What to do if you believe you were scammed

1. Contact your bank or card issuer immediately. Ask about freezing payments and dispute options (e.g., chargeback for card payments, Faster Payments recall where possible).
2. When speaking to your bank, state that you have been the victim of an Authorised Push Payment (APP) scam and ask them to assess your case under the APP scam regulations or the Contingent Reimbursement Model (CRM) Code (depending on the when your last payment to the scammer was). You can read the code here: APP Scam Code (NatWest link but all banks are part of it as far as we are aware). You can also share a link to this site (dev-match-scam.co.uk) if you want to provide your bank with more information and contact info for us.
3. Report to Action Fraud (UK): actionfraud.police.uk or call 0300 123 2040. Obtain a crime reference number.
4. Collect evidence: invoices, emails, bank transaction references, website screenshots, order numbers, courier references, and any chat logs.
5. If you saw ads on marketplaces or social media, report the listings and the profile to the platform.
6. Consider formal written communication requesting a refund, giving a clear deadline, and stating you will escalate, although James will ignore you or pretend to care and offer meaningless "compensation" like an Amazon gift card (which will also not show up!).

Stay safe next time

• Use payment methods with buyer protection (credit cards have strongest protection); be cautious with bank transfers.
• Check company details (Companies House), director names, and independent reviews (although in this case, we already did this and still got scammed).
• Be wary of pressure to pay quickly or to switch payment methods last minute.
• Confirm stock and delivery lead times; ask for tracking from reputable couriers, make it clear you have a specific deadline for delivery as this must be met for a contract to not be breached.