Think I've been stung on Ebay

[park_bench]

I have a horrible feeling I have been stung by a scoundral on Ebay.

Last Thursday I purchased a used Macbook and Apple Cinema screen from a bloke. He said in his item description that he did not accept Paypal as he didn't want to pay the fees. He called me late on Thursday evening to ask how I would be paying.

I foolishly went for a Internet Banking money transfer as I am all for making things quick and easy. I emailed him on Friday to say that I had made the transfer and when would he be posting? "When the money has cleared" was the response.

I emailed on Monday asking if he had received cleared funds - he said "will probably clear on Tuesday-I will post then and give you a tracking number". Nothing arrived on Wednesday. I emailed asking for an update - no response. I emailed yesterday and today - no response.

Have I been done-up like a kipper by this blagard? If so, where do I stand legally and can I get the banks to reverse the transaction?

:sad1:

[plexer]

Have you asked your bank?

Ben

[park_bench]

Not yet. Was going to wait till the end of the day for a miraculous delivery and give him until the end of this evening to respond to the email.

I will start a dispute process tomorrow on ebay.

Just trying to pre-empt the dooooooom scenario...

[Andrew_C]

On the face of it.... You're screwed.

[localzuk]

Remember, a bank transfer can take 5 working days to clear, depending on the bank and the account the person receiving it holds.

[StewartKnight]

If they don't accept paypal due to fee's, I always think it's suspicious, as you build the fee's into the Postage and Packaging.

I would have paid by crossed cheque, as the account can be traced and police and trading standards informed.

Both ebay and your bank will mostly likely do nothing. How does you're bank know why you sent the money, and the pitiful "protection" you get from paypal doesn't extend to ebay.

Why not post the sellers ebay name on here, and if you managed to get his phone number too!

Do you have a postal address for him? Please don't say it was in Lagos!!!

[Elky]

What was the sellers feedback like?

[park_bench]

What was the sellers feedback like?

He has 20 transactions - 100% satisfaction from buyers and sellers and very good comments.

Why not post the sellers ebay name on here, and if you managed to get his phone number too!

I will if I have no joy in the next couple of days.

Do you have a postal address for him? Please don't say it was in Lagos!!!

He was in London (i'm stupid, but not that stupid!)

Both ebay and your bank will mostly likely do nothing.

Do you know this, or is it an educated guess?

[StewartKnight]

I know this! If you'd paid by credit card you'd have some protection.

[park_bench]

I know this! If you'd paid by credit card you'd have some protection.

It was a personal seller, so he wouldn't accept credit card. If I had sent a cheque he could have done the same I guess.

Just doesn't seem right that he has so much positive feedback (some very recent as well) from experienced EBayers and doesn't cough up for me.

Maybe he has been hit by a bus?... :-k

[elsiegee40]

20 Transactions isn't many for a high-value sale...

I've traded on eBay for a long time and to be honest would never buy anything high-value unless the seller had lengthy trading history.

I hope it works out for you.

Even Paypal wouldn't help much. The card companies wash their hands because the transaction is done through a third party and Paypal can only recover your money if the money is still in the seller's account.

A cheque would probably have been safer in this case, because it can be stopped after any period of time if the transaction is fraudulent and the bank will try to recover anything it has paid out.

[mrcrazy04]

I got stung once on ebay, that guy had 97% or so feedback.
As it was less than £100, I managed to get all but £15 back from ebay, so it wasn't too bad!
I would say report it to the police, I didn't, but now wish I had!

I was going to pay by Paypal, but it wouldn't accept my card for some reason, so I ended up sending a cheque.

[CHR1S]

You can build a fake feedback in a few days, there are people on eBay who only sell 1p/1c items with instant delivery for that very reason!

I would speak to your bank about it, as long as it wasnt western union or something similar you may have a slim chance. You could also try putting a stop on the account but I dont know if it will stop the outgoing as its technically already left yours.

Good luck

[gwendes]

Happened to me too - sounded genuine - spoke a few times and then vanishd. Googled his name and found that he already had a conviction for fraud and West Sussex Police were in the middle of an investigation - advised me not to persue as it would delay their case!??!!?

Shouldn't have paid by bank transfer, there's nothing eBay, the Police or your bank will or can do - sorry mate

The chap that screwed me was Adam Dovey - lives in Brighton

[park_bench]

Yeah. I've been screwed over. I'll speak to the bank today and see what happens.

Seemingly I am the only gormless git on here, but for any other potential Ebay fraud victims, remember:

*********NEVER USE A BANK TRANSFER TO BUY ON EBAY***********