P Wills Transport

[LexPaul]

Has anyone on the forum used this transport company? Are they legit? I have a guy wanting to sell me a bike and use this hauler as an escrow depositor / delivery hauler. In other words, I pay them for the bike, they deliver, and I have five days to either accept or refuse to complete the transaction. They have offices in UK, Germany, and US.

Don't be shy, there is cash at stake, let me know your thoughts,, Thanks. LP,,

pwillstrans.com

[Drewski]

If you're buying from the UK you'll certainly get plenty of £'s for yer $'s
Sorry, 'can't help with the hauliers....... but they look legit enough from this side of the water. Has the seller used them before? Are they used to moving bikes? I've found some companies lack finesse when transporting bikes and valuable parts end up getting damaged

[rngdng]

I'm very cautious about this sort of thing. I don't think I would do it without some really good feedback from others.



Lane

[akendall1966]

No direct experience so cant say if the service is any good, but

Legit registered company, trading since 2012, up to date on filings / returns, single director owner,a small operation assets of ~£95K
https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/08131462

You could pay to do a background check on the guy who runs its, 2nd links says the owner director has no insolvency history
http://www.192.com/atoz/people/wills/pa ... 805439349/
https://site2corp.com/uk/p-wills-transport-limited

Perhaps PM Titan the're kind of his part ot the country he may know someone who has used them for vehicle shipping.

AK

[Buckster]

LexPaul,

Did you use this company for your sale and transport?

I am also involved with them and they want 100% payment by bank transfer prior to seeing the Bike or even sending me a copy of the title for verification of possession. I also found the same bike I am buying (?) in multiple ads around the web, but from different locations.

Please let me know if you used this company P. Wills Transport

[smoketriples]

I'd be very concerned about the seller. Multiple ads in different locations means copycat sellers looking to rip someone off. Yes, the transport company, if legit, is taking a risk here but it sounds like the whole deal is dodgy from the start. I wouldn't want my money tied up with the shipper while they sort it all out.

=Eric

LexPaul,

Did you use this company for your sale and transport?

I am also involved with them and they want 100% payment by bank transfer prior to seeing the Bike or even sending me a copy of the title for verification of possession. I also found the same bike I am buying (?) in multiple ads around the web, but from different locations.

Please let me know if you used this company P. Wills Transport

[rngdng]

If I saw that bike in multiple ads in different locations, I would slam my wallet shut, shut down my computer, change all my passwords and hide in the closet for a few days. But, hey, I'm a little paranoid.

It sounds really dangerous to me. It really doesn't matter if the shipping company is legit, if the seller isn't.


Lane

[tz375]

I have no recent experience in buying a bike in/from the UK, so I have no idea if this is a common way to do business there. It sounds odd to send a road transport company all the cash to hold and let them buy the bikes for you.

It does make sense in that in theory they would not pay for the bike if it's a con or doesn't meet the description etc, but if you have a deal with the buyer, how do these guys get into the deal and how much of a cut are they taking from the seller on top of the shipping fees.

I have shipped bikes within the US to buyers and from Australia and the place we always start is with a quote for shipping after we discuss what I am trying to do in terms of speed and cost.

Until someone advises that it's 100% kosher, I would play safe.

[akendall1966]

I wouldn't say it common in the UK most people go look and buy on the spot if your happy. However for buying unseen from overseas is not the norm so you need someone to handle the transaction overseas. They are offering shipping + escrow service which is not a uncommon practice in itself. Which is OK as long as you trust the man in the middle to do his job not run off with the money.

Ask for details on insurance they have and check with the insurance company they claim to have cover with.

UK Address appears to be a residential street, but could be the registered company address and not where they actually trade from:
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/search/To ... a=!3m1!1e3

Have you asked them for references, any legit company should be able to offer up someone who has used the service and is willing to testify it OK?

[dgoodsy]

LexPaul,

Did you use this company for your sale and transport?

I am also involved with them and they want 100% payment by bank transfer prior to seeing the Bike or even sending me a copy of the title for verification of possession. I also found the same bike I am buying (?) in multiple ads around the web, but from different locations.

Please let me know if you used this company P. Wills Transport

I would be very cautious of this as well. One thing I think should be cleared up is the different ads around the web. You say they are from different locations, does that mean the bike is advertised in different locations, but always claim the bike is actually located in the same location? For example a bike could be advertised on craigslist San Francisco, San Jose, San Diego and Los Angeles, but they all could state that the bike itself is in Los Angeles. That wouldn't be such a red flag to me. What would be a red flag is if there were multiple ads all stating the bike was in different places. Hopefully that is clear.

I think you would really have to trust the shipping company to follow through with this.

[akendall1966]

But.... if you read the process P Willis describe on their web site you are not buying direct from the seller as they have to sign over the vehicle to the shipper via power of attorney to sell on sellers behalf, they hold the cash in escrow until its delivered + 7 days. There is nothing to be gained by a crooked seller in using P Willis, unless they are one and the same and the whole thing is a scam.

You got to find out if P Willis is legit, as per my first post they are a registered UK company with several years trading, no black marks against the director.

Where do they want the money sent? A UK bank account? Dose this check out as true and not offshore somewhere?
Insurance must have some form of liability insurance, would the insurer confirm details they provide?
As earlier post references, unless you're the first customer they should be able to provided references for you to check?
Contact UK trading standards office for Kent, ask for their advice, do they have a record of complaints against them?
They list addresses in Germany and USA on their website are these real?
They claim to be members of various shipping and logistics trade bodies, membership still valid?

[akendall1966]

OK --- this may help.

Claimed motorcycle fraud
http://www.192.com/atoz/business/sheern ... ewsSection

The website is hosted in Berlin Germany not the UK, could well be a fake website claiming to be a legitimate UK company as a scam. The domain pwillstrans.com was only registered 2016-05-30 so very new for a company that been trading several years. The email address associated with the registration is daniel.sen45@outlook.com

Someone in the USA might want to run a check on this email here http://www.spokeo.com/social/profile?q= ... m&loaded=1 I can't run it in the UK.

Looks increasingly like a scam

[dgoodsy]

That's certainly enough to make me walk away and forget about it, good digging.