Buyer sends cheque - I pay in - then he cancels it, uses PayPal instead. Recourse?

stormywhether

Ok so I sold this PSP game for like £13-odd delivered.

His wife puts a cheque in the post. It takes about five working days to get here. So far so good.

I pay the cheque in, and send the goods.

He then sends me a note back via the eBay query facility, saying that he forgot to tell me his wife cancelled the cheque (I'm assuming because it took FIVE whole days to get here... big deal), adding that he's since transferred the money to me via PayPal.

Now I've already paid the cheque in, and fully expect that I'll be hit with bank charges because of this guy's inertia.

Where do I stand?

soolin

Your bank should not charge you if the cheque bounces, the buyer will be the one to get the charge.

Personally I would wait for the cheque to be returned and then just contact him and tell him you have it and will destroy it. If they cancelled the cheque too late, or if it doesn't bounce at all, then after confirming that the cheque has indeed cleared (phone the bank and make them say so on a recorded line) just refund the paypal payment. I certainly wouldn't do anything in a hurry, yes he's paid twice but this is hardly your problem, so he should be prepared to wait a short while so that you can ensure you are not left out of pocket.

Soo

robnye

stormywhether wrote:

I pay the cheque in, and send the goods.

i hope this doesnt mean you sent the goods before the cheque had cleared....!

soolin

robnye wrote:

i hope this doesnt mean you sent the goods before the cheque had cleared....!

It is fairly standard to send goods before a cheque has cleared, I do it all the time. When I've had problems with cheques it has been weeks after they were paid in, if I waited to be sure a cheque was 'good' I'd never send anything.

The only time I would ever delay is where there were problems indicated in the feedback and even then I would usually send as soon as the cheque was just clear for funds on about day 4.

Soo

robnye

soolin wrote:

The only time I would ever delay is where there were problems indicated in the feedback and even then I would usually send as soon as the cheque was just clear for funds on about day 4.

yep thats what i do, send on day 4 after cheque has been paid in

stormywhether

Nice one - thanks for the advice. You're right - why should I be charged?!?

It's his fault he's a muppet - not mine.

Job's a good'un.

:T