Fraud on eBay. What can I do?

[Slick5150]

Here's the quick version of what happened.

I bought a set of PC speakers on eBay. Before doing so, I emailed the seller and asked if they were brand new, in the box, to which he replied yes. So I buy them, delay after delay happens, but I finally do receive them.

Except they aren't new. They were obviously opened and poorly repackaged, and to top it off are broken. So, many many emails later he finally agrees to refund my money if I send them back. I send them back, FedEx confirms delivery, and now he is refusing to respond to my emails.

So, I'm out $105, and don't have the speakers.

I filed a complaint with Paypal, but they're saying since I received the merchandise, they're not going to do anything about it (I guess they don't mind people committing fraud through their service). I filed an initial report with eBay, but it looks like to submit an actual fraud claim you have to pay $25?

Is there anything else I can do here? Even beyond the money involved, I really don't want this guy getting away with this (though I do want my money back obviously). I have saved all of our email exchanges and FedEx tracking info.

Any advice on further steps I can take would be greatly appreciated.

 

[TC2181]

Have his address? name? phone #?

 

[Slick5150]

I do have his name and address, yes.

Or at least the name and address he gave me to send back the speakers.

 

[TC2181]

With that information, try and find a phone number for that place. Call it.

 

[Kroze]

They do offer kidnapper for hire on ebay auctions.

 

[HonkeyDonk]

get the phone # off ebay's website.

 

[Wuffsunie]

Best thing to do looks to bite the bullet and take the $25 hit from ebay to get the refund back.

If you do a chargeback to paypal, you'll get it all back and likely end up kissing that account good-bye. Paypal only cares about money when they're no longer getting their slice of it.

Edit: Forget about the seller. 100% crook from that behaviour. No way you'll get anything from him.

 

[TechnoKid]

Could not this be considered for mail fraud?

heheh...get the feds on him. Judge Judy him too, for the maximum $3000 allowed in small claims.

 

[Slick5150]

Unfortunately, he shipped via UPS, and I shipped back with FedEx, so I guess mail fraud wouldn't apply.

I'll try to get his phone number and call him. If that doesn't work, I guess the best option is to pay the $25 to eBay to investigate this? (This still seems ridiculous to me that they charge you $25 to investigate a claim where you already lost money. I would think that if the claim proves valid, they should waive the $25 fee)

Thanks for the advice thus far. Please keep the comments coming though with other ideas.

 

[chowderhead]

File with Paypal under the Buyer's Protection Program Check to make sure he did not opt out. Good luck.

 

[AnyMal]

Send a PM to PaypalDamon (sp?), he may be able to give you some good advice.

 

[Slick5150]

I did file a Paypal Buyer's Protection claim, but they denied it claiming that since I did receive the item, then it's not their problem. I argued with them on the phone for about 45 mintues, but it got me nowhere unfortunately.

Does PaypalDamon work for paypal?

 

[iwearnosox]

Originally posted by: PinwiZ
I did file a Paypal Buyer's Protection claim, but they denied it claiming that since I did receive the item, then it's not their problem. I argued with them on the phone for about 45 mintues, but it got me nowhere unfortunately.

Does PaypalDamon work for paypal?

Yes, he works for paypal. Not sure there's much he could do for you, though.

 

[Toasthead]

On a topic similar to this what would stop someone from saying something I shipped them was damaged or broken or not the right thing? What is my recourse as a seller?

 

[Slick5150]

Well, as a further update, I requested his info from eBay, and it is all made up. It lists him as living in Washington, however he gave me an address in Connecticut to return the speakers to him. The phone number doesn't exist, and it lists a different name.

So, unless anyone can give me another idea (or if anyone lives near Waterbury, CT ), I guess my next step is to file the fraud alert on eBay.

Thanks again for the assitance.

 

[kami333]

You don't have to pay $25 for the fraud filing, they just deduct the $25 from what you would be getting back.