Northland woman duped of $1000 over saddle

For keen horse rider Carly Low it has anything but plain sailing buying a saddle off Facebook for her talented horse Sugar. Photo/ Supplied

A Northland woman duped online of $1000 for a saddle she never received is telling bargain-hunters to be wary of buying items being sold through Facebook.

Carly Low, a mother of two young children, was hit hard in the pocket when the saddle she paid for never turned up and the Christchurch seller refused to respond and then disappeared.

Low, who lives in Ngunguru, said she had previously bought hundreds of items online through Facebook and had always received what she had paid for. But this time was different and costly.

And since her experience last month Low has since seen the same seller responding to wanted advertisements, with two more people becoming victims shelling out $450 and $500 for saddles they will never see. Three people contacted by Low had pulled the pin at the last minute as they felt something was wrong or they were warned about the seller.

The rip-off began when Low posted on the Facebook page "Saddles for sale NZ only" that she was searching for a saddle to for her lovely Arab and quarter horse-cross Sugar.

It wasn't long before the seller, who claims to have attended Cashmere High School in Christchurch, messaged Low saying she had the exact saddle for sale.

Through messages to each other it was arranged that Low pay into an account and the saddle would then be sent north by a trucking company.

The seller said she needed the money saying: "If you're happy to purchase with guarantee of refund if not happy/not the right fit that would be fantastic."

She added: "No worries with you holding on to it at all."

Low sent a screen shot as evidence she had paid the money.

The seller responded: "Thank you so much for a nice easy trade."

However, suspicions were aroused when Low saw the exact photo of the saddle for sale on another Facebook page.

When Low queried the seller about it she was suddenly blocked by the seller and unable to contact her.

Low went to the Whangārei police station and reported the incident. She also went back on the Facebook page and warned others of the dubious seller.

"Looking back on it the saddle was cheap for what it was. But I've bought plenty of items like halters and bridles and they have been honest people," said Low.

She said in future she would get a phone number to talk to people on the phone, and while it was not always going to be foolproof, it would give her a better idea of the person. Even video calling the seller so you could see them with the item would be good, she said.

Getting proof of the seller's physical address would also help if things went wrong.

Currently two Northland woman have been arrested and face numerous charges after selling fake tickets for thousands of dollars through Facebook.
A 19-year-old Whangārei allegedly sold 28 tickets between December 2018 and April this year, collecting $4380 for tickets that never existed.

The non-existent tickets were to concerts for Six60, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Fat Freddy's Drop, Billie Eilish, Bay Dreams, Touch Base, Post Malone and the Homegrown concert in Wellington. Tacita Joyce, of Raumanga, faces 14 charges of accessing a computer system, namely Facebook and by deception obtained a pecuniary advantage.

Joyce was remanded on bail until her next appearance in Whangārei District Court on June 4.

Appearing in the same court on the same day is Lulu Amberlee Pou who faces 12 charges of accessing a computer system, namely Facebook, and by deception obtained a pecuniary advantage, relating to 24 tickets and $3010.

Police advised buyers there was a risk the person selling goods online was not who or what they said they were.

"There will always be some people who try to use online sites to scam and rip people off for money, so care must always be taken," police said.