Help! I've been cheated!!

[turboducky]

I bought a U boat late last here at singapore ebay. Based on his ratings of less than 50 it seems to be pretty trust worthy to purchase things from him.
He sold me a quartz chrono beige colour U boat. He mention that this was 1 of the 1st few models that produced quartz movement back then. No box or paper. He also did purhase on ebay. As usual U Boat doesnt do verification. But the watch technician did mention that she didnt come across model at all. But this guy keep assuring me that its 100% auth n I finally bought it from him at $1700. For assurance He even gave me his name card where he's helping out at his father's law firm.
After keeping it for ard 6-8months I traded off at 1 of the reputable 2nd hand watch dealer in orchard rd n was shock to hear that it's fake! Japan movement & not swiss. I called the guy, Miki Khoo, & as usual denied & insisted its 100% genuine. I told him to go down to the 2nd hand dealer shop to see for himself but was kena threathened instead. He also say he will file a police report to say that I might change the movement myself, which is totally ridiculas!
Bros I really need your expert advise what I can do about it. Should I EXPOSE his working place here in *** so that those who knows him can help me out on this? Hopefully he has a clearer conscious?
Luckily his mobile is still the same.
FYI his mobile is 9xxx 2222. Miki Khoo, Chinese, tall, well built & speaks well. Driving a Crossroad. (last year) Oh he's staying in Kembangan. Hope this help.
Appreciate ur help.

Hey, sorry to hear that; hope you could resolve this matter soonest! I really hate dickheads doing these sort of dirty deeds on the net & pretend it's not their fault. I think making a police report is a must, however I also feel that you might wanna get the watch checked by a pro before doing anything rash. Some of the members here mentioned that the earlier batch is Jap quartz & that might be true. Good luck on this!

[toffeesthings]

Hi Glyn,
I tend to agree with James, U-boat did use Japanese Automatic/Quartz movements in their earlier watches.

I'm the seller of the 'Ltd edition' Miyota Automatic movement U-boat in that link James posted. I had thought that it was a limited piece due to XXX/1000, but every U-boat batch produced state a production run so maybe it wasn't limited after all.

Anyways, being curious about it's authenticity, I wrote to U-boat and received confirmation from Miss Narcisa (purportedly Italo Fontana's right woman) at U-boat that they did fit older Classicos with Automatic Miyota and quartz movements and that they came in less ostentatious, small Ammo boxes and paper warranty card.

After purchase, I quickly brought the piece down to Bezel for authentication and received confirmation of its authenticity.

You may write to U-boat for further clarification before taking further action.
I'll PM you her details.

Cheers!

[Ender]

Reading this thread gave me mixed feelings.

At first I thought wah.. another one scammed! Go in and see if can help.

Then, reading some more, I feel we shld be fair to the seller (Ey! I not related to seller in any way).

Based on what's been written so far, seller's already stamped and guaranteed as a 'cheater'.
Name, father's company, car driven, area of residence, ebay nick etc all exposed and cursed.
Mob with pitchforks and torches all ready to lynch.

But, is it a fact that the watch's a fake? See wolfeye's post.

As a watch hobbyist, I have encountered various 'experts' whose opinions are dubious if not outright wrong; best example is where authorised service center authenticates a watch when marking on dial is clearly wrong.

As a frequent watch seller, if I have a buyer telling me 6 months after collecting the watch, that he/she wants a refund because it's a fake, is it unreasonable to react negatively?
Name me any dealer/seller who will not be suspicious as to what's going on?
I know I wld.

Of course, if watch turns out to be fake, seller should be dealt with appropriately.

P.Glyn, you may want to first resolve the issue of whether the watch's really a fake (a) take good high-resolution pics of the watch, every angle possible and including movement, (b) send them to U-Boat HQ for comments, (c) bring watch down to Bezel to verify as suggested by Toffee.
S$1700's not a small sum and you owe it to yourself to know if you got an authentic watch.
All the best.

Ender

[exxondus]

Taking a neutral stance here.

Looking at Buyer said:
...watch technician did mention that she didnt come across model at all. But this guy keep assuring me that its 100% auth n I finally bought it from him at $1700...

