Ever been ripped off?

[Neapolitan Ice Cream]

Once, a long time ago, I sold an expensive laptop over the internet. Being the innocent little sprout that I was, I agreed to send it out to the buyer and receive payment upon delivery.

That payment - nigh on a thousand - never came.

Of course I kicked up a fuss, got the police involved, but the police being what they are, nothing ever came of it.

More fool me.

 

[chickapin parterre]

BIG TIME!!!! 1982,,, saved enogh money to buy a car in the army.....all kinds of advice, wanted a new car, but senior officers told not a wise choiec....so bought a used car, in new york...part of the rust belt, from a solider on base....pile of junk and no recourse...had ulcers for a long time and still haunts me to this day, $2,000.00 down the tow hole junk yard. solider knew that the car could not be re liecenses in the state and was dangerous to drive....any rusted VW ghia is dangerous.

 

[JimMIA]

Once, a long time ago, I sold an expensive laptop over the internet. Being the innocent little sprout that I was, I agreed to send it out to the buyer and receive payment upon delivery.

That payment - nigh on a thousand - never came.

Of course I kicked up a fuss, got the police involved, but the police being what they are, nothing ever came of it.

More fool me.

That's a civil matter. You entered into a contract. You fulfilled your end of the contract, but the other person did not.

What do you expect the police to do?

You weren't "ripped off." You were careless.

 

[Neapolitan Ice Cream]

That's a civil matter. You entered into a contract. You fulfilled your end of the contract, but the other person did not.

What do you expect the police to do?

You weren't "ripped off." You were careless.

As I said, more fool me.

Let this be a lesson to people. Always follow eBay rules! Payment first, then release of the goods. Use protection where you can to protect yourself. PayPal offers Goods and Services protection for a 4% fee; I believe credit cards also offer by law extensive protection against such trading mishaps but I could be wrong.

 

[ashley0139]

Not that I have can remember, but I probably have been without even realizing it. Especially while traveling or something.

 

[spiders]

Well just today I had an interesting situation. I collect model airplanes. I sold one of them over the weekend on eBay. Now this guy did pay immediately and I immediately dropped it off at UPS. Well, over the weekend, a trusted source sent me a message warning me about this guy and how he's ripped off a few people by paying immediately, receiving the models he has been sent and then claiming damage after receipt. Since it's still in transit, I processed a UPS Delivery Intercept for them to return the package to me. I then issued the refund through eBay after confirmation that the intercept was successful.

He sent me several messages today, all through eBay, with various complaints. That's fine. What wasn't cool is when my cell phone rang and it was him. He left a voicemail telling me his complaints and then he said that I'm probably wondering how he got my number (spot on) and he said he got it from UPS. I am currently having a little fit with them now...the supervisor who initially called me back was pretty condescending -- the first thing she did was say, "sweetie, we don't do that." Then she went on to tell me how my phone number is on the label -- that is true but then I told her, "But he never got the package so..." The previous rep had already confirmed with me that the dude had in fact called into the call center earlier that day.

 

[bushdianee]

It is only $35 but it still makes me mad. I saw ad ad for some cute customized crocs on Facebook. I ordered a pair for my niece for Christmas. That was Nov. 10, I have yet to receive anything but a bunch of fake promises and excuses. When I started researching the company I found that their Facebook page had been shut down for good. I found their website which is still up but only has positive reviews. Not too long ago I received what looked like a real shipping notice with a tracking number that when clicked on said the shipping label had been printed and they were waiting for pick up. @ months later it still says that. I ended up buying my niece another gift but she really wanted those crocs.

 

[JimMIA]

I believe credit cards also offer by law extensive protection against such trading mishaps but I could be wrong.

That's incorrect.

You can file a dispute with your credit card company if a product or service was not delivered, was unsatisfactory, etc.

However, it is the sole discretion of the merchant whether or not they issue any refund. Most reputable merchants will refund reasonable claims, but not all.

