I'm not from UK,but i think that's a good reason why people should be careful when buying stuff (especially expensive ones) from online shops. Even though i feel sorry for this guy...
This sort of thing was/is rampant with mobile phones...people advertise the phone BOX and sell it as an unlocked device, happened to a guy at work and he was SO P******* he paid ?400 for an empty box that he did it himself...not good.