Mark Jordan of Heidelberg West VIC - Fraudster & Conman

UPDATE: 22/Jul/2021 - Mark Jordan loses VCAT case and is ordered repay $750 to victim (see VCAT Order). The debt has been registered with the service Debt Payable.

On 26/Mar/2021 Mark Jordan defrauded $750 from Louis Marshall by selling a trailer to Louis which Mark did not have the legal right to sell.

This information is being provided as a public warning. People interacting with Mark Jordan should be aware of his intentionally deceptive behaviour and exercise cautious when entering into deals with him (especially any form of contract).

Mark posted an ad on Gumtree in March/2021 to sell a 12x6 trailer (specifically, a car carrier). In his post he was posing as someone named 'Thomas' (see evidence). I messaged Mark asking a few questions about the trailer. At no time did he say: "my name isn't Thomas, it's Mark".

When I arrived at his address (187 Liberty Parade, Heidelberg West, 3081 VIC), I inspected the trailer. Using the trailer's number plate, I went to the VicRoads 'Registration Check' web page to see if the trailer was stolen or written-off. The VicRoads website reported no problems, and stated the trailer was registered until July 2021 (see evidence).

I showed Mark the VicRoads website on my phone and he just looked at it said nothing. He did not say: "it's not registered in my name, its registered to someone else" - he lied by omission.

I told Mark I would buy the trailer only under the condition that it could be transferred it to my name. He agreed and we filled out portions of the 'Application for transfer of registration' VicRoads form, which he signed (see evidence). I later found that he did not fill in his driver's licence details. Prior to going to VicRoads to complete the transfer, I repeatedly asked Mark to provide his licence details for the transfer form. My requests were ignored (see evidence). The reason for this became apparent later.

On 29/Mar/2021 I went to VicRoads in Moorabbin to transfer the trailer to my name (see evidence). I was told by VicRoads staff that the trailer could not be transferred to me because Mark wasn't the registered owner of the trailer. I contacted Mark and told him I was coming to his residence to get my $750 back. It was only then, after 3 days of being ignored, did he respond with insults and abuse (see evidence A, evidence B).

In one of Mark's messages he states the trailer was being sold 'unregistered', which is a lie. If Mark wanted to sell the trailer unregistered, he first needed to cancel its current registration so it could be registered as a new trailer. He cannot do this since he is not the legal owner of the trailer (see evidence).

At no point did Mark reveal the trailer was not registered under his name. This was a deliberate deception on his part and fraudulent behaviour since the VicRoads transfer form states that the seller (Mark) must have the 'Right to transfer' (which Mark did not have). Mark has also committed an offence under the Road Safety Act 1986 and/or Marine Safety Act 2010 by providing false information on the VicRoads transfer form (i.e. saying he had the 'Right to transfer' when he did not).

Full evidence is available of this transaction, including the receipt Mark provided, and the completed Application for transfer of registration form (redacted version). Both these documents bare Mark's signature.

During the course of correspondence it came out why Mark didn't want to provide his driver's licence for the transfer form. It's because he doesn't have a driver's licence. Additionally, he revealed that he had been driving without a licence (see evidence). Verbally, Mark said to me he used the trailer to transport a car from his previous residence in Inverloch to Heidelberg West (about 150km). Mark's illegal behaviour (i.e. driving without a licence) has been reported to police. Mark has been to court for 'traffic offences', yet he is still flagrantly breaking road laws.

The fraud has been reported to the Mt. Waverley police. The officer looking into the matter is John Hughes and may be contacted on 9888 3755. In addition, a VCAT application is being prepared for submission, although it's doubtful any satisfactory outcome will be reached via this channel. VCAT is a mechanism for solving business disputes between law abiding citizens, it is near powerless to act in the face of fraudulent behaviour like this. It will at least allow a bad debt to be registered against his name with a debt collection agency.