Got scammed by a dealer located in Sydney

[BaldKraken]

The dealer's website is "watchesrus".
Address is Suite 302 160 Castlereagh St Sydney, 2000, Australia
The owner's name is Ian Tilman.

Me and other several victims paid him the deposit money. And we never saw the watches coming. The guy clam that the watches are being processed by overseas custom. But couldn't provide any evidence that the watches exist. I tried to contact the police and the bank. They both told me there's nothing they can do. Police told me that if the vendor kept feeding me with information, that means the vendor is not a scammer, I should just wait. I asked them how long, it could be 20 years or 30 years, the police told me if the dealer told me to wait and respond to my enquiries that means the dealer has the intention to follow the deal. As a migrant in Australia, I wanna say what a wonderful country it is. Basically if a person runs a business, the person charges people's money, and the person never deliver the products or service he promised, as long as the person said he will do it(but he never does), no law can punish that person?

[alwayshere]

They look legit on google search. Why not just go to their office and see what is up?

[BaldKraken]

Originally Posted by alwayshere

They look legit on google search. Why not just go to their office and see what is up?

I've done that, no one inside, just a desk and few chairs. I asked him several times please provide me some hard evidence that the watch even exists, but he just ignored my request.

[RanHong]

they have good google reviews, I suggest post your communications with them and possibly this thread link on their google review page, maybe they will then provide you with better responses. Good luck.

[TunaTuna]

If they are legit all you can do is publically make other aware of what happened. This may force the company to resolve with you

[BaldKraken]

Originally Posted by TunaTuna

If they are legit all you can do is publically make other aware of what happened. This may force the company to resolve with you

The problem to me and others is that he does not provide any evidence the watches exist. One of us asked him about that as well. Ian said due to security reason he can't provide any tracking information, because the watches he shipped maybe intercept, which the reason is ridiculous.

[BaldKraken]

Originally Posted by RanHong

they have good google reviews, I suggest post your communications with them and possibly this thread link on their google review page, maybe they will then provide you with better responses. Good luck.

When I saw those newest one star reviews, I know something is wrong, I asked him to provide me evidence the watch exist, but he won't do it. Also I met others here messaging me said they have the same issue with him.

[TimeToGo]

.
If you used a CC, you can always charge back..

[BaldKraken]

Originally Posted by TimeToGo

.
If you used a CC, you can always charge back..

The funny thing is, after the transaction was made, one of my friend told me that this is a scam, I called the bank immediately, but they refused to cancel the transaction. Now I contacted my bank, they said this is not a scam, while other people I know, their bank are trying to charge back their money. I guess I will switch to a different bank.

[Benzsiam]

You should have used credit card for deposit instead of cash/debit card.

[rmagoo57]

Originally Posted by BaldKraken

The dealer's website is "watchesrus".
Address is Suite 302 160 Castlereagh St Sydney, 2000, Australia
The owner's name is Ian Tilman.

Me and other several victims paid him the deposit money. And we never saw the watches coming. The guy clam that the watches are being processed by overseas custom. But couldn't provide any evidence that the watches exist. I tried to contact the police and the bank. They both told me there's nothing they can do. Police told me that if the vendor kept feeding me with information, that means the vendor is not a scammer, I should just wait. I asked them how long, it could be 20 years or 30 years, the police told me if the dealer told me to wait and respond to my enquiries that means the dealer has the intention to follow the deal. As a migrant in Australia, I wanna say what a wonderful country it is. Basically if a person runs a business, the person charges people's money, and the person never deliver the products or service he promised, as long as the person said he will do it(but he never does), no law can punish that person?

Simply:

[Radbloke]

Ask the seller for a refund based on non-delivery of goods. If they do not respond or refuse, let them know you will be reporting them to NSW Fair Trading. You can find them here:
https://www.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au/

Australia is a fantastic country to live in, but if you have issues like this (which can happen in any country) you need to be aware of the procedures and responsibilities of the vendor, your banking institution and the law. Banks in Australia will do almost anything to get out of responsibility for scams, so always pay with a credit card.

[Radbloke]

It's also worth noting that he may be telling you the truth regarding customs clearance. Customs are notoriously fickle in Australia. I sent my friend a guitar from Philly last year. It took 3 days to get from here to Melbourne, then was 'processing' in customs for 6 weeks.

[Fgambino111]

I had the same experience with watchesrus in Sydney. Paid a deposit of 50% for the watch on the 10/11/2023 and was told the watch would come within 4-8 weeks in the initial quote. It has now been 11-12 weeks and I still haven't gotten my watch or any confirmation that the watch was shipped to their store at all. Have contacted Ian multiple times and each time, he'll tell me another excuse and to be patient but won't send any proof that the watch is being sent to his store. It seems I'm not the only person in this situation as their new google reviews shows that multiple people have been waiting for longer than 12 weeks and have yet to get their watch.

I do believe they were running a clean shop before covid happened due to the good reviews they had but all the good reviews were 2-5 years back.
Maybe due to covid, they decided to run a scam instead.

[BaldKraken]

Originally Posted by Radbloke

It's also worth noting that he may be telling you the truth regarding customs clearance. Customs are notoriously fickle in Australia. I sent my friend a guitar from Philly last year. It took 3 days to get from here to Melbourne, then was 'processing' in customs for 6 weeks.

The guy's business is in liquidation now, website is gone. Guess is a scam from beginning. The thing got me mad is that after the transaction I asked the bank to cancel it, but the bank said it was no scam. FOOK ME.

[Radbloke]

Originally Posted by BaldKraken

The guy's business is in liquidation now, website is gone. Guess is a scam from beginning. The thing got me mad is that after the transaction I asked the bank to cancel it, but the bank said it was no scam. FOOK ME.

Yes, that is unfortunate. Like I said above, Australian banks will do almost anything to shirk responsibility of refunding your money with regards to scams. You need to keep following up with them and report this to fair trading NSW.