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Ontraz.co.uk Help Section

Some Tips for using our site Ontraz.co.uk

If you are having technical problems with our site – please contact

Our software dept. Where our staff will be available and happy to help

Emails to admin@Ontraz.com

We are currently working on our Frequently Asked Questions and the Answers section and in the coming weeks we will be have that addition in this section

Please note

1......After uploading your ad you can edit it then or anytime while your ad is alive on our system

2......You can see all your ads you have uploaded in the MY ads section

3......you may also upgrade your free ad to a featured ad for the cost of a featured Ad – it is done by what the site calls Bump up your ad, featured Ads are placed at the top of the category you have selected with up to 10 Photos and because of that feature they get better results

Dating – top tips for staying safe

For all personal encounters with people you are not familiar with, we stress that you MUST TAKE CARE! Here are our top tips for staying safe:

• If you do decide to meet someone through Ontraz.co.uk, for your own personal peace of mind and safety, we suggest that you meet in a very public place and if possible take someone along with you when you first meet the person. If you do not have a friend with you, then ensure that you tell someone exactly what you are doing, where you are going, when you are expected back, and give contact numbers, etc.
• Once at your rendezvous, if you feel at all uncomfortable with the situation, then we suggest you politely excuse yourself and leave. Do not feel obliged at any time during the encounter to do anything you are uncomfortable with.

• The Meet Someone New categories are designed for individual people to meet others at a level that they are comfortable with. We promote safe practices and strongly advise people to use common sense and express due caution in every situation.
  For sexual health information and advice take a look athttp://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publichealth/Healthimprovement/Sexualhealth/index.htm

Guaranteed Sale Scam

How to Recognize This Scam

1. Never trust anyone offering a 'guaranteed' sale.

How Does it Work?

1. Someone contacts you about your advertised goods on Ontraz.co.uk, claiming to have buyers interested in your item.
2. For a fee they will help you sell your item. Sometimes the person claims to be calling from Ontraz.co.uk, sometimes they tell you another company name.
3. The company may be called Vehicle Center, MotorHelp, or something else. They use many different names.
4. You pay them for their services, but they never get back to you with any buyers. The reason for this is that they have no Buyers, they are only interested in getting your money.

In our experience, anyone contacting our users offering extra services is a fraud. You will only be wasting both your money and time.

How to Avoid Scams

99.9% of all transactions on Ontraz.co.uk are genuine and leave both the buyer and the seller happy with the outcome. But as always when there is money involved there always are a few chancers who will try various frauds. Unfortunately Ontraz.co.uk is no exception. By informing our users about various known scams they can easily be avoided.

Please note that these scams are not unique to Ontraz.co.uk, but happen in all forums for classified ads, including eBay®, Buy & Sell™, Trading Sites etc.

How to Avoid the Scams

It is easy to avoid the scams by using common sense. By avoiding the following you stay clear of the most common scams:

There is no 'guaranteed' sale

Never trust anyone offering a 'guaranteed' sale.

Never use Western Union or MoneyGram

It is never safe to use Western Union®, MoneyGram® or other similar money transfer companies to pay for goods, regardless of what the other person says.

Never buy or sell to a foreign country

Buying or selling to a foreign country involves a shipping company or foreign money transfer, and is a common approach used by scammers.

Golden Rule: If it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is

Common sense is the best way to avoid scams. If an offer sounds too good, then it is probably not a genuine offer.

Buying Goods or Services

Always use common sense when buying or selling or employing a company or tradesman. Below are some guidelines that may help when buying goods or services through an Auction or Classified Ads site

• When employing a company or tradesman to carry our work for you – you should ask them to show you a tax clearance cert, and also any licence that relates to the type of work that they do – ie electricians cert, gasfitters cert,
• Also ask them to supply you with at least 3 references and then it would be an advantage to follow up these references by at least making a phone call to the people concerned, ontraz gives you this information to help you stay safe and have a successful contract completed
• Do not pay in advance for goods or a service.
• Beware if the goods are cheaper than normal, or if the seller is pressing you to buy quickly.
• When purchasing tickets etc. always verify the authenticity of the goods by verifying the serial number with the original publisher.
• Please beware of brand goods and multimedia products that are not originals.
• Always get a signed proof of purchase.
• If the seller has a mobile phone number, also ask for the home phone number, so you can contact the seller if there is a problem with the product.
• Please note that onTraz cannot give out any contact details of deleted ads in line with the Data Protection Acts

Payment

• Use cash or bank drafts when paying for goods.
• Never pay for goods through Western Union or other similar money transfer services.

Buying a Vehicle?

• Always check with the Hire Purchase Register http://www.hpicheck.com/ that the car is not under a Hire Purchase agreement.
• Get a trusted mechanic to do a check up on the vehicle before handing over the money

Selling Goods or Services by a Classified Ad

Always use common sense when buying or selling. Below are some guidelines that may help when selling goods through auction or classified ads.

• Do not hand over goods until having received full payment.
• Never trust an unknown person who contacts you and claims to put you in touch with interested buyers for an advance fee.

Payment

• Cash is the easiest payment method, but unsuitable for large amounts.
• Use a bank draft for large amounts. Always verify the bank draft with the issuing bank before handing over the goods. Either call the bank, or go in to one of their branches.
• Never accept foreign cheques or bank drafts as payment.

Selling a Vehicle?

When you sell a vehicle you must register the change of ownership to http://www.dft.gov.uk/dvla/vehicles.aspx website has all the information you need.

UK Car sales Scam

How to Recognize This Scam

1. You have advertised a car for sale.
2. Someone contacts you (often by phone or email) and wants you to pay a fee, and they will put you in touch with a number of 'genuinely interested' buyers.

How Does it Work?

1. Someone contacts you from a company that claims to have lots of buyers interested in exactly your type of car, and for that price.
2. For a fee they claim they will sell your item.
3. You pay them for their services, but they never get back to you with any buyers. The reason for this is that they have no buyers, they are only interested in robbing your money.

Note that there are a number of companies and individuals doing this scam. The most notorious is a UK company called Vehicle Center (sometimes they call themselves MotorHelp). This type of company is a total waste of your time, and money.

Vehicle Center, and other similar companies, are currently under investigation of the Irish and UK consumer enforcers and the Garda fraud squad.

Please contact the comsumers office for the UK if you have a complaint about this type of company, they co-ordinate the cross-European investigations of these companies with the local police.