CUSTOMERS around Ballarat have been left out of pocket following a nationwide water tank company scam.Columbus Sales Group Pty Ltd, Aqua Conscious and Christopher Bruce Smith of Columbus Sales Group Pty Ltd have been accused of taking payments for water tanks without supplying them.Brian Wood recently ordered a 5000-litre water tank through a company, paid a deposit but has not received his order.The Mena Park resident urged people to take caution when ordering water tanks.“We were thinking about buying another water tank at the time and they had it listed ... with a free 22-inch LCD TV for $759,” Mr Wood said.“We called them a couple of times and they told us there was a production delay and it wouldn’t be delivered until early to mid-January.”The Woods realised something was not right when the company’s phones were disconnected, the website became inactive and there was no water tank to be seen.“I paid a $250 deposit, so I called the credit card company to get a reversal,” Mr Wood said.“I’m not out of pocket but I thought there may be other, people in Ballarat who don’t know they can get a reversal if they paid by credit card.”But Ballan’s Don Wilson was not so lucky.The customer paid close to $2000 for his order, $1500 of which he paid by cheque.“They told me the tank would be a week behind delivery because of the Christmas break,” Mr Wilson said.“That went past and still there was no tank so I started trying to ring and nobody answered the phones.”Consumer Affairs Victoria has encouraged customers who used their credit card to pay for a deposit to ask their credit card company for a charge back.CAV director Claire Noone said it appeared as though the supply of water tanks had dried up with these traders and Victorians should take care when dealing with them.Anyone with a complaint about a trader should call CAV on 1300 55 81 81.