How to check someone out?

[hughnique]

I am an enthusiast for Koi Carp, and have a large pond with two large filters on it, I recently noticed one, after 16 years had developed a leak and sought to try and repair it. They are made from a material called HDPE, which I am now informed is practically impossible to patch up, requiring plastic welding to facilitate a decent solution. I have therefore, come to the conclusion that a new filter is required, and boy that is a minefield, since the inception of my installation, things have advanced somewhat, and become more and more complicated, automated and damn expensive, you can pay tens of thousands of pounds, unfortunately not available to me. Having contacted dealers in the UK to get one shipped over, you can imagine their response post Brexshit, too complicated, so I am directed to some bloke near Toulouse, who is an authorised dealer for the product I require, English, so no language problems, but the set up seems strange. Only contact number is a French mobile number, no landline whatsoever, or if there is it is not published. Having received a phone call, at an early stage of my enquiry, in which I could hardly get a word in, I was bombarded with a handful of "facts", his wife commutes from Toulouse to Gatwick, where she is an air traffic controller, she carries the mobile phone and does the secretarial work on that, then he was born in to the gentry, his first car was a Bently at 5 years old, with a chauffeur, and that he was in the special forces in the Falklands, and still on emergency call up. All in all a total load of info supposed to what, impress me, all I want to do is buy something from him. He claims he is well known in the Koi world but no one I speak with knows him, or even heard of him, he has dropped a couple of names, but they are dead, and my Ouija board has stopped working. He does have a siren number and the business is registered, and since starting this epic, I have received an e mail from the air traffic controller, giving me a firm price for the item but still a bit vague about the cost to the customs agent, she says they do all the paperwork and it should be about £100. I just feel a little uncomfortable dealing with them, albeit I was planning to use my credit card in payment so that might give me a bit of protection. Would you walk away or persevere.

[Blaze]

Have you done a Google check ? If he's done all the things he says he's done, you'll find him. Not quite sure what you mean by "born into the gentry" - it sounds as if you're talking to Hyacinth Bucket. What has owning a Bentley to do with a pond filter ? Sounds a load of bullocks to me.
I smell a big rat and would walk away.

Why order through the UK ? Surely it would be easier and cheaper to buy one in France ? Plenty of people keep fish here.

Edit : If the man was in the special forces in the Falklands, he would certainly not be on "emergency call up" today, 40 years on !!

[MAD87]

I'd walk away too.
Fishy.

[Char]

I'd walk away too.
Fishy.

Fishy indeed - I'd walk away too.

[Pathca]

I had the same thought about Falklands service,ask him was he on the balcony of the Iranian embassy as well

[hughnique]

Not as simple as that Blaze, these items are made in Wigan, that's it, this bloke is the only authorised dealer in France and supposedly everything has to be imported through him, so they are unavailable through any other outlet, and no good trying to find something different as all the plumbing etc is in situ for a replacement for the identical item, so I am rather stuffed. By born in to the gentry, he implied his parents are / were somewhat noble, Lord and Lady ferkinshaw or something, I just think he is full of crap, as I say get him on the phone he doesn't stop, and I like a chat, but he gives my arse a headache. I have had another e-mail from his missus, saying the price she has quoted is inclusive of everything, except the customs clearing agents' fees at around £100, which presents me with a saving of around 400€ over trying to get one direct from the UK, really in a dilemma' pleas no more fishy jokes.

[Pathca]

Do you have an address in Wigan for the manufacturer ?

[Blaze]

By born in to the gentry, he implied his parents are / were somewhat noble, Lord and Lady ferkinshaw or something,

He's bullshitting ! Titled folk are not "gentry" and as for the name "Ferkinshaw", that's something Spike Milligan might have invented !

these items are made in Wigan, that's it, this bloke is the only authorised dealer in France and supposedly everything has to be imported through him, so they are unavailable through any other outlet,

I find that hard to believe. Following on from what Pathca says, find out who the Wigan manufacturer is rather that risk dodgy dealers. You should be able to find out a fair amount by googling.

You say he has a SIREN and the business is registered. Have you actually checked ? You can do this through the Chambre de Commerce (I've done this a couple of times when unsure about something).

[hughnique]

Yes I do BUT, you used to be able to ring up and speak with a technical bod, or spares dept, progress means that is not the case, you get some Bimbo who says she is in accounts, and you have to send an e-mail enquiry if you want to know anything. There starts another mystery, this bloke over here, has had problems with some of their products, Evolution Aqua is the company, they market a myriad of products for the koi world, so he said that he is taking the managing director to court, and has instructed his legal team to commence, "I'm willing to throw £100K at it", he tells me, then he is going to buy the company and close it down. You could not make it up, what an imagination this man has, I will have to speak with someone on a Koi forum to see if anyone has any knowledge of him.

[hughnique]

You fell right in to that one Blaze.