CeX saves Christmas for Nottingham teenager hit by Xbox eBay scam
A TEENAGER stung by an internet scam has finally got his hands on an Xbox One games console, thanks to a business’ generosity.
Peter Clatworthy thought he had paid £450 for one of the in-demand consoles on eBay, but actually received a picture of one from the seller.
Since the Post first highlighted his story on Thursday, it has gone on to gain worldwide attention.
At the height of interest, over one million readers visited the Post’s website – nottinghampost.com – in less than 24 hours.
Related articles
In a new twist, high street electronics company CeX was so touched by Mr Clatworthy’s case that bosses have decided to donate an Xbox One to him in time for Christmas.
Staff at CeX’s store in Exchange Walk, Nottingham city centre, presented him with the console on Saturday.
Mr Clatworthy, of Bilborough, said: “I’m just overwhelmed by the reaction to the story.
“All I wanted was a refund. I cannot believe this.”
Student Mr Clatworthy had saved up to buy a limited-edition Xbox One Day One version of the console as a surprise Christmas present for his four-year-old son, McKenzie.
He made the purchase on November 28, paying the asking price of £450 plus £8 packaging.
Despite the listing stating it was a photo of an Xbox One Day One edition console, Mr Clatworthy said he expected to receive the console as it was listed in the video games and consoles category on eBay.
He instead received the photo on December 2, with “thank you for your purchase” written on the back.
The teenager has now received a full refund with the help of eBay, while the seller has been banned from the website.
Of CeX’s generosity, Mr Clatworthy said: “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.”
He added: “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.”
Of the public’s reaction to the story, Mr Clatworthy said: “People are saying I’ve become an internet celebrity, but I want it all to die down now.”
The shop’s assistant manager, David Draycott, handed the console over to Mr Clatworthy.
Mr Draycott, 27, of Mapperley, said: “We as a company 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.(Nov 22 and 29 respectively)
“As soon as any new technology comes out that is hard to get hold of, you are bound to get a scam,” he said.
“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 shopping online and trying to get something for Christmas in a hurry.”
Mr Clatworthy previously made headlines in 2007 when, aged 12, he used his judo skills to catch a drink-driver who had crashed into three cars in Ilkeston Road, Radford.
Are you doing something generous this Christmas? Let us know by e-mailing
[email protected].
SINCE the Post first published Peter’s story on Thursday(Dec5), more than 1,500,000 visitors to nottinghampost.com have read about his exploits.
They include readers from across the globe who were directed to the Post’s website by around 500 other web domains.
Readers included people linked to the story via Facebook and Google, but users of other niche computer gamer and football websites also gave Peter’s tale a look.
Numbers were also boosted further by the story being ranked among the top entries of news website reddit.com, while US online news website the Huffington Post also carried the story.
As news spread, Peter himself gained over 200 new followers on Twitter with people eager to contact him about it.
He told the Post that among those to contact him were other eBay users who had previously fallen for scams but hadn’t reported it.