Computer on eBay

[Democreature]

What is the name of your state? New Mexico

I won a computer on ebay, I sent the money to the seller (through PayPay) and waited. He was to send it 2nd day, it never arrived. I was able to get the sellers contact information, I've called and left messages but have never heard from him. With the information provided, I was able to locate him in Missouri. I also found out that he is on probation for the next couple of years. At this point I just want my money back. What kind of action if any can I file to retrive my money? If I was to file a complaint where would it be filed and with whom?

Reuben

 

[racer72]

File for a payback through Paypal, if there is any money in the guy's account, they will give it to you. Don't hold your breath though. Other than that, you can try to sue the guy in his home state. Let me guess, the guy had a feedback rating of about 10 and they were all very recent?

 

[JustAPal00]

Paypal offers buyer protection. Here is a link to their buyer protection plan!
http://pages.ebay.com/help/tp/paypal-protection.html

 

[Democreature]

He closed his account on eBay, PayPal was trying to help however they were unsuccessfull.

 

[JustAPal00]

Here is there Buyer Protection Plan

PayPal Buyer Protection helps you in the event that you do not receive your item or the item is significantly different from its description in the seller's listing. An item is covered by PayPal Buyer Protection if it meets the following eligibility requirements.

1. You purchase your item on eBay.
2. You must use PayPal to pay for the item, and use the seller's email address associated with the listing. To make sure of this, use the gray Pay Now button when the eBay listing ends.
3. The seller's eBay listing is for a physical item. Services and intangible items are not covered.
4. You may only file one claim per PayPal payment.
5. Claims must be filed within 45 days of the PayPal payment.
6. You must fulfill all the PayPal Buyer Protection requirements.

When did you purchase the item? How much was it? It doesn't matter if the buyer closed his account! If it's been over 45 days you're screwed!

 

[JETX]

Here is there Buyer Protection Plan

And of course, their buyer 'protection plan' is a bunch of crap. PayPal is owned by ebay.... and all they care about is getting sellers to post their stuff so that they get their listing fees and seller fees. They care only about the sellers... and don't care about the buyers at all. They make 100% of their income from sellers.... and 0% from buyers. Who do you think they are going to protect??

If PayPal and ebay wanted to eliminate fraud and scammers on their site, it could be done very simply (as I have already advised them).
1) At least have the intelligence to VERIFY their 'customer' information. I got scammed by someone with a bogus address, bogus phone number (not even the same area code as the address), it was only for $10... but the principle is still there.
2) Include a notice in their TOS that upon any proven complaint, they will release the scammers information (name, address, email information, bank/credit card provider (no number), etc.) to the victim. Right now they hide behind 'privacy' laws, which would be waived with TOS notice.
3) Include a 'legal jurisdiction' notice in their TOS that seller agrees to the buyers state having both criminal and civil jurisdiction in any proven dispute.
Then, after a complaint is filed with PayPal or ebay and they PROVE its validity, help the VICTIM by providing sufficient information to pursue the scammer.

 

[JustAPal00]

And of course, their buyer 'protection plan' is a bunch of crap. PayPal is owned by ebay.... and all they care about is getting sellers to post their stuff so that they get their listing fees and seller fees. They care only about the sellers... and don't care about the buyers at all. They make 100% of their income from sellers.... and 0% from buyers. Who do you think they are going to protect??

If PayPal and ebay wanted to eliminate fraud and scammers on their site, it could be done very simply (as I have already advised them).
1) At least have the intelligence to VERIFY their 'customer' information. I got scammed by someone with a bogus address, bogus phone number (not even the same area code as the address), it was only for $10... but the principle is still there.
2) Include a notice in their TOS that upon any proven complaint, they will release the scammers information (name, address, email information, bank/credit card provider (no number), etc.) to the victim. Right now they hide behind 'privacy' laws, which would be waived with TOS notice.
3) Include a 'legal jurisdiction' notice in their TOS that seller agrees to the buyers state having both criminal and civil jurisdiction in any proven dispute.
Then, after a complaint is filed with PayPal or ebay and they PROVE its validity, help the VICTIM by providing sufficient information to pursue the scammer.

Their buyer protection plan works. Have seen it used many times. PayPal is owned by ebay, but uses Visa and MasterCard. If you follow their directions, you're covered!

 

[JETX]

PayPal is owned by ebay, but uses Visa and MasterCard. If you follow their directions, you're covered!

What the hell are you talking about??
It makes NO difference if the scammer has a Visa or MasterCard... as they are not the VICTIM here.
If the VICTIM uses funds from his account to make payment and is scammed... PayPal says tough crap.
I still have PayPal accounts (two of them), but I leave them close to ZERO balance just for this reason (well, also to prevent them from making money using MY money to float).

 

[JustAPal00]

What the hell are you talking about??
It makes NO difference if the scammer has a Visa or MasterCard... as they are not the VICTIM here.
If the VICTIM uses funds from his account to make payment and is scammed... PayPal says tough crap.
I still have PayPal accounts (two of them), but I leave them close to ZERO balance just for this reason (well, also to prevent them from making money using MY money to float).

Man you senior citizens oops I mean members are slow! Visa and MasterCard offer protection for fraudulent charges. It's no sweat off PayPals back if if you don't get your goods. The whole system is run as a credit card purchase so the buyer gets the protection that they get anytime they use a credit card. What kind of account the seller has doesn't matter.