Advice: Should not have paid if cant verify by the pros, no matter what seller says.

Looking at what seller said:
... He also did purhase on ebay...

he say that he found the watch @ clubs and selling it off cheaply and say that he does'nt own any u-boat watches and I felt strange that he say he dose'nt own any U-boat watches then i go see his past transactions and saw that he had sold quite a few U-boat mainly classico.

Wondering: From the above, how many Classicos could he have found at Clubs (whatever clubs is)

Althou I sympathise with Buyer, but I also agree with Ender on after 6-8mths and suddenly scream fake!

but either way, hpe all ends well in the end Cheers!

[maek.mark]

You should insist that Bezel open the watch and take a look, stating that you are going to make a police report.

Indeed, there are many fakes around that are pretty much 1:1, some of them are even fitted with a swiss ETA movement making them pretty much "geniune".

[feilong108]

the fastest way is to verify the watch at UBOAT asap.....2nd guessing the watch would not solve the problem...btw not all watch shops are well-versed in new brands or even vintages...

[itsc]

Bezel shd help you....

Get BEZEL to authenticate it, if they do not have the expertise then tell them to comfirm with the parent company. Get black and white from BEZEL whether is GENUINE or FAKE. With this letter you can easily action. If Bezel proof genuine case close, seller name cleared. If is Fake then make a police report, get BEZEL to assist you since they are the AD. Being AD is their duty to assist customers and catch those selling fakes! They have to do it and if they dun care then their brand will be tarnish forever with such dun F#*& care attitude .

Example like LV and GUCCI, they get the local authorities to raid stores, pasar malam and houses to clear their names and protect their products.

Hope this help

[exxondus]

Get BEZEL to authenticate it, if they do not have the expertise then tell them to comfirm with the parent company. Get black and white from BEZEL whether is GENUINE or FAKE. With this letter you can easily action. If Bezel proof genuine case close, seller name cleared. If is Fake then make a police report, get BEZEL to assist you since they are the AD. Being AD is their duty to assist customers and catch those selling fakes! They have to do it and if they dun care then their brand will be tarnish forever with such dun F#*& care attitude .

Example like LV and GUCCI, they get the local authorities to raid stores, pasar malam and houses to clear their names and protect their products.

Hope this help

LV and GUCCI does not provide authentication services

[princess_glyn]

Thank you all the bors for your listening ear & providing valuable information & advise. Really appreciate it. I will definitely get Bezel to authenciate the watch (if possible) later today. I will also write in to U-Boat (Miss Narcisa as given by toffeethings) for a better understanding ofthe watch.
But whatever it is I will definitely get it done soon & update all the bros again.
Cheers bros!

[stty]

U-BOAT Does come with Jap movements...

...the very early U-BOAT Models come with a Japanese Miyota movement, so it does not necassarily mean it is a Jap movement it is a fake. Just sharing what I know.

[Sinner]

...the very early U-BOAT Models come with a Japanese Miyota movement, so it does not necassarily mean it is a Jap movement it is a fake. Just sharing what I know.

that is true cuz I have a friend who bought one in Amsterdam for ard 1k plus SGD and it is really genuine. I was shocked to learn that though.
maybe u wld like to make sure the watch is truly authentic before making a police report?
If the watchmaker can put the movement in, I'm sure it can be removed and replaced back.

[phantom628]

LV and GUCCI does not provide authentication services

but you can bring your bag in and say you wanna send for cleaning and if it is a fake, they'll tell you politely that it is not a product of the company.

princess_glyn, I drive a white Crossroad too but I am not a U-Boat fan...hopefully you'll have an answer soon about your watch...

[watchlover1986]

hi sis..any updates?

did ya visit bezel to authenticate the watch?

hope it's real ba

[lomobug]

Unless you want to have a case against the seller i.e. civil suit, if not, police only file report for you and will not pursue. period. own personal experience with our men in blue...

[exxondus]

but you can bring your bag in and say you wanna send for cleaning and if it is a fake, they'll tell you politely that it is not a product of the company.

Fwah! Why I never think of that sia! darn!

but you sure they will reply politely