A northern suburbs man linked to at least 11 cases of deception continues to avoid prosecution.
Kunal Singh, of Bundoora, is the most recent victim to take John Smith (not his real name) to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) to recover a deposit he paid for landscaping and building works that were never done.
The VCAT member ordered Mr Smith to repay the Bundoora resident the $1650 down payment he received to build a pergola and landscape the backyard, as well as the $175 cost of the hearing.
But Mr Smith failed to appear.
“As expected, he didn’t show up,” Mr Singh said. “Honestly, I don’t expect to see the money again.”
Mr Singh said he would pursue legal action if he hasn’t received compensation in two weeks.
His ordeal with Mr Smith follows the same pattern as at least 11 other people, who advertised on Gumtree or similar websites requesting quotes for landscaping, building or removalist work.
In late January, Jaikrishna Shukla contracted Mr Smith after seeing his advertisement for landscaping work on Gumtree.
Mr Shukla, of Epping, said Mr Smith requested an $800 deposit “to buy plants and hire equipment,” which he paid.
“He planted a few plants and said he’d return to complete the job, but never came back,” he said. “He gave excuses like ‘I’m stuck in traffic’ or ‘my son is in hospital’.”
About the same time, Mr Smith responded to Jaitinder Singh’s (unrelated to Kunal Singh) Gumtree post seeking a contractor to build a Merbau fence and do landscaping work in his Lalor backyard. After a site inspection, Mr Smith requested a 50 per cent deposit for the $5000 job.
“Me being stupid I paid him,” Mr Singh said. He never saw Mr Smith again.
Mr Singh, who was born in India but has lived in Australia for 14 years, said he suspects Mr Smith targets new migrants, and Indians in particular, hoping they are unfamiliar with the language and justice system.
‘Civil matter’
When he tried to report the matter at Epping police station, he was told it was a civil issue, and no incident report was filed.
A police spokeswoman said police were investigating reports of an alleged theft and deception on January 27 at Epping.
“No arrests have been made at this stage, and the investigation is ongoing.”
A Gumtree spokeswoman was unable to reveal how many complaints Mr Smith has prompted, but said some of his ads have been removed.
“We have removed a number of the user’s ads, fielded scam reports and restricted a number of the user’s accounts,” she said.
The 11 victims Star Weekly spoke to are collectively $26,127 out of pocket after being conned by Mr Smith. Investigations continue.
