Elderly Man Believes He Was Scammed By Scooter Ad

By Lori Fullbright, The News On 6

TULSA, OK – A Green Country man feels he was treated unfairly by a man advertising to sell a scooter in the newspaper.

He wrote letters to Tulsa police, the District attorney and the Better Business Bureau.

Mister Edward Kelly is an 86-year-old World War II veteran who was a pilot until he blew out an ear drum.

He needed a scooter to get around and saw an ad for one for $225 and that is where the story begins.

Edward Kelly ran a business for more than 50 years and believes a man's word is his bond. He and his wife drove an hour to Tulsa after seeing an ad for a scooter.

"He claimed he forgot the key to the scooter," Kelly said.

Kelly says the man told them he would get the key; so, Mister Kelly put down a $100 deposit and got a receipt.

Kelly says he drove an hour home, got a truck, then back to Tulsa to get the scooter.

"He said he made a mistake in the ad, the scooter was worth more than that and he wanted another 75 dollars," Kelly said.

According to Kelly, the man refused to come back to the business but said he would mail Kelly a check for the $100.

Mister Kelly wrote it off, until he saw the scooter was still being advertised day after day.

"He was using it as sucker bait, I call it," Kelly said.

The News On 6 called the number in the ad, set up a time to meet and went to the same business to look at the scooter.

"You don't have a key?" a KOTV photographer asked.

"No. You'd have to have the key, I have two of them," the seller said.

"You don't have it? Man, I wish you would've told me that earlier. I wish I could see if it runs," the photographer said.

"I guarantee it to work proper or I'll give you the money back," the seller said.

"You'll give me back my money?" the photographer asked.

"Oh yeah," said the seller.

That is when The News On 6 Reporter Lori Fullbright told him they were not there to buy the scooter but on behalf of Mister Kelly.

"Mr. Kelly called the police, the D.A., the BBB and me to see if he'd been scammed," Lori Fullbright said.

"He's welcome to the scooter, he put 100 dollars down, he's welcome to it," the seller said.

"But, you've been advertising it in the paper every day," Fullbright said.

"He's welcome to have it even now. He wants his 100 dollars back," the seller said.

"Have you given it to him?" Fullbright asked.

"No ma'am and not gonna," the seller said.

"Why?" Fullbright asked.

"He put it down on a deposit," the seller said.

"Right, because you didn't have a key and he couldn't tell it started," Fullbright said.

"When he came back he didn't want it," the seller said.

"He said you wanted 75 more dollars," Fullbright said.

"Ma'am, you seem like a nice," the seller said.

"I'm an investigative reporter trying to figure out the deal. This man desires his 100 dollars back," Fullbright said.

"I've shared my side of the story," the seller said.

"That he can have the scooter for 225 dollars?" Fullbright asked.

"Ma'am, the scooter is advertised for $275," the seller said.

"I've been looking at the ads. The day he came up here it was $225," Fullbright said.

Though he signed the receipt Bill Casey, he told The News On 6 his name was William Doyle.

Public records show William Doyle is an ex-con with drug-related convictions in Oklahoma County and that he was paroled in May.

Doyle told us he was afraid we would edit this story to make him look bad.

We did not edit any portion of our conversation you just read.

Mister Kelly has bought another scooter.