Been Ripped off by seller from the US – What’s the best course of Action?

V1NNY

I’ve been buying items from a seller in the US over the past 4 months & each time I have just paid them directly via paypal. They have always supplied me with a tracking number & I have had the package within a week to ten days.

They always marked the package as “Gift” & wrote a much lower figure under Value (naughty I know).

Well the last order I placed at the end of May (order was for over $300) & since then I had twice requested the tracking number & they did not respond. Then on Sunday (Some 10 days after I had made payment), they replied back (with a two line email - 24 words to be exact) saying that the package came back to them with some items missing & they are only insured for $100.

I replied back asking what was missing? when did it come back? when did they send it to me? can they provide me with the tracking number? so I can investigate online what happened etc. And 2 days later they have still not replied back. It appears I have been scammed, so…

Where would I stand with paypal if I did a chargeback? The funds were from my paypal account & not funded from a credit card.

No transaction was done via ebay, I just sent the money directly via paypal as “Goods”.

Also I asked them to mark as “Gift” & low value in the notes section of the transaction (will that go against me???).

I am going to email them later on tonight, again asking for the tracking number of this alleged package which was sent to me & as expected I wont get a response so will be opening a paypal dispute in regards to the transaction.

What would be my best course of action in winning a dispute I open up with paypal? (I have every single email from the buyer & all emails sent from me to them).

Hintza

I would give them a bit of time yet. You also have been encouaraging them to send the goods at a reduced value to dodge taxes. You can't have it both ways you either insure yourself properly and pay the correct tax or else you run the risk of things like this happening.

You need to make contact with your seller and try and sort it out. At this stage a PayPal claim would be a little disingenuous.

Unfortunately I think you might win. If I was dealing with someone for four months I would have at least made contact by phone to arrange better terms so if I were you I would call him up to discuss. Why should he be out of pocket the whole amount when he has been doing you a huge favour for months?

Not impressed!

Blacksheep1979

I'd open up a paypal dispute quick sharp and hope that they freeze some funds in their account. Even if they had sent the package it looks like they are trying to hold you responsible for the lost goods and make you pay for them.

Hintza

Blacksheep1979 wrote: »

I'd open up a paypal dispute quick sharp and hope that they freeze some funds in their account. Even if they had sent the package it looks like they are trying to hold you responsible for the lost goods and make you pay for them.

Buyer is partially responsible in colluding to defraud HM Customs and Excise by false declaration of value and now wants to stick a Paypal claim in for the full amount when it appears that the goods have been tampered with in transit and are under insured as a result.

The sellers biggest crime (as ar as OP is concerned) is poor communication.

Blacksheep1979

Yes - but are PayPal or the seller likely to report them?

Hintza

Blacksheep1979 wrote: »

Yes - but are PayPal or the seller likely to report them?

My point is the OP has been dealing with this guy for 4 months without problem and therfore I am surprised there has not been more personal contact with the seller and if there was then hopefully they could reach an agreement.

I just feel OP has been playing the game and it has now bitten him and wants to place all blame and loss on the seller that is why i think it is potentially a poor show.

Blacksheep1979

The reverse is also true - the seller should have ensured they were fully covered for all stuff sent to cover their back incase something like this happened.

edsjad

i am really surprised you've gone so quickly to your 'scamming' jusgement. You've been dealing together for four months. Two days is nothing! Don't panic. Give him a bit of time; sounds like he will provide more info soon. Even if he doesn't. considering you seem to have built up a relationship, sounds like he deserves a bit more trust. good luck.

V1NNY

My point here is not to have the best of both worlds. If the package was sent by the seller & then returned back to them with some items missing, then surely the seller can refund me the cost of what was still in the package + any compensation they get from the US postal service for having tampered with the package.

To recap, in the four months or so I have only ordered half a dozen times. Each time the seller has ALWAYS provided me with a tracking number within a few days of sending the package to me. This time round I emailed the seller firstly 4 days after payment & then again 7 days after I had made payment to ask for the tracking number. Both times I got NO response & I know that the seller has been active on ebay during that time as they had put up new listings, left feedback etc.

So when after 10 days I get a two line email from the seller saying that the package was returned to them with some item missing & no mention of me getting ANY refund or where we go from here, then I think there’s cause to be concerned.

I’m 99.99% sure that no package was ever sent out to me. The first email from the seller was 10 days after payment had been made, on a Sunday night saying that the package was returned. No other details provided like tracking number etc & as of yet still no response to the email I sent them on Sunday night asking for more information so that I can investigate.

Incidentally the seller has a feedback on ebay of nearly 2000 & about 20 negatives (mostly for non delivery).

Any helpful advice would be greatly appreciated

digerati

Had you funded the PayPal by credit card you will be fully covered, even for off-eBay purchases.

Since you paid using your balance you are only covered to the funds in the seller's PayPal account. I suggest you act quickly while they are still selling on eBay and getting incoming payments (which can be syphoned off to repay you). Login to your PayPal account and open a dispute for item not received pronto...

Should PayPal be unable or unwilling to refund you, your best chance for a full recovery of your funds or item is to contact the USPS Postal Inspectors. You can file a Mail Fraud complaint with them since your seller said they shipped your item via the US Post Office. The Postal Inspectors will assist you and have an excellent success rate. You should also file a complaint with the seller's local Police for "obtaining goods /theft by deception" and get them to open a Criminal case so you'll get a case number. If local Police are not interested, contact a District Attorney or the State Attorney in seller's locale.

Hope this helps :-)

soolin

My concern would be that opening any sort of mail fraud complaint may backfire as the seller has emails to show that the OP is also involved in fraud by asking the items to be under declared?

I'm led to believe that US officials take postal fraud more seriously than we do in the UK, so would hesitate to suggest a course of action that incriminates the person doing the reporting. I would be looking to try and resolve this amicably at first so that no one gets reportd for anything.