I think ive been scammed.

jimmyrambo

Hi there,

Its a pretty complicated situation. In a nutshell: I paid for a laptop on paypal and the seller 'accidentally' closed his account and says the funds are on hold and hes marked the item as dispatched.

The payment was made through my credit card > paypal > Sellers paypal. I sent 2 payments to make the total as he said he couldnt withdraw the full amount the first time round so I was refunded and asked to send to his other paypal account.

He's now telling me that he wont send the laptop because he doesnt have the money in his bank! He said I should open a dispute on paypal however they said because its 2 payments i may only be covered for one! Im also still in full contact with him which im thinking is only because the money hasn't officially gone into his bank account yet. I suspect he will withdraw it then cut contact with me.

What I already know:
- The payment has cleared via paypal, but still unclaimed by the seller according to my Barclaycard information
- It has not appeared on my credit card statement yet
- If it is a scam, paypal will only cover one of the payments (both at £500 each)


Im just wondering what you guys know on this kind of thing, will my credit card cover me for this? I rang them too and they said I cant dispute the transaction until the seller claims them both! However paypal have told me its cleared and is on its way to his bank…

Any help is much appreciated, pretty worried as I paid over £1000 and I don't know if it will be covered on my credit card considering I sent the payment myself and it wasn't initially fraud. Im scared that hes trying to do a runner!

grumbler

jimmyrambo wrote: »

He said I should open a dispute on paypal however they said because its 2 payments i may only be covered for one!

Theoretically it's possible to do chargeback against Paypal.

• Visa, Mastercard & Amex Chargeback Protection for card purchases
  
  

What I already know:
- The payment has cleared via paypal, but still unclaimed by the seller according to my Barclaycard information

This makes very little sense as it sounds that Paypal sent money without getting it from your card.

Im just wondering what you guys know on this kind of thing, will my credit card cover me for this?

Section 75 protection will not apply as Paypal was in the middle, but Chargeback is a possibility if you are persistent enough.

glentoran99

just open a paypal case, on both transactions if he cant provide proof of delivery you will be refunded, if its showing as unclaimed on your paypal you can cancel the transaction

not sure why it wouldnt be in his bank, when i withdraw from paypal its instant

mcmaze

when you open a case with PayPal, PayPal will hold the money and the seller won't be able to withdraw the money. If he had already withdrawn the money, as per PayPal buyer protection terms, they will only refund one payment, unless you proof to them that each transaction was for a separate item. If you are saying the payment is still showing as not claimed, you can cancel the payment, click on the small arrow next to "unclaimed" icon and you will have an option to cancel the payment.

chattychappy

grumbler wrote: »

Section 75 protection will not apply as Paypal was in the middle,

Yep this is the current thinking, though I would always keep the details/copy paperwork in a situation such as this. It is always possible that in the future there will be some court ruling which will change things. It has never been tested and I remember seeing some good legal argument that it might apply. S75 never anticipated the likes of Paypal. Until there is a such a ruling, CCs won't be paying out on S75 in situations such as this.

Also, just for completeness, S75 does protect the OP in their relationship with Paypal in the event of misrep/breach of contract by them (ie Paypal itself).

[Deleted User]

Did you buy on Ebay? They will almost always "lock" payments for high risk goods unless you have lots of feedback and will release it to the seller once you have given positive feedback (or 21 days I think it is).

Its to stop scammers selling expensive items they dont have then taking the money out of paypal and doing a runner.

Ebay will have told them to post the item as they won't see any money until they do.

NiftyDigits

camelot1971 wrote: »

Did you buy on Ebay? They will almost always "lock" payments for high risk goods unless you have lots of feedback and will release it to the seller once you have given positive feedback (or 21 days I think it is).

Its to stop scammers selling expensive items they dont have then taking the money out of paypal and doing a runner.

Ebay will have told them to post the item as they won't see any money until they do.

This is almost certainly why the OP was advised by the 'seller' to send the money elsewhere.
Though since he suggests that he was 'refunded' the first payment, I don't understand why he is claiming there are two payments of £500...unless the laptop was £1000(?!)

jimmyrambo

Ok guys updates… Yes the laptop was £1000! Also, yeah im aware now i cant be covered section 75 due to paypal being involved. Paypal and ebay will NOT cover me due to it being outside ebay and in 2 split payments.

As for chargeback…

Ive called the credit card company for a chargeback but they said they have to wait until the payment appears on my statement on 15/08!!!! Should i keep pressing? Ive already called them 4 times and still get the same result.

Im assuming the seller has withdrawn the money as its cleared on paypal. Ive reported them to fraud who will let me know if they can help within the next few days.

glentoran99

jimmyrambo wrote: »

Ok guys updates… Yes the laptop was £1000! Also, yeah im aware now i cant be covered section 75 due to paypal being involved. Paypal and ebay will NOT cover me due to it being outside ebay and in 2 split payments.

As for chargeback…

Ive called the credit card company for a chargeback but they said they have to wait until the payment appears on my statement on 15/08!!!! Should i keep pressing? Ive already called them 4 times and still get the same result.

Im assuming the seller has withdrawn the money as its cleared on paypal. Ive reported them to fraud who will let me know if they can help within the next few days.

Thats not true, Paypal covers for things outside of ebay, have you actually opened a case on paypal and claimed non receipt on both transacations? Or did you not say you were paying for goods?

2 transactions is a red herring, You paid £500 for something you havent recieved, Twice treat them like that and open the cases on paypal now

jimmyrambo

Well ive opened the case anyway for both payments. Now i am literally waiting by the computer for the transactions to appear on my barclaycard statement... Dont think ive ever been this stressed with money. Ive even had texts from the scammer on another phone warning me not to contact them as they have handed the laptop to the police!! The lies dont stop.

chattychappy

Personally I don't "buy" the idea that the transaction can only be disputed after it has appeared on a statement...