The Isle of Man Government is strongly urging people to exercise the greatest possible caution and not to do business with AntiquesSupermarket.com!
Here is the content of the warning from the Government website.
PUBLIC NOTICE - F.S.C Public Warnings
This notice is issued by the Financial Supervision Commission (“the Commission”) in accordance with the powers conferred upon it under Section 30 of the FinancialServices Act 2008.
Antiques Supermarket.com
http://www.antiquessupermarket.com/
The Financial Supervision Commission has become aware of the above website which purports to represent the entity Antiques Supermarket.com.
On this website it is claimed that Antiquessupermarket.com has an address of “5 Office Tower Street Centre, Ramsey, Isle of Man, United Kingdom” (sic). The Commission can confirm that there is no such address in the Isle of Man. However, there is a genuine address of Tower Street Centre, Tower Street, Ramsey, Isle of Man, but, following research by the Commission we can confirm that there is no connection between the above entity and the genuine entity that occupies Tower Street Centre, Tower Street, Ramsey, Isle of Man
The details on the website seen by the Commission give telephone and fax numbers to contact the above entity, none of the numbers given relate to telephone lines on the Isle of Man.
Antiquessupermarket.com is not a company incorporated within the jurisdiction of the Isle of Man. It is not registered as a foreign company having established a place of business on the Isle of Man. It is not registered as a business name on the Isle of Man. Details of all entities incorporated within the jurisdiction of the Isle of Man, registered as foreign companies having established a place of business on the Isle of Man and registered as a business name on the Isle of Man can be found on the Companies search area of the Commission’s website at: http://www.fsc.gov.im/pvi/pvi_fr.html .
The above entity is not licensed by the Commission to undertake any regulated activities in, on or from the Isle of Man.
A list of all institutions licensed by the Commission is available on our website at http://www.fsc.gov.im/ .
The Commission has established no connection between Antiquessupermarket.com and the Isle of Man.
Under the circumstances, the Commission would strongly urge persons considering dealing with the above entity to exercise the greatest possible caution before proceeding, bearing in mind the contents of this public notice.
Any persons who have paid funds in connection to the above website should contact their local Police Fraud Unit without delay.
Any persons who are already involved in any dealings with the above website and have concerns should contact the Enforcement Division on +44 1624 689314 or by e-mail to fsc@gov.im.
FSC Reference: CD/23/2008
29th September 2008
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
New Alias, Little update and the man can't stop being an ass!!
Recently we were contacted by an Australian dealer who was contacted by Good Olde Fashioned Les, Charles, etc, etc, etc.... he passed on this info.
The new Director Of Sales is a guy by the name of David Charlton. It is amazing how he can go through so many staff members. Obviously it is a great place to work since no one seems to stay for more than a couple scams. Les Swainbank changes his name more often than most people change their pants!
Since we haven't updated in a while Les decided to email us and this is what he said.
Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "SWAINBANK's New Alias? The blog is working!!":
DIRTY HARRY NO UPDATES IN OVER 3MONTHS YOU MUST OF FINALLY RUN OUT OF LIES TO SAY ABOUT US GO SCREW YOURSELF BITH SHEEP SHAGGER FAGGOT
Posted by Anonymous to Antiques Supermarket Scam at July 2, 2008 10:10 AM
Now that seems more than a little rude. There is the old saying that most criminals want to get caught, personally I really believe this man wants to have people complain to the police and hound him and expose him to the world. The Internet is a 2 edged sword. Maybe several years ago a well worded letter and a couple smooth phone calls would be enough to sucker some people in. To be honest it worked with us, but and it's a big but, we're used the same tools to expose him that he did to find us!!!
We are happy to say that we have had a fantastic response to the Blog. Check our next post for a good update on how other people are responding.
The thing I don't actually understand is why he doesn't simply start selling legitimate products and filling the containers with the items he claims he can get. All the photos on his website are pictures taken at other shops (most likely reputable places who would hire a lawyer if they knew Les). These aren't items he has for sale or items he has shipped to people! Not one person we have spoken to has ever received the items they were promised.