We had a situation with Kaplan Test Prep where we paid $700 for in-person test-taking skills classes at the University of Miami. The instructor did not show for 3 of the first 5 classes, and re-scheduled one of the others after no-showing. He no-showed 4 out of the first 5 classes.

We pulled DD out of their class and asked for a refund, but they declined -- saying the instructor would eventually fulfill all of the class requirements.

Slimy company, but we had no complaint with our credit card company.

 

[starry_solo]

Well just today I had an interesting situation. I collect model airplanes. I sold one of them over the weekend on eBay. Now this guy did pay immediately and I immediately dropped it off at UPS. Well, over the weekend, a trusted source sent me a message warning me about this guy and how he's ripped off a few people by paying immediately, receiving the models he has been sent and then claiming damage after receipt. Since it's still in transit, I processed a UPS Delivery Intercept for them to return the package to me. I then issued the refund through eBay after confirmation that the intercept was successful.

He sent me several messages today, all through eBay, with various complaints. That's fine. What wasn't cool is when my cell phone rang and it was him. He left a voicemail telling me his complaints and then he said that I'm probably wondering how he got my number (spot on) and he said he got it from UPS. I am currently having a little fit with them now...the supervisor who initially called me back was pretty condescending -- the first thing she did was say, "sweetie, we don't do that." Then she went on to tell me how my phone number is on the label -- that is true but then I told her, "But he never got the package so..." The previous rep had already confirmed with me that the dude had in fact called into the call center earlier that day.

Don't be too pissed off. He could have gotten it from ebay too.

 

[1GoldenSun]

When I was a new, single homeowner in my early 20s, a man from down the street asked me if I wanted my trees trimmed. He was already trimming my neighbor's trees and saw that I had some that needed it. He was correct in that I had a couple large oak trees with some dead limbs. I had had it priced and was waiting until I had a little more money, and this guy offered a much better price.

Well, he came over and cut one limb, then I didn't see him for a while. He also hadn't finished my neighbors' trees. He finally showed up and said he had had to get his chainsaw repaired but he needed payment so he could get it out of the shop. I was young and dumb and I paid him. I never saw him again. Apparently he did the same thing all over the neighborhood, with resounding success. Turned out he was the nephew of an elderly couple down the street. He was having some difficulties, and they took him in and bought him a chainsaw to help him get set up in business for himself. They were heartsick.

I felt bad about the money I was out, but I felt worse for this poor couple. I know they would have liked to have paid us all back for the money we lost but this was a very modest neighborhood and nobody was rich, and they were an old couple on a fixed income. I was young and working and could earn more money, but I did feel so bad for the couple and for all my neighbors who really couldn't afford to pay for tree-trimming that never happened.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Well just today I had an interesting situation. I collect model airplanes. I sold one of them over the weekend on eBay. Now this guy did pay immediately and I immediately dropped it off at UPS. Well, over the weekend, a trusted source sent me a message warning me about this guy and how he's ripped off a few people by paying immediately, receiving the models he has been sent and then claiming damage after receipt. Since it's still in transit, I processed a UPS Delivery Intercept for them to return the package to me. I then issued the refund through eBay after confirmation that the intercept was successful.

He sent me several messages today, all through eBay, with various complaints. That's fine. What wasn't cool is when my cell phone rang and it was him. He left a voicemail telling me his complaints and then he said that I'm probably wondering how he got my number (spot on) and he said he got it from UPS. I am currently having a little fit with them now...the supervisor who initially called me back was pretty condescending -- the first thing she did was say, "sweetie, we don't do that." Then she went on to tell me how my phone number is on the label -- that is true but then I told her, "But he never got the package so..." The previous rep had already confirmed with me that the dude had in fact called into the call center earlier that day.

