Advice about a problem with a FS deal...

pulse8

Lifer
May 3, 2000
20,860
1
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I'm going to be as brief as possible, but here's the deal:

I offered to buy a hard drive.

The offer was taken and I received a PayPal address.

I sent PayPal fairly quick and later that evening the seller asked where the money was.

The seller sent me the wrong PayPal address and PayPal has put a hold on my money until it clears the bank.

I have no problems with paying for the drive at the correct address, but I wanted to straighten everything out with PayPal before I did so.

I had $35 in my account that I offered to the seller for a deposit. The seller agreed and stated that he will not ship until payment is received in full and that the deposit is non-refundable if I decide to back out of the deal.

I sent the deposit the next morning and then the seller gives me until Thursday evening to get him the money. We had not originally agreed upon this. Now seller says he sent me the correct e-mail (I have PM logs that say otherwise) and that it's either Thursday or nothing and if the money isn't there by Thursday, he keeps my $35.

I do not want to agree to this because PayPal is very unstable sometimes and who knows what might happen.

He asks if I want to back out and get a refund and I say only if Thursday is the only option. I don't want to back out of the deal because I agreed to it and I want the drive which I am more than willing to pay for once the whole PayPal thing is settled.

Should the seller just give me my money back and forget the deal, should I give a neutral heatware based on what I feel is very poor customer service? We wouldn't be having any of these issues had I received the right PayPal address in the beginning. I've made an offer to fix the situation, but now I feel like I'm trying to be scammed out of my deposit with deadlines.

What do you folks think?

I'm not mentioning ANY names or anything as I'm just looking for an opinion on the situation.
 

Entity

Lifer
Oct 11, 1999
10,090
0
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Definite neutral, especially if it was his fault when he posted his email incorrectly originally.

Rob
 

DeadByDawn

Platinum Member
Dec 22, 2003
2,349
0
0
If you feel he/she's being unreasonable, then I would ask for my deposit back and find another drive to buy.
 

Zugzwang152

Lifer
Oct 30, 2001
12,134
1
0
Unforunately you agreed to give up y our deposit if you backed out of the deal, so you might be screwed there. But he has no right to make additional demands after a deal has been made and especially after money has changed hands.

ed: typo
 

dafatha00

Diamond Member
Oct 19, 2000
3,871
0
76
Considering that you wouldn't even be in this mess if he had given you his correct email addy, I'd say you should demand your deposit back, leave a negative, and post his name here so other traders won't have to deal with him.
 

pulse8

Lifer
May 3, 2000
20,860
1
81
As it turns out, the e-mail was wrong because of a typographical error. The seller has sworn that I'm in the wrong and I've offered to him that the mods check my PM logs to verify what I've said, but he has not responded to that. The deal is off and a neutral heatware has been left.

To me this wouldn't have been a problem had the PM been correct or the seller been a little more courteous with this transaction.
 

gwlam12

Diamond Member
Apr 4, 2001
6,946
1
71
u should just tell him to check his PM logs. if he still says that you're wrong then he's lying. this is assuming you're telling the truth :)
 

pulse8

Lifer
May 3, 2000
20,860
1
81
Originally posted by: gwlam12
u should just tell him to check his PM logs. if he still says that you're wrong then he's lying. this is assuming you're telling the truth :)

He hadn't included a space after a word and it bunched in with the e-mail address. I copy and pasted that into my PayPal screen and went from there. His screen apparently shows it with a space, but mine does not.

It may have been partially a mistake on my part (although the way it was written, I don't think I ever would've questioned it), he kept pushing me to settle a deadline after taking my $35 deposit.

I just feel like there's a lack of customer service in this transaction and I feel others should be aware.

I've had my goof ups with deals before (I switched packages and sent them to the wrong people), but I offered to pay shipping to the correct person and would have done anything to fix the situation.
 

Hubris

Platinum Member
Jul 14, 2001
2,749
0
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Well, we can't really be aware without knowing who it is.

But yeah, in dealing, especially on a personal level like here, you need to be reasonable and willing to work with people, without letting yourself get walked over. Screw him and his impatience, especially when he's at fault.
 

Jzero

Lifer
Oct 10, 1999
18,834
1
0
He sounds unreasonable. Nobody should sweat an honest mistake like a typo, no matter whose fault it was. I don't see why he couldn't wait a couple days, or why he tried to pull that crap with the deposit.
 

Armageddon415

Golden Member
Sep 24, 2000
1,608
0
0
The trader in question is me and I had no idea he had even made this thread. And he is the one that is wrong about the email address. And heres the proof Screenshot of the PM it obviously shows I put the correct address. He claims I put atstc256@hotmail.com, if he had bothered to open the pm at all its obvious that I had put the correct one. And the only reason I made the demands was because I was in a hurry for the cash and I had stated that to him. Plus he could've just sent the full amount to me again and deal with paypal himself for the refund. And to the people saying I forced the deposit, I never asked for it as even stated by the OP, he said he OFFERED it. I guess I was wrong for setting a deadline, but I had stated I needed the money ASAP. And he could've backed out at any time and I would've gave him back him money.

Next time try hearing both sides of the story before making a judgement.