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Police have recovered what was stolen from Wheeler Dealer star Mike Brewer in a credit scam.
Brewer, who owns used car dealership One Automotive, was scammed out of a VW Golf GTD as part of an auto credit scam.
A criminal used a stolen ID and ID to pay for the used ones on two separate bills over the phone and then sent a courier to pick them up at the Brewer dealership.
Brewer and his team knew nothing of what was happening until Barclays contacted the company to tell them that the card had been used fraudulently and that they were going to confront the chargers, leaving Brewer without the cash. nor the car.
Brewer spoke at length to Car Dealer about the scam in a video interview with Car Dealer last week, where he said that although he had reported the case to the police, they did not need to know about it.
However, police flagged the car as stolen and when a new owner in Scotland tried to sign the Golf, they alerted officials to its location.
Brewer told Car Dealer: “The police called us to say the car had been returned to them.
“Someone bought the Golf for £7,500 on Facebook and paid cash for it. When they tried to register the car as theirs, it was reported stolen and the police went to the house.
“They asked them if they had the car inspected through HPI before purchasing it, and they didn’t, and they confiscated the car.
“Now users have been scammed by these criminals. This shows that you have to be very careful when buying cars on social networks, especially when they are so cheap.
“I’m very happy that they got the car back and I thank the police for their efforts. “
Mike’s business partner at One Automotive, James Elkington, said the car will be picked up today.
He said he heard the news and thanked everyone for their help in recovering it.
Brewer added: “Be careful when buying cars on social media and make sure you buy from a trusted dealer. Do your homework first because it’s a minefield. “
James is the founder and editor-in-chief of Car Dealer Magazine and CEO of parent company Baize Group. James has been a motoring journalist for over 20 years writing about cars and the car industry.
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