Why did you cancel his order off of hearsay? Trusted source or not the buyer hadn't actually done anything yet. I think I would be upset too. Of course there is a possibility he could have claimed damage just like the person said but you had no actual proof of it. Now should he be calling you? No he should not. Communication selling and buying wise is usually better to have physical communication like e-mail or conversations within a service to serve as proof.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

It is only $35 but it still makes me mad. I saw ad ad for some cute customized crocs on Facebook. I ordered a pair for my niece for Christmas. That was Nov. 10, I have yet to receive anything but a bunch of fake promises and excuses. When I started researching the company I found that their Facebook page had been shut down for good. I found their website which is still up but only has positive reviews. Not too long ago I received what looked like a real shipping notice with a tracking number that when clicked on said the shipping label had been printed and they were waiting for pick up. @ months later it still says that. I ended up buying my niece another gift but she really wanted those crocs.

My mother-in-law had that happen really early on in the pandemic with masks (that have exhalation valves so none of us would have worn them anyways) she had bought off of a FB ad she saw. I think she was out about $150 though because she bought multiple masks. The thing was it was super easy to tell that this was a scam site, googling the name brought up all sorts of bad reviews and the website was brand new and the syntax very off. Sometimes these sites are clever and they look very real so it can be hard at times to figure out what's good and what's bad.

 

[spiders]

Don't be too pissed off. He could have gotten it from ebay too.

I highly doubt that. The last thing eBay wants anyone to do is exchange contact information outside of the eBay messaging system. That's how buyers/sellers begin to conduct business off eBay and avoiding fees. He also told me he got it from UPS which I tend to believe on that and then UPS confirmed he called them. The most you would ever get from eBay is an email address after you've been paid. You could then login to PayPal and see the person's email. But eBay no longer allows sellers to be paid directly by PayPal. eBay now receives the money and then direct deposits it into your account so the only way you'll ever exchange contact information is by including it in the box.

Why did you cancel his order off of hearsay? Trusted source or not the buyer hadn't actually done anything yet. I think I would be upset too. Of course there is a possibility he could have claimed damage just like the person said but you had no actual proof of it. Now should he be calling you? No he should not. Communication selling and buying wise is usually better to have physical communication like e-mail or conversations within a service to serve as proof.

That is very true and I have refrained from saying much to him because in all reality, he paid promptly. However, I have reviewed enough to see that he has done retracted bids on the exact same model in the past. If this model were $50 then I'd probably roll the dice but this one was $400. At the end of the day, it is a seller initiated cancellation so I will absorb the cost of shipping plus the intercept fee.

 

[bcla]

Sure. Fell for a few tourist scams while overseas, but they weren't too bad. One time it cost me about the equivalent of $10, although that would be a lot of money for the people who scammed me. That was for a fairly common "out of fuel" scam.

We went on a paid tour that cost about $30 per person in Bangkok, Thailand arranged at our hotel's tour desk. The tour itself (in a van) was fine, but the end was at a jewelry factory and another factory where I'm pretty sure they get a commission on any sales. We didn't want to go onto the next factory store stop and asked if we could be returned to our hotel (where the van picked us up). They sent a driver to pick us up but then he ran out of fuel. I think he did legitimately run out of fuel, but it might have been intentional. The driver spoke enough English to tell us that he needed about the equivalent of $10 and that we would get it back through our hotel tour desk. We didn't have any other choice other than to get out and walk, so we ponied up and hoped they were sincere. He came back with a gas can and put it in, and we were back to our hotel. I asked the next day at the tour desk and was told they didn't have anything for us. However, I've heard stories of a similar scam with boat tours where someone might be stuck on the water. That often feels more like extortion.

 

[prairie_girl]

I had a neighbour who used to pick up my daughter and watch her for about an hour a day through the week. She didn’t have to do any cooking or anything, just watch my daughter til I got home from work. I can’t remember what I paid her, but it wasn’t much. She was 16 or 17, I don’t remember. She knocked on my door one night and asked if she could have $100 advance because she needed to buy something for school. I said sure, gave her the money, and didn’t give it a second thought.

