Paypal Problem...please help!

mickflynn39

Not sure how to use this site so apologies if I've posted in the wrong place. I've advertised in the Autotrader and have received an offer for my car. I gave him more details on the car by email. He wants to buy it without seeing it. I smell a rat. Here is a copy of the email he sent me:

Thanks for your mail. am satisfied with your advert price,as am requesting this transaction should be done via PayPal so the PayPal charges is on me,If my offer is accepted send me your PayPal email and your name including your phone# or send me money request so i can pay you right away I am busy at work and do not have much time around me.Make sure you get back to me so that we can arrange for pick up as i will like the item to be picked at your residence location,so no shipping Regards.

The fact he wants to buy it without seeing it and the bad English makes me think this is some sort of scam. Any advice appreciated.

hermum

mickflynn39 wrote: »

Not sure how to use this site so apologies if I've posted in the wrong place. I've advertised in the Autotrader and have received an offer for my car. I gave him more details on the car by email. He wants to buy it without seeing it. I smell a rat. Here is a copy of the email he sent me:

Thanks for your mail. am satisfied with your advert price,as am requesting this transaction should be done via PayPal so the PayPal charges is on me,If my offer is accepted send me your PayPal email and your name including your phone# or send me money request so i can pay you right away I am busy at work and do not have much time around me.Make sure you get back to me so that we can arrange for pick up as i will like the item to be picked at your residence location,so no shipping Regards.

The fact he wants to buy it without seeing it and the bad English makes me think this is some sort of scam. Any advice appreciated.

It's a scam, don't touch it with someone else's bargepole.
Wait for someone to come, look & pay cash.
I've just googled paypal scam, take a quick read
http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=paypal+scam+car+sales&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-GB:official&client=firefox-a

mickflynn39

Thanks for the advice. Will avoid like the plague.

Irn-Bru-Kid

Just a quick update. Email received from paypal this morning:

"Dear Irn-Bru-Kid,

Thank you for contacting PayPal.
The seller responded to your claim by attempting to issue a full refund to you, which failed. Your purchase protection on the transaction then kicked in and PayPal issued a full refund to you.
The refund of £255.00 GBP completed on 7 October 2011 and was refunded to your credit card ending in XXXX. Please remember that refunds to credit cards take up to 30 days to post to your account and this timeframe is determined by your credit card bank.

It is my pleasure to assist you. Thank you for choosing PayPal"

So why the email telling me 'refund failed contact seller'? Why would I want to contact the seller when it is paypals problem it failed?

They really are a shower of muppets!

Anyway, case closed, thanks for your advice

soolin

I think paypal let the computers do too much- they send these automatic emails without a single logical thought.

You were always covered for a full refund, and it seems a shame that paypal still allow these stupid bits of misinformation slip through- a better worded email would have saved you a lot of angst.

hermum

It all came good in the end, as soolin says it's a shame that they don't word their emails better.

Irn-Bru-Kid

soolin wrote: »

I think paypal let the computers do too much- they send these automatic emails without a single logical thought.

You were always covered for a full refund, and it seems a shame that paypal still allow these stupid bits of misinformation slip through- a better worded email would have saved you a lot of angst.

The thing is, on the strength of the second email, I could have contacted the seller and gone nuclear on their a**.

My suspicious mind is telling me that paypal perhaps send these emails, knowing that they have to refund me directly and hoping that if I contact the seller, threaten all sorts, the seller will cough up and it saves paypal chasing.

Its a shocking way to go about things and I will be contacting paypal again to tell them so...not that I will achieve anything, just makes me feel better!