Finding identity of seller who didn't supply goods.

Mslm

Advertised for engine on car parts website and was contacted by seller. Money sent by fast payment online to sellers account. Goods never delivered. Have his name and account details but due to data protection cannot get his address to take this further. My bank keep contacting sellers account but have had no response and the police are not interested. Web site not helpful and have premium charge phone number.Have contacted citizen advice help line and information commission office but no one seems able to help.:mad:

browneyedbazzi

How much money is involved here? Was your communication with the seller on the phone/by email? Do you have the details of the sale in writing?

It's generally very unwise to send money via bank transfer to a person you don't know and/or don't have a proper (confirmed) geographical address for. Trying to find an address after the money has gone is a bit like shutting the barn door after the horse has bolted.

Mslm

It was for £550. Only contact was mobile phone which he is not answering now:sad:.

browneyedbazzi

Mslm wrote: »

It was for £550. Only contact was mobile phone which he is not answering now:sad:.

You've got virtually no chance of getting your money back then. Learn a lesson and move on.

bris

You can petition the courts to force the bank to reveal the account holders details.

This is your only hope, they won't give you the details without a court order.

Bear in mind that if this was a scam from the start then even if you did go through all the expense of two separate court cases you would still be very unlikely to get anything back. Winning in court is one thing, getting them to pay is another.

browneyedbazzi

bris wrote: »

You can petition the courts to force the bank to reveal the account holders details.

This is your only hope, they won't give you the details without a court order.

Bear in mind that if this was a scam from the start then even if you did go through all the expense of two separate court cases you would still be very unlikely to get anything back. Winning in court is one thing, getting them to pay is another.

I don't think it's likely the court would order the release of the details when OP doesn't have anything about the sale in writing. I think it would be a huge waste of time and effort.

shaun_from_Africa

It probably won't help. but have you tried to do a search for the phone number on Google?

Doing this sometimes brings up useful information, especially if the person concerned has been advertising goods for sale on other websites or forums.
Doing the same with his bank account details may also help.
It might also show if other people have been scammed by the same person.


If you can prove that it's happened more than once then you might get more interest from the police.

wealdroam

shaun_from_Africa wrote: »

It probably won't help. but have you tried to do a search for the phone number on Google?

Yes definitely worth a try, but you'll probably find that the [STRIKE]seller[/STRIKE] scammer would 'invest' 50p in a new payg sim card for each victim and then throw the sim card away.

bris

browneyedbazzi wrote: »

I don't think it's likely the court would order the release of the details when OP doesn't have anything about the sale in writing. I think it would be a huge waste of time and effort.

No, not at all, there doesn't need to be anything in writing, the bank transfer is all the proof they need.

The courts would most likely grant the order, they don't like scammers any more than we do and will be more than happy to help a genuine case like this. That is after all what the courts are here for, getting justice.

Brooker_Dave

Mslm wrote: »

Advertised for engine on car parts website and was contacted by seller. Money sent by fast payment online to sellers account. Goods never delivered. Have his name and account details but due to data protection cannot get his address to take this further. My bank keep contacting sellers account but have had no response and the police are not interested. Web site not helpful and have premium charge phone number.Have contacted citizen advice help line and information commission office but no one seems able to help.:mad:

The parts finder website will have details of the seller as he will be a subscriber.

Perhaps a threat to sue them might wake them up a bit?

keyser666

you could PM me his name and i can search my database for it depending how unique