This article is from page 10 of the 2006-01-17 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 10 JPG
DEREK Considine has now accepted that he was cleverly conned, but has resolved to continue with his garage business, even though his experience has cost him €23,000.
He has run his own garage since he was just 17, and sells new and used cars in Miltown Malbay. He also employs a mechanic at his Ballard Road premises.
Speaking to The Clare People after last week’s court hearing, Mr Considine said, “it is a very hard lesson to learn. You work hard to ensure you are doing everything right and you get caught out like this by a crook.
“Even the judge said I had done everything right and nothing wrong. But that’s business, once in a while someone is going to catch you out. Unfortunately I got caught out for €23,000 when everything is taken into account.”
Mr Considine has already returned to England to try and locate the man from whom he purchased the car originally only to discover that the address he had for the fraudster was for an unoccupied rented house. He has also reported the matter to police there but admits he is not confident that they can do anymore.
“The police say they have tried to locate this man but have had no success. I think that is the end of it and I will just have to get on with it,” he said. “It has been a costly and embarrassing lesson. I sold the car to my brother-in-law so you can imagine how I felt when the car was taken back from him. I replaced it with a newer Audi A4 straight away, but it was very embarrassing for me.
“It goes to show that you can’t be too careful in business. All the paperwork showed the car was above board and the police had no record of the car being stolen. Anyway, it is an expensive lesson and all I can do now is put it behind me and get on with it,” Mr Considine added.