Two days later she let me know she couldn’t babysit anymore so I asked for the money back. She said sure, she’d have it in a few days. I asked for three weeks for the money back and it was always excuse after excuse. We lived side by side in a townhouse and one morning I woke up and found that they had moved out in the middle of the night. Of course, she never answered the phone when I would call her.

 

[starry_solo]

I highly doubt that. The last thing eBay wants anyone to do is exchange contact information outside of the eBay messaging system. That's how buyers/sellers begin to conduct business off eBay and avoiding fees. He also told me he got it from UPS which I tend to believe on that and then UPS confirmed he called them. The most you would ever get from eBay is an email address after you've been paid. You could then login to PayPal and see the person's email. But eBay no longer allows sellers to be paid directly by PayPal. eBay now receives the money and then direct deposits it into your account so the only way you'll ever exchange contact information is by including it in the box.

I don’t think eBay has removed the option, but there is an option to get the parties’ contact information in order to resolve issues. The person requesting it has to be the buyer or seller and when eBay sends the information to them, the other party also gets the information about the person requesting it.

you also are absorbing all eBay and PayPal fees. Those don’t get refunded unless there’s an appropriate reason. PayPal fees don’t ever get refunded either.

 

[barkley]

However, it is the sole discretion of the merchant whether or not they issue any refund.

i believe the credit card company can reverse the charge though with no recourse on the merchant's part. i had an experience with a company that i didn't find out until i started having a problem with a purchase had a horrific reputation for not issuing refunds. i did a dispute through amex and as soon as the company got word they contacted me (via email) and made a number of outlandish threats. i suspected the threats were in violation of their merchant agreement with amex so i called amex up and filled them in. they asked for a copy of the email, contacted me back in less than 24 hours and said (followed up with a letter to me verifying) that they were dismissing the dispute in favor of reversing the charge in full to my account.

 

[spiders]

I don’t think eBay has removed the option, but there is an option to get the parties’ contact information in order to resolve issues. The person requesting it has to be the buyer or seller and when eBay sends the information to them, the other party also gets the information about the person requesting it.

you also are absorbing all eBay and PayPal fees. Those don’t get refunded unless there’s an appropriate reason. PayPal fees don’t ever get refunded either.

That is not true. eBay specifically wants you to use their messaging system only to communicate. There are no fees involving a cancelled order as they all get credited back during the refund but it will count as a defect but that is not a monetary fee.

 

[Neapolitan Ice Cream]

That's incorrect.

You can file a dispute with your credit card company if a product or service was not delivered, was unsatisfactory, etc.

However, it is the sole discretion of the merchant whether or not they issue any refund. Most reputable merchants will refund reasonable claims, but not all.

We had a situation with Kaplan Test Prep where we paid $700 for in-person test-taking skills classes at the University of Miami. The instructor did not show for 3 of the first 5 classes, and re-scheduled one of the others after no-showing. He no-showed 4 out of the first 5 classes.

We pulled DD out of their class and asked for a refund, but they declined -- saying the instructor would eventually fulfill all of the class requirements.

Slimy company, but we had no complaint with our credit card company.

See, I find that interesting. In the past, if I've made a purchase with my credit card that looks unusual, my credit card company will contact me and ask if it was indeed me who made the transaction; if it wasn't, they refund me in full, no quibbles. Equally, in the past, when I have made a dodgy transaction (cheap sunglasses), I've just contacted my credit card company and within 5 minutes my funds are back in my account.

 

[lovesmurfs]

We did. Actually, DH did. He knew someone in passing who was apparently renovating jukeboxes and reselling. The guy landed him by borrowing $1,000 then giving back $1,250 a couple of times. Then he asked for $5,000, promising the same deal -- the guy ghosted DH after giving him some blah blah about his daughter getting sick. We asked for the money back when I was going to be off work for maternity leave - the guy just walked off the planet. It was back in 1999, so Ask Jeeves couldn't find him.

I still search his name every once in a while on a lark.