buyer was the scammer

leslieknope wrote: »

hopefully this is the right place.

my friend's parent recently sold a drone on eBay. it was barely used and working fine but the seller then said that it was faulty and opened a case with eBay. eBay did the usual "send the item back and get a refund" but when the buyer sent back the package, they had filled it with coasters. unfortunately eBay issued the refund as soon as the buyer said it was returned, despite friend's parent saying that it was a fraudulent package. so now the buyer has kept the drone and got a large refund. the package was sent standard mail not even signature required so he's at a loss of what to do. it seems like he's out of a drone and a lot of money but eBay don't care because they've closed the case. is there anything that can be done?

leslieknope wrote: »

yes this is exactly it unfortunately. package was returned but it didn't contain the so-called faulty drone so the buyer has his money and the drone :mad: we've escalated it to ebay but they weren't interested before they closed to the case so i'm not sure how they'll help after. just wondered if there was anything else that could be done. it seems like this thing has happened quite a few times.

How exactly are you involved in any of this?
What is your relationship to ebay in all of this?

If I have understood you correctly, this is what ebay say

The buyer returned a different item than the one I sent. What do I do?
If the buyer returns a different item, or the same item but in worse condition, you should appeal to eBay immediately. We will review the case, and if we find in your favour we will repay you any funds which have been reversed from your account and record the incident on the buyer’s record. If a pattern emerges, we will take action on the buyer for fraud. We also will track the number of times a seller cases this happens, to monitor for potential abuse.

http://pages.ebay.co.uk/help/seller-protection-faq.html

I must admit, those who may attempt to involve themselves in this type of fraudulent activity rarely do it once (unless the fraudster knows the victim, and has a specific reason to target that victim for just the one incident)

In the event ebay does not side with the seller, then careful consideration needs to first be given to that response. However, if the seller does wish to take matters further, the options open to the seller are:
(a) report the fraudulent activity to the police
Agreed, because of cutbacks, and depending on the value involved and difficulty of obtaining evidence to support, they may well decide to take no further action
(And the seller should reflect on that too)

but the seller can always:
(b) attempt to take out a private prosecution.

theonlywayisup wrote: »

It should be reported to Action Fraud, not the police.

Perhaps, but I guarantee they won't investigate it further - they have no investigation powers.

theonlywayisup wrote: »

It isn't about investigation for the complainant, it is about the reporting of the crime. This is sufficient for eBay and Paypal when considering whether the detail adds weight to the case.

My advice was based on assisting the OP, (is there anything that can now de sone) and that means bringing about a prosecution of the alleged fraudster.
Before prosecution, evidence will need to be obtained to support the allegation of fraud, and someone therefore needs to investigate...

If you care to read the OP, it says ebay have already closed the case as far as they are concerned (hence why I advised the OP that "careful consideration needs to first be given to that response")

theonlywayisup wrote: »

Proof of delivery doesn't need a signature. Neither does eBay. All eBay want is proof of delivery (under £750).



I think you might need to read the OP again. The OP isn't the one doing the sending back.

Be like the queen and say "one" instead of "you". Avoid confusion.

qwert_yuiop wrote: »

Be like the queen and say "one" instead of "you". Avoid confusion.

My country doesn't have a queen, so you might like to enlighten me, I think I do quite well with a foreign language. I certainly don't court confusion.