Are there any scams involving internet bank transfers?

soolin

MoneySaverLog wrote: »

I'm mainly a buyer as you can probably tell. OK points taken.

As a buyer you are absolutely correct in only using PayPal, never deviate from that. However, if you buy a car or motor vehicle on eBay you will be expected to pay cash when you collect it.

Any other purchase you make though the seller MUST take PayPal, and if a seller ever gives you any nonsense about not taking it then run a mile.

jonhamil

Interesting thread... I've not heard of Malta being used before - usually somewhere in Africa.

Incidentally - something most eBayers are not aware of, there are actually 2 levels of buyer protection: ebay and paypal.

If you don't receive an item, you are entitled to raise a case in the resolution centre in eBay which will ultimately lead to a refund. Alternatively (and much more powerfully) you are entitled to raise a dispute within PayPal itself. This is much, much faster and gets the hackles on the unworthy seller much better imo.

There is a downside to the protection offered by ebay and PayPal and that is that like any system, it is fallible. There are definitely cases of buyers claiming non-received goods when they have in fact got the item. Then they get a refund too and are laughing all the way to the bank. Utterly immoral, but it does unfortunately happen.

Equally some sellers fail to realise that is it their responsibility to get the item to teh buyers door. If the courier etc fails, tehn it is the seller's responsibilioty to sort it out. I fell foul o fthis as a buyer weh I bought a suit off eBay. The postage label (not address) fell off during transit, so the sorting office held it and asked for due postage plus £1 as per standard procedure. I asked the seller to pay this - they refused and I ended up having to pay for the postage twice + £1! I raised this with ebay in the resolution centre and they said that because it was 'non tangible services' i.e. you can't pick up "a postage", that it was non-refundable.

The protection offered by ebay and Paypal is better than it was but is not perfect.