Auction scam

[snaggerbob]

Hi guys, I need some help. I recently bid on and won a 32" Zenith lcd TV on Overstock.com Auctions. I paid for it via Paypal and haven't heard from him since. I've used Ebay for years without a problem and now I try OverStock for the first time and get hosed . Anybody have any suggestions? I've contacted Paypal and Overstock and they are trying to help. What would be the next step legally to recover my money? He's in New Hampshire and I'm in Illinois

 

[KyDave]

Did you paypal with a credit card? I would think that you could just dispute the charge with your credit card.

 

[cdru]

Disputing the charges may or may not work. Remember, when dealing with paypal your transaction is with PayPal, not with who PayPal transfers the money to. Welcome to the downside of PayPal.

If you need to go the legal route, you will likely sue in small claims court. Unfortunately for you, you will need to go to his jurisdiction, not yours. Well, you could sue in yours and win a default judgement, but it's not usually legally enforcable outside your court's jurisdiction.

 

[RandallA]

If you paid with your credit card, call them and explain what happened. Most likely they will say that you need to file a claim with PayPal first. File the claim but Paypal won't do anything (in that aspect PP sucks) then they will close the claim.

Once they close the claim, file a claim with your credit card and they will get your money back. If you didn't pay with CC then you're SOL because Paypal won't recover your money.

 

[snaggerbob]

Unfortunately I didn't use a credit card, just a transfer of funds from myh Paypal acct.

 

[Bob Haller]

I have been ripped off on e bay a couple times, paypal has been awesome refunding my $.

most things are covered to !000 I think!

 

[Stargazer]

Don't they have to have a certain rating before the item is covered under PayPal insurance?

 

[charper1]

PayPal is owned by eBay, but he is talking about Overstock.com

 

[snaggerbob]

I have used Ebay for years without incident. This is the first and last time I use Overstock. They referred me to the Internet Complaint Center. Hopefully they can do something. I am so ticked off that I trusted this con man. I will do whatever it takes to bring this piece of crap down.

 

[snaggerbob]

I contacted Paypal again Sat. They have sent this guy 3 warning emails. I will have to wait amother week then they tell me that they will reimburse my bank acct. the funds that were used to pay for the purchase. Hopefully this is the way it will all play out. We'll see. I really hope they can get something done with this con man.

 

[jeslevine]

if you paid with a credit card, even through paypal, call your credit card company and dispute and stop the charge. If it is one of the large credit card companies you should have no problem. At the same time countinue the dispute resolution through EBAY and PAYPAL

 

[snaggerbob]

I didn't use a credit card. just a transfer of funds thru my Paypal acct. The auction was thru Overstock.com not Ebay. My first and last deal thru them.

 

[RandallA]

I contacted Paypal again Sat. They have sent this guy 3 warning emails. I will have to wait amother week then they tell me that they will reimburse my bank acct. the funds that were used to pay for the purchase. Hopefully this is the way it will all play out. We'll see. I really hope they can get something done with this con man.

I had a problem one time on eBay with some psycho. It took me 2 months to get my money back. PayPal couldn't do anything because the guy didn't have any money in his account. My credit card company reversed the charges and that's how I got my money back. Just keep trying, hopefully Paypal will get it resolved.

Good luck.

 

[Claude Greiner]

I have been scammed by Paypal too many times, however I still use them because I have no choice when it comes to ebay.

#1 I was scammed back in January 2002 for about $600 on an ebay auction. I didn't know I had 30 days to dispute it and since it was funded through my paypal account they told me there was nouthing I could do.

#2 I purchased a $600 commercial rack mount DISH receiver on ebay for $50. I paid the guy Via paypal, but I think the guy was pist that he didn't sell it for more and never shipped it. I disputed it and paypal recovered about $20. Never got the rest of it back because the guy never had any more money in his account.

#3 I sold a DVR 508 receiver to someone on ebay. The buyer tried to get me to file a false UPS claim stating that when he got the receiver there was a big hole in the box and all the cables and remote where missing. When I offered to simply replace the missing remote and cables he refused stating he would rather have the insurance money from UPS. I told him go ahead and file his claim, and as long as I didn't have to do any paperwork on my end I didn't care. Needless to say UPS told him I would need to do the paperwork on my end, and since I refused he wanted to return the receiver. I refused since this was going on 90 days.

He disputed the charges with his credit card company and paypal took the money from my account.

I did finally get the receiver back, but with no cables.

The guy lied to me because he said there was a big hole in the side of the box, however when I got the origional box back, there was no hole. He wanted me to file a false insurance claim so he could get $100.

#4 I bought one of those Tv B gone remotes on ebay for $40. They never shipped it, I won the dispute with paypal but never got a dime since the guy had closed his account!

My suggestion is when buying any big item with paypal is to always fund it with a credit card. If you don't get it, then dispute it with your credit card and let them f**k Paypal.

Let paypal worry about collecting their loss from the deadbeat seller because obviously they do not care for people like me who are honest!

 

[snaggerbob]

I just received an email from Paypal saying they had ruled in my favor.....but the guy has no funds so they can't recover anything for me. I will always use a credit card from now on. I guess if I want any satisfaction it will have to be with a lawsuit. I will weigh my options and decide what to do. I am tempted to sue but I'm sure the cost would cancel out the gain, if any. I hate dishonest people.

 

[cdru]

I just received an email from Paypal saying they had ruled in my favor.....but the guy has no funds so they can't recover anything for me.

There's a shocker. Sorry to hear about that.

I am tempted to sue but I'm sure the cost would cancel out the gain, if any. I hate dishonest people.

Small claims court isn't too expensive, but you'd have to travel to his locality to effectively sue him. Even if you win, you'd still have to collect which may be troublesome. Contacting a lawyer in your or his area may be sufficient enough to scare him into refunding some money.

 

[RandallA]

"but the guy has no funds so they can't recover anything for me"

Exactly the same answer PayPal gave me. Sorry to hear that.

I was lucky that I paid with a credit card and got my money back but at the time I had no idea that Paypal was so helpless. Try filing a police report at least and see if that scares him enough to refund your money.

 

[cdru]

I was lucky that I paid with a credit card and got my money back but at the time I had no idea that Paypal was so helpless. Try filing a police report at least and see if that scares him enough to refund your money.

If for no other reason, it documents it. You can file this as a deduction on your taxes if you itemize.

 

[blabber]

"but the guy has no funds so they can't recover anything for me"

Exactly the same answer PayPal gave me. Sorry to hear that.

I was lucky that I paid with a credit card and got my money back but at the time I had no idea that Paypal was so helpless. Try filing a police report at least and see if that scares him enough to refund your money.

I guess everyone has a similar story. Luckily, MY psycho-seller got his account frozen by PayPal with almost enough to cover what I paid, minus about $20. Psycho-seller never responded to the dispute in the ten days, so Paypal reversed the funds to me. I was lucky, the guy had his eBay feedback "hidden". Usually, I'm more savvy than to make a mistake like that. Lesson learned!

 

[radhog]

Unfortunately I didn't use a credit card, just a transfer of funds from myh Paypal acct.

PAYPAL WILL STILL PROTECT YOU IF YOU INFORM THEM!