A man has been left thousands of pounds out of pocket after he received a delivery of two bags of white powder instead of a £2,400 camera. Jakub Sokolowski, from Leith, ordered a Sony mirrorless machine from the Jessops store that was delivered by DPD on November 25 last year.
However, the video producer was left he baffled when he opened the box to discover two large bags of an unknown substance rather than the camera. It's thought the white powder was used to add weight to the otherwise empty box and avoid suspicion.
Jakub has reported the incident to Police Scotland, DPD, Jessops and the Citizen Advice Bureau in hopes in getting the large sum of money back but has had no luck so far.
The 37-year-old told Edinburgh Live that he is unable to sleep while going through the stress of the financial loss from the camera as well as losing out on work.
Jakub said: "I bought a camera online from a reputable source which is Jessops and DPD was the courier. I never got the camera instead of equipment I found white powder in my parcel. The worst part of this situation is that none of the companies were willing to help nor refund me the money I lost.
"I ordered my new camera in November, it was supposed to be an investment for work and take my work to the next level. I saved £1000 over a year to buy it and now I have not only lost the money I spent on the camera but money from jobs I have had to cancel because it never arrived."
He continued: "It's a huge loss and I have had countless sleepless nights. It has been terrible, it is affecting my relationships because I am stressed all the time and worrying about money because I can't work.
"There have been several jobs I have had to cancel because I don't have the camera - it's a domino effect. I lost £1000 of the upfront payment but I still need to pay off the rest of it - if I don't it will affect my credit score. It's outrageous."
DPD have confirmed that they are now investigating the incident and a member of the team will be in touch over the next five days to refund Jakub. Their spokesperson added: "Cases such as this are incredibly rare due to the high level of security and tracking throughout the delivery phase and, while our investigation is ongoing, we can confirm that a claim for a refund has been raised."
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: "On Wednesday, 30 November, 2022, police received a report of a missing camera from a delivery to the Hermitage Park Lea area of Edinburgh. Suitable advice was provided to the complainer."
Don't miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond - sign up to our daily newsletter here.
