Need Help.. Sent $1600 via paypal and I think I got scammed

[akshatp]

Okay, for those of you that have the time, let me draw up the situation here:

I was looking for an item on eb@y, and bid on a few auctions that had it for sale. I didnt win any of them, due to other people outbidding me. Anyway, the next day, some guy emails me telling me he has a small quantity of the item that I had bid on, and he noticed that I didnt win any of the auctions. So he went on to say, if you want, I have some I will sell to you if interested.

The price he was giving was very reasonable, and acutally lower than my max bid was on eb@y. So I asked some friends of mine if they wanted it too, and I made a deal with this guy for a quantity of 4, at $400 a piece.

I sent him two separate paypal payments, to his VERIFIED acccount. The day he was supposed to send me the items, he apparently "got into a car accident" and wasnt able to ship them. That was last Tuesday. I contacted someone else on eb@y that had won one of his auctions, and he told me that he hasnt even heard from the guy since he paid him on Feb. 13.

So now I am real worried, and make up a hotmail account, email him and pretend I am looking for the same item. His reply was, "sure, i have them in stock, send $400 to the following paypal account, yada yada yada"

Now I have been in touch with him over the last week, and he is giving me the RUN AROUND, saying he is trying to get the items, or the money back. Meanwhile, he hs bought about $2000 worth of stuff on eb@y since then, and most of the feedbacks praise him saying fast paypal payment!!!!! (Thats my money)

Between me and this other fellow I have talked to, we know his REAL name, his verified paypal address, his home phone number, and his street address (or so we think, cuz he has a few).

The phone number is real, because the other guy called him, and it was him on the other end, even though he hung up right away when asked where the item was!!!

My question to my fellow AT'ers is what kind of action can I take regarding this matter. I am afraid to piss this guy off, because then he really wont send me my stuff or my money, and I will be real screwed. But maybe he isnt going to send it anyway! WHAT DO I DO???

Thanks in advance for your responses!!!

 

[A5]

Well, if those multiple addresses are in the same city, just call the local police department there. If the addresses are in multiple cities, I can't really help you, but you could probably call the FBI or something. I doubt this helps, but it's a start...

 

[ForeverSilky]

What an idiot, if he's gonna scam people why use a verified account?

 

[Passions]

$1,600 in paypal huh? Not good, not good at all johnny boy.

 

[akshatp]

A5, the addresses are all in the same vicinity.. San Jose, Hollister, etc.

What would the police do? Threaten him or arrest him?

I dont know whay he used a verified account! I am so confused!!!!!!!

 

[Soybomb]

Isn't paypal supposed to help you out or something if they have a verified accound?

 

[HomeBrewerDude]

I don't know if paypal can help you. Can you stop payment or contest it with you credit card?

If it comes to court, this is a civil matter, which means the cops won't help you much. You can call the BBB and any consumer affairs offices in the area and get more ideas as to how to proceed.

 

[bcterps]

If he has a paypal verified account, I believe that your transaction is insured, or at least partially insured. Have you tried contacting Paypal? Also, make sure you have all the emails that you have sent back and forth. I know "paypaldamon" is a member on this board, I've seen him post a couple of times. Try email him at damon@paypal.com


--Ben

 

Do these in exact order;

1)Immediately contact paypal to verify his account.
2)Collect all the info on him and put it into one folder.
3)Contact his local police dept and explain the situation to them in a calm and cool manner,stating only the facts.
4)Contact Egay and notify them of this situation.
5)Contact your attorney generals office and explain this to them.
6)Contact your local FBI office and explain to them that this thief is ripping people off over state lines.


Good Luck

 

[akshatp]

Thanks bencui. I have all emails and AOL IM conversations..saved...

I will try to contact paypal, but they dont "insure" the money per say. They say they will try and recover it, but no guarantees!!!

THanks for the info though! I appreciate it.


ROGER!!! Thank you!!! Wow, looks like you have some real experience with this kind of stuff. One question though, should I contact egay even though the transaction didnt originate there?

 

[Michael]

I will add that e b a y sends out a warning with every bid to watch out for people who contact you outside the e b a y system and offer product. This is why. SInce it was not an e b a y auction that you won, I doubt they'll do much to help you, but maybe his account will get flagged for attention.

Paypal probably will help, to a point. They do have some protection built into their system.

Do what Roger told you, he is experienced in these matters.

Michael

 

[Passions]

Yah michael is right. Since you went out of ebah jurisdiction, most likely u outta luck. Sux.

 

[Frenchie]

Do what Roger said. IMMIDIATELY notify e-gay and paypal of the problem. You may be able to be covered by paypal's insurance policy. If you paid paypal via vredit card, notify the credit card company of the problem and dispute. From there, contact the authorities as Roger described. If that doesnt work, a civil suit may be in order. If it gets to that point, PM me.

 

[urbantechie]

Also listen to Roger, hes our expert

 

[Hamburgerpimp]

What do you do? Well, the previous members summed it up very well. Also, my advice it to take this as a lesson. The Internet is full of people just wanting to rip you off. I buy very little off the Internet. And never anything of that large price, unless I absolutely know the person. JMHO

 

[akshatp]

Hamburhger; Lesson learned. THe hard way.

 

[Zucchini]

You would think paypal woudl have the ability to forcefully extract the missing amount from the guys credit card right? Paypal is linked to credit card ... i think

 

[akshatp]

Zucchini - Yeah you would think that, but then you would have scams going where people who actually received goods complian that they didnt! too much headache for PayPal...

 

[Taz4158]

Roger is THE Troll destroyer. No one has helped as many people as he has and no one has better advice.

 

[loup garou]

If he is verified, you will get your money back from paypal. Just keep hounding them. My roomate just went through this for $1400. You will need physical copies of all your correspondences, and all the stuff Roger said. But, since what you sent is over $1000, you will need a local police report (good luck) or a report from the FBI fraud division (they have a website, I forget what it is though). All this will need to be notarized...if you're a college student, check with your school's legal department (not the law school) and see if they offer free notarization. That's what my roomate did, saved him some money on notarization fees. It will take at least 60 days to get your money back. Don't give up. If you read their verified member guarantee very carefully, you will see that your money is guaranteed back.

Good Luck!

 

[thegreatjeff]

You can dispute with your credit card company and if it's a good one (i.e. Visa, MasterCard, etc...) you should get your money back.

Roger, I gotta give you a pat on the back for that! <pat></pat>

 

[akshatp]

Jeff: SHould I wait for the statement come, or should I call them now?

 

[Damon]

Hi,

The details of the Buyer Protection Program can be found on the web site. The main issue that I see here is that this was an off-eB@y transaction and this changes the protection we extend. Please feel free to send me the information on the transaction(s) and I will make an account notation on the recipient's end. My email is damon@paypal.com.

 

[MrbadGuy]

Damn. Hope you get money back. Complain to gaypal,