Anyone that has fallen for this, don't feel ashamed of yourselves. This is a very convincing site, and is actually one of the better ones i have seen.
I work for a large bank and investigate fraud cases, so i have seen more than my fair share of these types of scams.
This one looks like they have done their research quite well, changing the address to the actual bike shop, with all the details as lots of people investigate these shops by googling and street viewing the premises then decide its okay as its an actual shop.
Good luck on getting the money back, this can be a slow process, sometimes the beneficiary bank will hold the funds and return them especially if there have been numerous reports of fraud, other times they will have to reach out to the beneficiary to gain consent to return the funds, obviously this never happens.
However these fraudsters generally have a few accounts which when one is burnt they move to the next.
What to do:
Phone the bank to say you have been made aware that the website is a scam site and you would like to recall the funds due to fraudulent activity, they then have to investigate this, sending messages to the beneficiary bank and if they deem it is a fraud attempt have a legal and regulatory obligation to file a SAR(suspicious activity report) to the National Crime Agency.
Report to Action Fraud and provide as much info as possible, these reports from Action Fraud are sent to all banks who "should" proactively search for any of their customers who also have been defrauded and it helps build a case.
And always, always, always pay for online stuff via your credit card even if you have the cash to pay it off, stick it on a credit card, then pay it off straight away, you'll still be eligible for the chargeback and pay no interest.
They are loving replying to their Trustpilot reviews: https://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/is-the-bicycle-company-uk-britains-biggest-cycling-scam/#post-11989839
Emtb forum we’re onto them back in June !
looks like the site might be down now. they really went to a lot of trouble to make it lookgood. I know it might have been obvious to some and definitely smelt funny but I know a lot of people who would have been taken in by that. these days I tend to always google new company names along with 'scam' when trying someone new
Yeah it does like their site has been taken down, but they have changed the url on their Trustpilot to a genuine bike shop now.
ooo, stw gets a mention on their reviews. the power of seo
They aren't happy with us. I have just spoken to the bike shop and they are aware the Trustpilot links to them and they have reported it.
I saw these guys about 2 or 3 months ago. I remember thinking at the time that I'd never heard of them & for then suddenly they are all over the net with all kinds of stock. The site looked good & legit but something about the way this company came from nowhere & had loads of stock of many different things seemed off. Spidey sense went tingaling & I walked away. Sorry for those who fell for them - it was quite convincing..
Good job sniffing out the bullshitters before they find too many victims.
Any genuine dealer will be on the Dealer List of said bike brands website. This could be faked if stealing a real dealers name, but at least it's something anyone can check easily.
For the same reason the bike industry should be able to sniff these sites out a bit quicker and get them taken down.
How did you find out about vivawallet? Did they emailed you about it? I’ve got an email from the bicycle company telling me that my order ID failed and I will be fully refunded in 14 days and if I want to keep the order valid I have to submit the order once again and they guarantee me they won’t charge twice and they add a link. A JOKE!!! I don’t think I will get the money back, my bank refuses to give me back the money because at first they cancelled the transaction and I did approve it, so it went through, so NO MONEY , NO BIKE 🙁 the best thing to do is to report the website.
Headsup. The fraudster is now also operating: rashfordsuk.com and trendbicycles.co.uk
They also for the first time tried to pretend to be a legitimate customer on reddit, but got caught in their lie: https://www.reddit.com/user/Harvey-chapman/
I've reported both to National Fraud Intelligence Bureau
Thread resurrection time!
Just been looking for a Specialized Diverge and found the bellow:
Anyone any idea if they are legit?
Companies House Seema to suggest a dormant company since 1995, with a related company called Cortonglen which was dissolved last year, but I think Cortonglen was trading as Buyabike? The address on companies House and the website also don't match.
Lots of Google reviews and a few Trust pilot reviews, also the Google maps images look correct but I guess these can be faked..
Price looks a bit good to be true as well considering there is nothing in stock anywhere else.
I called the number and they do answer, and it sounds like a bike shop in the background!
PS they have an active Facebook as well, so either a good fake or a bargain?!
Looks legit to me. Definitely not anything like the scam described in this thread.
Their shop appears on street view.
They accept PayPal, which is s good sign, they'd never have that on a scam site.
Anyone local know the shop?
Buy a Bike
Preston Rd, Charnock Richard, Chorley PR7 5LH
Just make sure the website hasn't been hijacked or cloned
Contact UK distributors for the brands they claim to stock and ask them.
Based on the limited information online and dormant status for many years...avoid.
Only one director - john arthur smith, born 1938 so now 83.
Definitely avoid.
My feeling was the company used to exist, and it was dissolved last year, and this is a scam, and they have appropriated the company name. The website looks so legit though it's making me second guess myself.
https://vat-search.co.uk/Vgxe_Cortonglen+LTD+%7C+BUY-A-Bike
Above also says the company is inactive.
I've just searched Shimano Service, Merida and Reise & Muller websites for dealers in Chorley area and all come up with Buy a Bike.
The click & collect section refers to collection from '...any of our stores'.
I'm going with this being a clever scam.
Anyone local know the shop?, Buy a Bike
Preston Rd, Charnock Richard, Chorley PR7 5LH
Yip its about 3 miles from me, been here for years and sound (thumbs up)
and anybody who listens to local radio will have no option but to know of them, they have a tune in an advert they run, that's been running for years and is certainly catchy
Ah awesome, thanks for the feedback! 🙂
Buy a Bike
Preston Rd, Charnock Richard, Chorley PR7 5LHJust make sure the website hasn’t been hijacked or cloned
Buy-a-bike used to be a proper shop, they had a Palmer Specialized in years ago. Not been past for awhile so don't know if they folded.
They had a jingle on local radio.
Edited to add - bollox beaten by 5minutes!
Does that mean bike sales are now a thing again?
Cheers, got the radio jingle in my head now!
Buy-a-bike....
Buy-a-bike....
...at Charnock Richard,
...bike
...shop!
Buy a bike incorporated in 1995, submitted annual accounts in 1997 showing shareholder funds of £2, dormant since.
Could be registered under different company name.
Parent company was CORTONGLEN LIMITED dissolved last year. https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/04161855/filing-history
Not sure i fully understand the significance of that though.
Not a completely improbable range of bikes for sale and it looks like the Specialized bikes are the only ones on sale.
As someone else said, use PayPal or a credit card if you're going to go for it.
Damn I can't get that jingle out of my head
No idea about this Charnock mob but no doubt scammers for in-demand items are upping their game. I reckon if I was spending a load of cash on an untrusted / unverified source (which in all likelihood I wouldn't do) I'd be asking for a video call to get an idea of stock / inventory. Would also put they shysters who sell things they don't actually have in stock back in their boxes.