whilst he had it and he swapped it with me as a private individual. Conveniently, DVLA don't have the name on the slip down as a trader and the name isn't his - but he has claimed to have had the car for around 6 months so I will be phoning them back next week with an update on what evidence I have received from the DVLA about its ownership history. Hopefully they'll at least look at retrieving some of my costs for which I have receipts for me - that would be something at least (as well as a smug little side grin)

[StormingHonda]

I have swapped other stuff on Swapz and had no bothers or trouble, I know a few people who have sent stuff and not got stuff back, I used to send recorded so that I knew SOMEONE got the item, this is why you see stuff which people with higher rating put " lower ratings send first " I don't blame them, its a shame because it could and was a great site with great people.

Its the cars and motorcycles that concern me the most, I am very reluctant to swap with people off of a site I don't know.

Forums can be better ways to do a swap if you have posted on there a long time, people are less likely to try and rip you off, The better deals I have done were on forums I have done a swap and bought a bike on the Honda X 11 forum and both times I was pleasantly surprised.

The problem as well with Swapz is that the good people get ripped off enough they stop swapping or just turn into an ass themselves and pass on the crap.

It really IS worth going the full hog on these people just to teach them a lesson that they CANT get away with it all the time and sometimes you rip the wrong person off, because if you don't they take everyone for a mug.

I have always kept someone address when doing something like that purely for the sake of knowing who I am going to visit if they rip me off.


He might be a car dealer, getting rid of what he knows he shouldn't and cant put on the forecourt, it wouldn't surprise me, if I am correct unless he auctions the vehicle he has to offer at least three months warranty on it. And if he is a dealer then he should sell/exchange the vehicle fit for purpose, unless otherwise stated.