Pregnant Yekaterinburg woman loses car to repairman

A pregnant Yekaterinburg resident named Kristina told Instagram* how she and her husband, by her account, fell victim to a fraudster. At 38 weeks pregnant, instead of calmly preparing for the birth of their child, they had to search for a car that a repairman had appropriated.

The story began on 7 May, when the woman«s husband was involved in a road accident. Since the car was the couple»s main source of income, they decided not to delay repairs. Acquaintances recommended a repairman named Vladimir, who promised to get the vehicle back on the road within a week.

«We agreed with him on 80,000 ₽ (about $1,000 at current rates) for all the work, without materials. And on 31 May we took the car to him. At first everything was fine: he sent us video messages and photos, he answered us, he told us that when he was pulling out the pillar, the roof had warped, and now the roof, accordingly, also needed repairing. And so gradually he started asking for more and more money. First he needed to pay for the garage because he had recently moved. Then he needed to pay for electricity, since he couldn«t work without power. Then he had run out of some materials and needed money for paint. In short, we paid him because the car was already with him and because we trusted him», the young woman said.

Instead of the agreed 80,000 rubles ($1,000 at current rates), Vladimir was sent 208,000 rubles ($2,600 at current rates) for the car repair. From 5 June, the repairman stopped responding. To repeated demands to return the car, he answered with promises to do so «tomorrow».

«At some point we simply drove to the garage ourselves, because we wanted to see our car. By then we hadn«t seen it for a month and a half. And, of course, we had the feeling that something might have happened to the car. And when we arrived at the garage, no one showed it to us; he didn»t even come. On top of that, I managed to talk to some men who work relatively nearby. And they said we were not the first people looking for their car», Kristina said.

Vladimir moved the car to another garage — presumably somewhere in Akademichesky (a district of Yekaterinburg), but he keeps the exact address secret. The fate of Kristina«s and her husband»s car remains unclear. The couple is now preparing documents to file a police report.

The E1.RU editorial team will continue to follow this story and keep you informed.

Earlier we wrote about how a young Yekaterinburg resident took out a loan and sold an apartment on the instructions of fraudsters, and also published three phrases after which scammers will hang up themselves and never call again. Also read about which fraud victims are entitled to compensation from the bank, and in which cases.

Read more about how fraudsters also con residents of the Urals in a special section.