Seller's account hacked, bank transfer, comeback?

chrisgeller

Bought an item from a seller with 98% positive feedback. Didn't have Paypal but he let me know his bank account details. After one week no further emails or item.

Looking closer at seller's feedback, about 8 of last 10 are negative. I guess this means he's been hacked. He's responded to a few of the negatives with "see my other feedback" and "things happen" in response to item no-shows.

Do I have any come back? Obviously Paypal isn't an option. Seems the guy is doing something pretty illegal and I do know his bank a/c number. Can I get back my money?

alwaysonthego_2

if you payed by bank transfer there isnt much you can do apart from report it to the police. How much did you part with?

frivolous_fay

Not necessarily a hacked account - could be the standard 'build up feedback then sell high value imaginary items by bank transfer' deal.

Unfortunately, as always says, with bank transfer your chances aren't good. That said, it's only been a week.

PM me his user ID if you'd like me to check him out and see what he's up to.

chrisgeller

£65.

Isn't there any sort of Ebay guarantee?

frivolous_fay

I'm not sure if ebay's standard protection covers you if you pay with bank transfer - it's not mentioned. Worth a try I suppose.

http://pages.ebay.co.uk/help/confidence/sppp-faq.html#1

£15 will be deducted if your claim is successful.

soolin

Unfortunately bank transfers are not recommended by ebay and as such are not covered by ebay protection:

http://pages.ebay.co.uk/help/buy/payment.html#bankdeposit

Bank deposits/transfers are wonderful from a sellers point of view, no fees, quick and no comeback which makes them a very bad idea from a buying point of view especially with a poor feedback seller.

Your only recourse now is through the legal system.

frivolous_fay

This is a power seller who has a lot of recent negs for faulty items. HIs pp account has been suspended.

I don't think he's gone totally rogue yet... but I could be wrong.

soolin

digerati wrote: »

Sorry, but this is not correct. Bank transfers are covered by eBay Buyer Protection, it's bank deposits that are NOT covered. Personal and bank cheques are also covered by eBay Buyer Protection.

.

Not according to the ebay help pages it isn't.

http://pages.ebay.co.uk/help/buy/payment.html#imt

It either falls foul of bank deposits or Instant Money Transfers, neither of which are covered.

However I do accept that ebay sometimes have different rules on different bits of the help system so can you link to where it shows bank transfers are covered?

Cheques are covered by ebay but postal orders and cash are not.

digerati

soolin wrote: »

Not according to the ebay help pages it isn't.

http://pages.ebay.co.uk/help/buy/payment.html#imt

It either falls foul of bank deposits or Instant Money Transfers, neither of which are covered.

However I do accept that ebay sometimes have different rules on different bits of the help system so can you link to where it shows bank transfers are covered?

The eBay Standard Purchase Protection Programme page previously listed bank transfer as covered, but they have removed that section. (I'm sure it's just an oversight they they dropped all mention of a free service that competes with pay-to-use eBay-owned PayPal?) However, if you ask eBay customer service or a "pink" they will confirm that UK and BIC + IBAN bank transfers are still covered by eBay Standard Purchase Protection Programme.

Instant Money Transfers (i.e. Western Union or MoneyGram) is a complete different system that does not go through the banking system and is not easily traceable, whereas bank transfers provide a clearly identifiable audit trail, with proof of payment on your bank statement.

See this recent eBay UK forum thread for confirmation:

Claim successful for item not recieved paid for by Bank Transfer

Also other eBay sites where bank transfers are normal (Australia, EU) confirm that they are covered by eBay Standard Purchase Protection.

chrisgeller

After all that, the item actually arrived! And working! And stinking of cigarette smoke (which is impressive for an item composed only of plastic).

Thanks for all your help everyone. I shall be a bit more careful in the future.