The way this happens is he says he has a container sitting loaded. What has happened is a buyer fell through, passed away, whatever so he will sell you this great container already loaded at a serious savings just so he can get rid of it....and he calls us liars.
When you ask for photos of the items you will be told that's impossible since the container is already packed "but rest assured it is all top quality". You get your $20 000 container and find there is maybe $4000 worth of sell able product. Unlike the post office there is no return to sender with containers!
We know we have been to his place. We have spoken to people around the world and heard a lot of stories. About police being involved, Les/Charles making physical threats against people, making racist comments, Les going into hiding, the list goes on.
Yes we got burned and did our research after the fact. The truth is when we started asking questions about this guy everybody in his part of the world knew about him, his name (real name) the way he runs his business all the stuff. When we called the police about him they confirmed there were a few ongoing issues with him but since we were international customers there was little they could do to help. That is how he uses the system to get to people. A small scale dealer scraping together $30 000 USD to buy and ship a container would have no ability to hire a U.K. based Lawyer and deal with the amount of litigation it would take to rectify the situation.
If we were making things up about him we could have daily updates. And if we were to pass on all the stories we have heard when in the U.K. we could have quite a lot of reading material for you. Stories about his wife leaving him, rumours about inappropriate sexual practices, stories about him threatening elderly women with physical violence. The list is long. All we know is what we have experienced and what other dealers have told us about their direct dealings with the Swainbank. The way he has dealt with us and the strange accusations and attacks he has made has convinced us that most of the rumors are true.
Please keep passing this website along to any other dealers you know. This is our best resource to expose Les and help other people from being screwed over as well.
Thanks. And Les a special thanks to you for continuing to read and send us comments. I'm sure business is dropping immensely due to the awesome Internet.
The new Director Of Sales is a guy by the name of David Charlton. It is amazing how he can go through so many staff members. Obviously it is a great place to work since no one seems to stay for more than a couple scams. Les Swainbank changes his name more often than most people change their pants!
Since we haven't updated in a while Les decided to email us and this is what he said.
Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "SWAINBANK's New Alias? The blog is working!!":
DIRTY HARRY NO UPDATES IN OVER 3MONTHS YOU MUST OF FINALLY RUN OUT OF LIES TO SAY ABOUT US GO SCREW YOURSELF BITH SHEEP SHAGGER FAGGOT
Posted by Anonymous to Antiques Supermarket Scam at July 2, 2008 10:10 AM
Now that seems more than a little rude. There is the old saying that most criminals want to get caught, personally I really believe this man wants to have people complain to the police and hound him and expose him to the world. The Internet is a 2 edged sword. Maybe several years ago a well worded letter and a couple smooth phone calls would be enough to sucker some people in. To be honest it worked with us, but and it's a big but, we're used the same tools to expose him that he did to find us!!!
We are happy to say that we have had a fantastic response to the Blog. Check our next post for a good update on how other people are responding.
The thing I don't actually understand is why he doesn't simply start selling legitimate products and filling the containers with the items he claims he can get. All the photos on his website are pictures taken at other shops (most likely reputable places who would hire a lawyer if they knew Les). These aren't items he has for sale or items he has shipped to people! Not one person we have spoken to has ever received the items they were promised.
The way this happens is he says he has a container sitting loaded. What has happened is a buyer fell through, passed away, whatever so he will sell you this great container already loaded at a serious savings just so he can get rid of it....and he calls us liars.
When you ask for photos of the items you will be told that's impossible since the container is already packed "but rest assured it is all top quality". You get your $20 000 container and find there is maybe $4000 worth of sell able product. Unlike the post office there is no return to sender with containers!
We know we have been to his place. We have spoken to people around the world and heard a lot of stories. About police being involved, Les/Charles making physical threats against people, making racist comments, Les going into hiding, the list goes on.
Yes we got burned and did our research after the fact. The truth is when we started asking questions about this guy everybody in his part of the world knew about him, his name (real name) the way he runs his business all the stuff. When we called the police about him they confirmed there were a few ongoing issues with him but since we were international customers there was little they could do to help. That is how he uses the system to get to people. A small scale dealer scraping together $30 000 USD to buy and ship a container would have no ability to hire a U.K. based Lawyer and deal with the amount of litigation it would take to rectify the situation.
