eBay Scam

Minkee_DJ

On 2nd December 2010 I made a Buy It Now purchase of what I thought was a pair of Pioneer CDJ400 (DJ CD decks) for £810.00 including postage, on eBay. I had been looking for a pair of the Pioneer CDJ’s for a while and when I saw the advert that a had placed, I checked out his feedback … 100% positive … I also noticed that he had sold a Pioneer CDJ before. Therefore, I had no qualms that it was a genuine advert as it was placed in the DJ Equipment category and the Buy It Now price was pretty much what was expected for these CDJ’s.


So I bought them, paying via PayPal, immediately. It was after I messaged the seller and asked a few questions to which I had no reply that I became concerned that this ad may not be what it seemed. And more so, when he didn’t reply to further messages, I became more concerned. Of course he took the money immediately. A week later, after threatening to make a complaint, and the day before my birthday, the empty boxes arrived!! I was absolutely devastated as had spent all my birthday and Christmas money on these and more that my dad had given me … he was also truly upset, not what he needed as he was suffering from cancer (he passed away on 4th January 2011). I was vulnerable at the time but wasn’t going to just give in and let this person take my money for nothing.
After a few investigations into this seller, on certain social websites, it turned out he had scammed someone once before a few weeks back and had bragged about it on a question and answer website so much that he decided to do it again, which is where I got caught out.


Of course, I went through the process of making a complaint through eBay and also called PayPal, who told me I had to go through eBay, but basically I was told there was nothing I could do … the seller never specified in the advert that there were CDJ’s in the boxes. Nevertheless I was devastated once more as I was under the impression that PayPal protection would have covered my costs.
I was vulnerable at the time and didn’t have the energy to deal with a fight for my rights (and my money), and it is this reason it has taken me this long to decide that I will not give up and indeed should not have to.


PayPal are supposed to be there to protect your purchases but they dismissed my complaint on my first phone call. eBay went through their ‘process’ none of which I am aware of and basically told me tough … there is nothing we can do.


Granted the seller did not provide a photo of the actual CDJ’s nor did he say there were CDJ’s in the boxes, but my mind did not see that as a problem as he was advertising in CDJ equipment (boxes are not equipment) and he was selling them for the average cost of a pair of second hand Pioneer CDJ’s (why would anyone in their right mind pay £800 plus £10 postage for a pair of empty boxes .. they wouldn’t).
I felt confident that I was buying a pair of actual CDJ’s, I felt confident that I had checked out the sellers feedback and it was all looking good, but most of all my underlying feelings of confidence were that should anything go wrong my money is protected because I paid via PayPal … it seems I was wrong.


Not only was I scammed by the seller, which left me devastated but I felt let down and disappointed by both eBay and PayPal. It has left me ultra-wary about buying anything on-line with anyone that is not a ‘big named’ company, and I definitely won’t buy anything that costs a large amount of money from eBay.
I have recently been watchin You’ve Been Scammed on BBC1 and its given me a new fire in my belly to get some justice from this. Matt Allwright said in the You’ve Been Scammed programme aired 18-11-11 “only buy items within the confines of the auction website. That way if things go wrong you’ve got them on ya side” But this is not necessarily true, is it?


I still feel that PayPal should be prepared to refund my costs and the eBay listing was not as it appeared. Any input would be greatly appreciated

CIS

If Ebay and PayPal wont refund then the next option is probably a small claims court case and hopefully the judge would rule in your favour - enforcing any judgement can be difficult though.

forgotmyname

If you have filed a dispute within 45 days item not as described, You would send them back tracked and get
a full refund. Seller pays the fees for selling nothing. You get to gloat and tell him nice try and leav appropriate feedback.


Having left it this long, IM not sure what you can do, Small claims?? Seller will say your scamming him,

He posted what you paid for. Why would you wait 11 months to file a dispute?


As above winning small claims is one thing, Getting the money is another.

muddyl

Do you still have a copy of the faby advert? Maybe from email confirmation?
I'm curious as to what the advert actually said was for sale.

RFW

If the seller has done it before your best chance of getting anywhere would be to contact Trading Standards. This still won't get you any money back to start off with (and maybe not at all), but they will advise you of how to proceed and may look into it too.
Gather all the information you have regarding the transaction, all the sellers' details. If they are still trading your options will be better too.

It looks as though your complaint to Ebay may have not been correct as they would generally have been supportive, perhaps it was out of time?

No_Eye_Deer

How did you pay? Your bank may be able to help if you paid by card. Something to look into.

sharpy2010

CIS wrote: »

the next option is probably a small claims court case and hopefully the judge would rule in your favour - enforcing any judgement can be difficult though.

Which sort of begs the question "what is the point of obtaining a court order?"!

soolin

sharpy2010 wrote: »

Which sort of begs the question "what is the point of obtaining a court order?"!

There is often no point at all- but people like to think that if they go to court they will definitely get their money back

Rachel84_2

I've always worried about this happening to me that's why i never sign for a parcel without checking it first now, especially for expensive items. I really hope you can do something about it, the best thing to do i would think is actually ring ebay, the people on the phone seem alot better at dealing with complaints etc than the people who email you

Alias_Omega

You claim the boxes arrived empty, the seller claims the boxes were full. The seller could provide a copy of the dispatch receipt with the weight of the items.

pinkshoes

Why didn't you just open a dispute for "Item not as described", and send the (empty) box back tracked?

(obviously a bit late for that...)

Your only option is to take this guy to court, contact the police and get a crime number for fraud etc...