eBay Vehicle Purchase - No Car - HELP!

What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state?I live in California, the seller lives in Mississippi.

Won an auction on 10/24/04 for a 1993 Honda Accord, paid deposit of $500 via PayPal and the rest by cashier's check ($1350). Listing stated that the title may take up to 6-8 weeks to clear. Three months later, after many phone calls from me and multiple excuses from the seller, still no title or car. Seller very difficult to contact, but when I do, he has other excuses why I can't contact him (lost phone, changed phone number, etc) and why he hasn't got the title. Finally three weeks ago he stated that he can't get the title clear, and will refund my money. Well since then I have not been able to contact him, either by phone or email. I have left messages with his relatives who see him regularly, and I have sent him a letter by FedEx which his wife signed for, and I have even talked to others who use his cell phone who tell me that they will tell him I called, but no response.

I've filed a complaint with eBay, but since it over their time limit of 35 days, they won't help. Trying to use Square Trade met with no success since the seller will not respond. Also a complaint with the Internet Fraud Commission met with no help.

So what do I do now? Do I contact the Attorney General in Mississippi? Can I file a small claim in California or do I have to go to the seller's county? Do I ask the local police for help? The way I look at it this is the same as car theft so isn't this just as bad as someone carjacking your car?

Any help is appreciated. I'm at my wit's end and am losing sleep over this.

Thanks,

-Ken-

You are out of luck. The only way to file suit would be to do so where he is at. The costs would probably not be worth it. You should never have sent that much money and waited this long. For large purchases you should at a minimum use an escrow account. This is a large lessoned learned.

Sheesh, is it unreasonable to expect the ebay posters to perform a search prior to posting?

Ms_Monica said:

Yes, there are things you can do. Unfortunately, I don't know exactly what,

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WOW!!! What a wonderful post. Since this is a LEGAL advice forum, I would hope that next time you would at least have SOME idea of what to do.... BEFORE you post.

kennylow said:

So what do I do now?

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You can do most all of your 'suggestions'. See below.

Do I contact the Attorney General in Mississippi?

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You can do that, but it won't do any good. The AG's office does NOT get involved in this type of complaint. And though some people may try to tell you that the AG will help through their consumer protection, most states won't unless they have numerous complaints against the same person.

Can I file a small claim in California or do I have to go to the seller's county?

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You can file in your county, but the defendant can file a motion to dismiss. If they do, then you can request a hearing in the CA court and argue your case that CA has jurisdiction (since you and ebay are both in CA).

Do I ask the local police for help?

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You can contact the local police where the seller lives and see if they will take a long-distance complaint..... some will, some won't.

JETX said:

WOW!!! What a wonderful post. Since this is a LEGAL advice forum, I would hope that next time you would at least have SOME idea of what to do.... BEFORE you post.

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LOL ... well, I figured at the very least that would give him some moral support and someplace else to look until someone knowledgeable came along. I see we're still waiting for that someone ... why did you compose that whole wordy reply when you could have summed it up by saying you didn't know? (like I did)

Monica_M said:

LOL ... well, I figured at the very least that would give him some moral support and someplace else to look until someone knowledgeable came along. I see we're still waiting for that someone ... why did you compose that whole wordy reply when you could have summed it up by saying you didn't know? (like I did)

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This is a legal advice site, not a moral support site. All his questions were answered. Not sure what you are waiting for unless it's the legal aid fairy to jump down and hand him his money.

Monica_M said:

you could have summed it up by saying you didn't know? (like I did)

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I knew.... and answered. Something you clearly didn't.

Wow, I didn't expect the Spanish Inquisition!

Yes, an extensive search of this forum was done before posting, even though I'm just a lowly eBay idiot. Sorry to bother your precious group.

Thanks JETX, you have giving me some direction of where to go. As you can tell, I'm a bit fustrated with this bozo who "sold" me this car. In hindsight, I would have done things much differently when sending money and dealing with the seller. At least I have things pretty well documented, so I'll pursue the local police and small claims arena.

-Ken-