Ebay car sale victim out of pocket by thousands

Earlier this month, 51-year-old Dean Rosenthal was jailed for eight months for selling a number of death-trap vehicles.

One of his victims, who asked not to be named, told how he was sent on his way on a 400-mile journey back home to Inverness in a £2,995 Mitsubishi Delica that was falling apart.

“I bought it on eBay on November 27, 2014, and I travelled on the train from Inverness to Manchester and then on to Wigan,” he said.

“It looked alright when I saw it. It was nice and polished. It was dark at the time though so I couldn’t get under the car to check.

“When I was travelling up the road it was starting to overheat because a pipe had come off. I pulled over to get this sorted and it turned out there was no oil whatsoever in the van.

“Then the electrics started going just outside of Inverness. I phoned him and he refuted anything was wrong with it.

“I put it in for MOT and then he wouldn’t answer his phone and eventually it said the number wasn’t available.

“I did everything, I even wrote to him but he totally ignored me. The corrosion underneath the van was unbelievable. If I had gone over a decent sized pothole, the van would have fallen apart.”

The victim eventually got in touch with Rosenthal, of Castle Rise, Hindley, but didn’t have any joy with a refund.

“I eventually offered to pop down to see him with the police and this scared him into getting in touch,” he added. “He told me if I took the van back he would refund me but this was impossible as it wasn’t roadworthy.

“I told him I had been in touch with Trading Standards and he told me this was a mistake and that I wouldn’t see a penny.

“He eventually admitted to everything at a small claims court but at this point he knew about his bankruptcy. He got told to pay me £850 a week but I never saw a penny of this.”

Rosenthal pleaded guilty to five offences involving engaging in commercial practice amounting to a misleading action as he was sent down.

“I’m pleased,” said the victim after his sentencing. “It put a big smile on my face. I’ll do what I can to get my money back, I should be set for around £800 from what the bailiffs got and I’ll sell the rest of the van for parts.”