eBay lost cheque - advice please

nedlog

Hi,

I was selling an item on ebay and the buyer sent a cheque for payment. I lodged this in my Cahoot bank account but after a couple of weeks it did not appear in my account so I phoned up to enquire. It turns out Cahoot lost my cheque. Meanwhile the buyer told me it had been cashed from his account so as an act of good will I post the goods BEFORE the money was in my account. Cahoot are now asking for the cheque details (cheque number/sort code/acc. number) otherwise they can not trace the cheque. The buyer refuses to help and is being quite awkward about this even though I have sent the goods.
Cahoot say there is nothing they can do without the details. I have tried talking to the buyer (I have his address and mobile number) but to no avail. How can I try and resolve this as I currently out of pocket?

Thanks

David_Brent

Try to get in contact the person though phone and email, and give them a time limit. Sounds a bit dodgy if he wont give you his account number or anything, and how could the cheque have been cashed in if it was made out to you? Nobody else could have used it! If the person stops responding I'd make a claim for him not paying through ebay. When you took/or posted the cheque to pay into your account, he could have recalled the cheque he sent to you from his bank.

soolin

Do you have any form of receipt from when you paid it into the bank?

If not I'm not sure there is a lot that you can do as this question came up ages ago on one of the dedicated ebay newsgroups and was never resolved.

The bank can easily find a cheque when they have to, but they need something to work on, either a paying in slip or bank details from the drawer.

Also, ask the buyer again if they will co operate by asking their bank for a copy of the cheque, that will show the encoded details from when it was paid in.

Keep on at the bank though and involve the banking ombusdman if necessary.

I recently had a cheque reversed from my account that had been cleared for funds for nearly two months, but got compensation from the bank about that when I argued.

Soo

soolin

Try to get in contact the person though phone and email, and give them a time limit. Sounds a bit dodgy if he wont give you his account number or anything, and how could the cheque have been cashed in if it was made out to you? Nobody else could have used it! If the person stops responding I'd make a claim for him not paying through ebay. When you took/or posted the cheque to pay into your account, he could have recalled the cheque he sent to you from his bank.

It would hardly seem right to accuse the buyer of not paying when the OP says that it was her bank that lost the cheque after it was paid in.

Soo

David_Brent

Just sounds funny, how they are being arkward about providing somthing as simple as their account number so the cheque can be traced, that would make me rather suspicious. but yea your right, you cant really accuse them of not paying yet, until you get on to the bank...

robowen

The buyer has no reason to co-operate with you further.

He has paid you. You banked the cheque. You sent him his goods.

Personally I would not have sent the goods until the cheque had cleared.

This way, you force the buyer to co-operate further, else he doesn't get his goods.