Bought ebay Item December 8th, never received

[knightwind]

What is the name of your state?Iowa
Hi, I purchased an item on ebay from a seller with 100% positive feedback. that was december 8th, 04. It was a custom made item but he told me i would have it before christmas. I emailed him several times as christmas was approaching, never getting a responce. In january i finally got a responce, and he claimed his friend was in an accident and he has been helping him, but he would get them out to me as soon as possible. A couple weeks later i emailed him and actually got a responce saying that it was being shipped the next day. That was around jan. 18th. by Febuary 8th i hadn't received anything and had emailed him at least 4 times, called and left messages with no responce. So, i finally tried to file a claim for non receipt of item with ebay and paypal, only to find out that i had missed the deadline by 1 day for filing, as it has to be within 60 days. Which doesn't make any since to me, i loose out because i gave him more time.
Anyway, i got ahold of him again and he said he was out of the country at that point and would check the tracking info on the package when he got back. never heard back from him, several emails and almost another month i still havn't heard anything. I called him today, he actually answered the phone, and as soon as i said who i was, he hung up...
At this point, since i payed for the item, and never recieved it, is there any legal recourse available??
thanks for any help
David

 

[teflon_jones]

If you know where he is, you can file a claim in small claims court in his county.

 

[knightwind]

ok, A couple of questions regarding small claims court. Are there any costs to me to file a small claims suit? Also, the guy i bought it from lives in texas, and i'm in Iowa. If i have to file in the county he's from, i presume that means i would actually have to go to the county he's from to file it?? The item i purchased was just under $50, so if i have to travel there, the expenses would be more than i payed for the item, would he also have to pay to reimburse my travel expenses, or how does that work?
On a side note, when ebay told me they wouldn't do anything since i had given him too much time to get it to me(which still baffles me) they suggested contact the police in his area, what would that actually acomplish, and what would i really tell them?
THank you again for your time
David

 

[racer72]

The only reimbursable moneys are what you sent to him and the filing and associated fees of the lawsuit. You cannot be reimbursed for any travel expenses.

 

[carolmarshall]

e-bay loss

Go back onto e-bay and post your experience under his name, since he has a 100% satisfaction rating, you could at least let others know what he did to you. Sorry about your losses, it gives all of us reason to be cautious.

 

[Kiernan]

If you had a bank linked to your PayPal account, then you should be able to dispute it with them pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act. If you had a Visa or MC linked to PayPal, even better.

Contact your bank (first by phone, then in writing) and tell them you ordered the merchandise on December 8th, and since it was a custom-made item you were expecting to receive it on February 19th. Normally, 30-days to receive an item shows sufficient time.

Include in your letter a copy of the email of the most recent contact you had with the seller.

Sign your letter, and include your account number.

If PayPal debited your account, then they took the responsibility for having faith in their Ebay seller. The burden of proof lies on the merchant (PayPal) to prove that you received that merchandise. Since you did not sign for it, they can not prove it, you have an instant win.

The 60-day time frame with your bank (prior to which you are protected by the FCRA) usually concerns fraud cases. In a case like this, your 60-days begin from the last date of contact with the merchant. In this case, at least Februray 8th, according to your post.

 

[1aja777]

The Fair Credit Reporting Act & eBay Fraud

If you had a bank linked to your PayPal account, then you should be able to dispute it with them pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act. If you had a Visa or MC linked to PayPal, even better.

Contact your bank (first by phone, then in writing) and tell them you ordered the merchandise on December 8th, and since it was a custom-made item you were expecting to receive it on February 19th. Normally, 30-days to receive an item shows sufficient time.

Include in your letter a copy of the email of the most recent contact you had with the seller.

Sign your letter, and include your account number.

If PayPal debited your account, then they took the responsibility for having faith in their Ebay seller. The burden of proof lies on the merchant (PayPal) to prove that you received that merchandise. Since you did not sign for it, they can not prove it, you have an instant win.

The 60-day time frame with your bank (prior to which you are protected by the FCRA) usually concerns fraud cases. In a case like this, your 60-days begin from the last date of contact with the merchant. In this case, at least Februray 8th, according to your post.

Where in the Fair Credit Reporting Act does it cover something like eBay fraud? I too was recently defrauded on eBay (2/15/05) for $316.99; I used PayPal which is linked to my checking account to pay for the fraudulent auction. PayPal eventually ruled in my favor and refunded me $200 minus a $25 service charge or $175 and terminated the fraudster's PayPal account (eBay also terminated his eBay account). I'm still left short $141.99; had I used PayPal's credit card then my loss would have been fully refunded less (perhaps) a $25 service charge. My bank said they couldn't do anything for me because I authorised PayPal to take the money out of my checking account to pay for the fraudulent auction. I became so infuriated with eBay & PayPal over the matter that I've since signed up for a couple class action lawsuites against eBay and perhaps one year I'll get the rest of my money back!!! Thanks in advance!