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Interesting story of top London book dealer, Tom Ayling trying to report a blatant fraud to police and ebay

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQ8E6-_7Mqg

Sidewinder wrote: Mon Mar 16, 2026 7:55 am Interesting story of top London book dealer, Tom Ayling trying to report a blatant fraud to police and ebay

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQ8E6-_7Mqg

Ebay appears to work on a similar principle to the police. If you are the victim and report the problem, they will do something about it. If you're simply a witness to crime, they will only act if the victim comes forward, reports a crime and makes a formal complaint, and then they need you as a witness!** Ebay will cover any buyer with its Buyer Protection scheme but it just shows the state of the world and the UK currently that the police aren't interested in some areas of crime that might involve some detective work. If you place an offensive comment on social media, they will arrest you instantly, in the same way as they will prosecute you for driving over the speed limit. In both examples, the evidence is there in their hands and easy to demonstrate to a court without much effort. An easy crime to spot = easy crime to prosecute with success and therefore boost the crime "solved" figures. Anything else, unless a murder investigation, involves too much time / money for them to justify if they feel a prosecution cannot be achieved easily.

In the example discussed in the video, the best way forward would be for Tom Ayling to actually buy one of those forgeries and then contact Ebay and the police again as the victim. If that sounds ridiculous, it's because it is. We live in a ridiculous world now!

** - I have some recent experience of this kind of situation as I was a witness to a coach hitting a parked car and then driving off without stopping or leaving a note on the windscreen. I stopped, photographed the damage on the vehicle and recorded both registration numbers before contacting the relevant police authority. If the owner of the vehicle does not report the damage to the police, the police will not act on my information, even though I've signed a form to say I'm prepared to testify my statement in court. My guess is, the owner of the damaged vehicle has not reported it as they believe it is unlikely to bear fruit. If only they knew the police already has the missing link!

Kind of like Harry Markopolos: From 1999 to 2008, Markopolos uncovered evidence that suggested that Madoff's wealth management business was a fraudulent Ponzi scheme. In 2000, 2001, and 2005, Markopolos alerted the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of his views, supplying supporting documents, but each time the SEC ignored him. Lots of people at SEC lost their jobs.

Tom Ayling has put the noses of the police and ebay directly into a fraud, and the institutions that should take action and protect the public do not? strange

An excellent video and effort by Tom Ayling. Good on him he’s had 25,000 hits in just over a day so this is bound to create a stir.