If we were making things up about him we could have daily updates. And if we were to pass on all the stories we have heard when in the U.K. we could have quite a lot of reading material for you. Stories about his wife leaving him, rumours about inappropriate sexual practices, stories about him threatening elderly women with physical violence. The list is long. All we know is what we have experienced and what other dealers have told us about their direct dealings with the Swainbank. The way he has dealt with us and the strange accusations and attacks he has made has convinced us that most of the rumors are true.
Please keep passing this website along to any other dealers you know. This is our best resource to expose Les and help other people from being screwed over as well.
Thanks. And Les a special thanks to you for continuing to read and send us comments. I'm sure business is dropping immensely due to the awesome Internet.
Sunday, March 23, 2008
SWAINBANK's New Alias? The blog is working!!
Well dear friends another one has been aided by this blog. As the saying goes the pen is mightier than the sword. Or in this case the Binary is mightier...also there seems to be a new alias involved. I have to assume it's a fake like the rest of the people that work for Les Swainbank / Charles Shackleton. The new guy is David Charlton.
Here is a comment we recieved today and we send a sincere thanks to the poster..
"Thanks for saving us a bunch of money. Through an email I was contacted, I filled in some info on a form, emailed it back and was called the very next day and had a nice chat with David Charlton. I told him what sort of goods I would be interested in, he then sent me about 20 emails containing photos of some overall good items. I wrote him back, saying what Items in the photos I would be interested in and that is where the whole thing now stands. After reading this blog, I won't be sending any money to antiques Supermarket and I thank you for post this blog and saving others from this sort of scam. Sincerely, Linclon Center Antiques, Huntsville, Al."
March 23, 2008 10:12 AM
Please spread the word to any of your industry contacts. We've been threatened with legal action, physical violence, verbal assaults and email assaults over this blog. The more people spread this info the more people will be saved from being screwed over by these vermin.
Here is a comment we recieved today and we send a sincere thanks to the poster..
"Thanks for saving us a bunch of money. Through an email I was contacted, I filled in some info on a form, emailed it back and was called the very next day and had a nice chat with David Charlton. I told him what sort of goods I would be interested in, he then sent me about 20 emails containing photos of some overall good items. I wrote him back, saying what Items in the photos I would be interested in and that is where the whole thing now stands. After reading this blog, I won't be sending any money to antiques Supermarket and I thank you for post this blog and saving others from this sort of scam. Sincerely, Linclon Center Antiques, Huntsville, Al."
March 23, 2008 10:12 AM
Please spread the word to any of your industry contacts. We've been threatened with legal action, physical violence, verbal assaults and email assaults over this blog. The more people spread this info the more people will be saved from being screwed over by these vermin.
Friday, February 15, 2008
Another Customer Burned by Swainbank finds the blog!!
Ron said...
Thank you all for the information on Antique Supermaket. I to have been in touch with Charles for a few months trying to establish a company to ship from England. I was a little suspicious when I was getting e-mails that a container was on its way to the US and the reciever had died and it would be sold to me for thousands less. After a few of those and the e-mails from Charles I was feeling a little unsure. You all have confirmed my feelings and the container I was going to have shipped in May (2008) will not be ordered. I cant thank you all enough. I am sorry you did not have the advantage of this blog prior to ordering but you are helping others. Are there any reputable shippers you can share with me? Thank you again! Ron in the USA
February 15, 2008 8:43 AM
Thank you all for the information on Antique Supermaket. I to have been in touch with Charles for a few months trying to establish a company to ship from England. I was a little suspicious when I was getting e-mails that a container was on its way to the US and the reciever had died and it would be sold to me for thousands less. After a few of those and the e-mails from Charles I was feeling a little unsure. You all have confirmed my feelings and the container I was going to have shipped in May (2008) will not be ordered. I cant thank you all enough. I am sorry you did not have the advantage of this blog prior to ordering but you are helping others. Are there any reputable shippers you can share with me? Thank you again! Ron in the USA
February 15, 2008 8:43 AM
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