CEX Nottingham has stepped in and, out of the goodness of its heart, given big Pete the console that eBay jipped him out of.
All I wanted was a refund. I cannot believe this, Clatworthy told the Nottingham Post. This shows there are some nice, kind people out there and its really overwhelming. I cant thank them enough.
CEX was simply happy to help. We as a company are always looking to do a good thing for somebody, said the store manager, David Draycott. Hopefully Peter and his son will both be able to enjoy this together.
As soon as any new technology comes out that is hard to get hold of, you are bound to get a scam, he added. Many people are looking to take advantage of people shopping online and trying to get something for Christmas in a hurry.
However, his words took on a more sinister turn as it was implicated that the situation was not as straightforward as it appeared.
Some have suggested that Clatworthy is the real scammer in this story, implying that he created the ruse to get a free console and to generate personal publicity (he was previously in the tabloids in 2007 for using Judo to stop a drunk driver).
Plot twist. Free Xbox One lad sells in Xbox. Doubles initial money. Is original scammer. Credits roll, posted one CEX employee on Facebook.
Others have gone as far as saying that the scam might have been engineered by CEX itself in order to boost Christmas business. And in all fairness, it would be a pretty clever ruse on either score.
Though personally, we still reckon its the age old story of a fool and his money being soon parted.
