ebay scam advise

towneytowney

Hi
My wife bought a book box set back on the 13th Aug 2015 from an ebay seller. She paid on credit card. The items value was £32. The box set turned up 3 days later and she thought nothing of if.

Now on the 21st Dec she has received a letter from a book wholesaler saying they are going to begin criminal proceedings against her for handling stolen goods. They have sent a report including order details ect.

What we think has happened from the paper work the wholesaler has sent is.

1) My wife orders book from ebayer seller.
2) They have then order from the book wholesaler, the box set on a stolen credit card and put the shipping and billing address as my wife's
3) books get delivered and we think nothing of it.
4) Stolen credit card is reported a few months later and the money is removed from the wholesalers account by credit card company.
5) Guessing they have no luck tracing the ebay seller so hence letter to the wife.

We are waiting to hear what her credit card company have to say. Ebay have been C**p. Took 40 minutes on the phone to their overseas call center to get them to understand the problem. They have yet to do anything or offer advice.

Has anyone seen this scam before?
any advise on if we should pay the wholesaler?
Is this an ebay issue?

Thanks in advance

Richard

forgotmyname

Offer them the books back if they pay for or arrange collection.

Dont forget to let them know the condition of the, if you have written in them as they were gifts or kids have damaged pages etc.

Or just ignore the letter.

ballisticbrian

I would ask them for the evidence that the item was actually delivered to you, because if they had been able to prove proof of delivery to the registered credit card holder's address to the credit card company, then the chargeback would have failed. Just a guess.

mrcol1000

It sounds like they are just trying it on. Or it is a scam. Either way I would just ignore it. Either way they are hoping to scare you in to paying up. If they have been Victim of a scam it is their problem not yours. They are just hoping that you will pay up in the hope it will go away. Don't reply to any letter from them as soon as you do, they will have you.

George_Michael

towneytowney wrote: »

she has received a letter from a book wholesaler saying they are going to begin criminal proceedings against her for handling stolen goods.

If they had any legal knowledge, they would know that for an offence of handling stolen goods to exist, there must be knowledge or suspicion that the goods have been stolen, something that isn't the case here as your wife paid for the books.

POPPYOSCAR

towneytowney wrote: »

Hi
My wife bought a book box set back on the 13th Aug 2015 from an ebay seller. She paid on credit card. The items value was £32. The box set turned up 3 days later and she thought nothing of if.

Now on the 21st Dec she has received a letter from a book wholesaler saying they are going to begin criminal proceedings against her for handling stolen goods. They have sent a report including order details ect.

What we think has happened from the paper work the wholesaler has sent is.

1) My wife orders book from ebayer seller.
2) They have then order from the book wholesaler, the box set on a stolen credit card and put the shipping and billing address as my wife's
3) books get delivered and we think nothing of it.
4) Stolen credit card is reported a few months later and the money is removed from the wholesalers account by credit card company.
5) Guessing they have no luck tracing the ebay seller so hence letter to the wife.

We are waiting to hear what her credit card company have to say. Ebay have been C**p. Took 40 minutes on the phone to their overseas call center to get them to understand the problem. They have yet to do anything or offer advice.

Has anyone seen this scam before?
any advise on if we should pay the wholesaler?
Is this an ebay issue?

Thanks in advance

Richard

Reported a few months later, how does it take months for stolen credit card to be reported?

boliston

Private criminal proceedings are very rare and certainly NOT for anything so trivial - the very suggestion guarantees this is a scam and best ignored.

RFW

boliston wrote: »

Private criminal proceedings are very rare and certainly NOT for anything so trivial - the very suggestion guarantees this is a scam and best ignored.

It seems a bit odd to be a scam. More likely the seller is taking a chance that the person who paid them is the person they delivered the items to and trying to frighten the buyer into paying. It may well have happened to them several times, it could be a few hundred pounds stacking up. If that were me I'd chance sending a few letters out in the hope of recouping some money.

For the OP I'd get a copy of the Ebay receipt (item number, etc) and Paypal transaction and tell them to pursue the person they paid. I'd also say that any further attempts at harassment would be passed to the police and Trading Standards.

hollydays

I'd contact them saying, please forward me the crime number ASAP so I can discuss with the police.
If someone accused me of handling stolen goods ( and you havent done here as has already been stated,) I'd be advising them to contact my solicitor with the allegations too)
Do not pay the wholesaler.who knows if it's a scam.