Devon garage warns of scam after ‘alarming’ call

Sean Greig was told he owed money to the Tradesmen Online website

Devon garage warns of scam after ‘alarming’ call
Photo: Bigstock

The owner of a garage in Devon has urged other garage owners to be vigilant after he received an “alarming” call from someone pretending to be from Northampton Combined Crown and County Courts.

Sean Greig, of S.G. Autorepairs in Colyton, said the scammer told him two High Court bailiffs were at his premises to collect an outstanding debt for advertising costs from November 2019.

He told Garage Wire: “I was 25 miles away at the time, so it was an ‘Oh God’ moment.”

The person on the phone said he would help Sean with a “stay of execution“ for the debt owed to Tradesmen Online.

“I supposedly had a CCJ for £3,000 plus the High Court officers’ fees,” he told Garage Wire. “If I went to a bank and transferred the funds to a solicitor, the fee would be cut to £1,200.”

With no recollection of the debt and no paperwork to substantiate the claim, Sean headed back to the garage to make further investigations. Emails showed that the garage had dealt with Tradesmen Online in 2020, but no money was owed to the website.

“A lady at Tradesmen Online confirmed that it was a scam and I was sent an email as evidence. Police were aware of the scam, but they thought they had stopped it.”

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