A scam victim who forked out £450 for a PHOTO of the new Xbox finally got his hands on the prized machine- after a local shop took pity on him and GAVE him the console.
Peter Clatworthy, 19, thought he had bagged a bargain when he snapped up the limited-edition Xbox One on eBay – unaware he was being conned.
The dad-of-one, who had hoped to give the new Microsoft super-console to son McKenzie, four, for Christmas, was stunned when the ‘item’ – which was just a picture – arrived in an A4 envelope.
To add insult to injury the callous seller even wrote “thank you for your purchase” on the back of the grainy print out.
Red-faced student Peter rushed to his computer to check the auction page – and was horrified when he realised he had been duped.
The misleading ad listed under the “video games and consoles” category stated the item as “XBox One Fifa Day One Edition, Photo Brand New UK 2012” next to an image of the console.
Bosses at eBay refunded his cash – but Peter feared McKenzie would miss out on the console after it sold out across the UK.
But after his story caught the attention of millions – including Radio 1 DJ Greg James – a local computer games shop took pity on Peter and gifted him with his own Xbox One.
Peter, from Bilborough, Notts., said yesterday (Mon) he had been stunned by the response to the story – and thanked the shop for their kindness.
He said: “I’m just overwhelmed by the reaction to the story.
“All I wanted was a refund, which I did receive from eBay after my story was published.
“Now I cannot believe this. I’m so grateful.
“This shows there are some nice, kind people out there and it’s really overwhelming. I can’t thank them enough.
“I’ve had other people contact me to say they have been stung too, but not reported it. I don’t think I’ll be shopping online anymore.
“I think McKenzie is going to be over the moon. this is the thing he said to me that he really wanted.
“I can’t wait to see his face. It’ll be a picture.”
National chain CEX donated the Xbox One to Peter after an assistant manager’s girlfriend told him about the student’s misfortune.
David Draycott handed Peter the console on Saturday (7/12) at the trade-in store’s Nottingham city centre branch.
He said: “As a company we are always looking to do a good thing for somebody.
“Hopefully Peter and his son will both be able to enjoy this together.”
He added that there has been high demand for both Xbox One and Playstation 4 consoles since they were both launched last month.
“As soon as any new technology comes out that is hard to get hold of, you are bound to get a scam.
“My girlfriend had heard about Peter’s story and mentioned it to me.
“I’d heard of scams before but never something like this.
“Many people are looking to take advantage of people trying to get something for Christmas in a hurry.”
Peter endured thousands of cruel jibes from Internet users after his story broke last week.
DJ Greg James even got in on the action and posted a scathing remark to his 87,000 Facebook fans.
He wrote: “You shouldn’t normally laugh at other people’s misfortune…but on this occasion, it’s OK.”
But good-humoured Peter took it in his stride and said yesterday he wanted to concentrate on making little McKenzie’s Christmas ‘the best ever’.
He said: “People are saying I’ve become an Internet celebrity, but I want it all to die down now.”