 

[Zigner]

Man you senior citizens oops I mean members are slow! Visa and MasterCard offer protection for fraudulent charges. It's no sweat off PayPals back if if you don't get your goods. The whole system is run as a credit card purchase so the buyer gets the protection that they get anytime they use a credit card. What kind of account the seller has doesn't matter.

You have just shown that you don't know what you're talking about. Yes, the use MC & Visa, but I, for one, started mine based on a checking account. What good does it do then? And, please speak up...my hearing's not what it used to be...too many loud Glenn Miller records I suppose.

 

[Democreature]

Using eBays contact information, I was able to get the users name and phone number. With PayPay I was able to get the email address where my payment was sent to. Using an internet search for the email address, I found the seller: correct name. All information: name, location, phone number and email address, leads to this guy. I contacted the seller via email he denied everything. How would I go about getting information as to the owner of the bank account where my payment was sent to?

 

[seniorjudge]

Using eBays contact information, I was able to get the users name and phone number. With PayPay I was able to get the email address where my payment was sent to. Using an internet search for the email address, I found the seller: correct name. All information: name, location, phone number and email address, leads to this guy. I contacted the seller via email he denied everything. How would I go about getting information as to the owner of the bank account where my payment was sent to?

Are you willing to go to another state to sue the bad person?

 

[JustAPal00]

Using eBays contact information, I was able to get the users name and phone number. With PayPay I was able to get the email address where my payment was sent to. Using an internet search for the email address, I found the seller: correct name. All information: name, location, phone number and email address, leads to this guy. I contacted the seller via email he denied everything. How would I go about getting information as to the owner of the bank account where my payment was sent to?

You don't need to do all that. Have you filed an Item Not Received or Significantly Not as Described report with ebay yet? If not that is the first thing you do. Paypal WILL refund you a MINIMUM of $200 no matter what after all the steps of the process are completed. You have to follow the steps! If your purchase met their minimum standards, you WILL receive your full purchase amount including shipping up to $2000. Those requirements are listed below!

Every item on eBay (except Live Auctions and vehicles) that meets the above requirements is eligible for PayPal Buyer Protection up to $200.00 USD (Basic Tier Coverage Amount), but items are only eligible for PayPal Buyer Protection up to $2,000.00 USD (Top Tier Coverage Amount) and should be identified as eligible items in the eBay listing if:

seller's eBay feedback rating is at least 50;
At least 98% of the seller's eBay feedback is positive;
The seller has a Verified Premier or Verified Business Account in good standing;
The listing was on an eligible eBay site (eBay.com and certain other eBay sites self identified as such)
PayPal is listed as an acceptable payment method; and
The seller is a PayPal User from one of the following countries:

- Argentina - Italy - Austria - Jamaica - Australia - Japan - Belgium - Korea - Brazil
- Mexico - Canada - Netherlands - Chile - New Zealand - China - Norway
- Czech Republic - Poland - Denmark - Portugal - Ecuador - Singapore
- Finland - Sweden - France - Spain - Germany - Switzerland - Greece - Taiwan
- Hong Kong - Thailand - Hungary - United Kingdom - India - United States
- Ireland - Uruguay

 

[JETX]

You don't need to do all that. Have you filed an Item Not Received or Significantly Not as Described report with ebay yet? If not that is the first thing you do. Paypal WILL refund you a MINIMUM of $200 no matter what after all the steps of the process are completed. You have to follow the steps! If your purchase met their minimum standards, you WILL receive your full purchase amount including shipping up to $2000.

You must be one of those idiots who work for PayPal... since just like them, you don't know crap.

Here is VERBATIM, the response I got from PayPal:
"After careful review, we have concluded our investigation of the Buyer Complaint described below.

We have decided in your favor, however, we were unable to recover any funds from the seller's account. As stated in the PayPal User Agreement, recovery of funds associated with a Buyer Complaint cannot be guaranteed.

Please know that we will make our best effort to recover the funds in question if they become available in the seller's account in the future and will take appropriate action against the seller. Such action may include issuing a warning, a temporary restriction, or terminating the account.
Keep in mind that PayPal uses a number of factors to determine when to take action, including member complaints. Due to privacy laws, we cannot discuss the details of any action taken. We hope you understand our policy and that it assures you that you are safe using PayPal."

Of course, I sued the ******* in a 'John Doe' suit, served PayPal with a subpoena to get his information... and got a judgment against him. And yep, I collected it with $2000 in legal fees. After all that, I had some of my friends in blue stop by his place... and they managed to find a few citations they could give him.
Regrettably, not everyone has the ability to pursue and litigate as I can.

 

[JustAPal00]

You must be one of those idiots who work for PayPal... since just like them, you don't know crap.

Here is VERBATIM, the response I got from PayPal:
"After careful review, we have concluded our investigation of the Buyer Complaint described below.

We have decided in your favor, however, we were unable to recover any funds from the seller's account. As stated in the PayPal User Agreement, recovery of funds associated with a Buyer Complaint cannot be guaranteed.

Please know that we will make our best effort to recover the funds in question if they become available in the seller's account in the future and will take appropriate action against the seller. Such action may include issuing a warning, a temporary restriction, or terminating the account.
Keep in mind that PayPal uses a number of factors to determine when to take action, including member complaints. Due to privacy laws, we cannot discuss the details of any action taken. We hope you understand our policy and that it assures you that you are safe using PayPal."

Of course, I sued the ******* in a 'John Doe' suit, served PayPal with a subpoena to get his information... and got a judgment against him. And yep, I collected it with $2000 in legal fees. After all that, I had some of my friends in blue stop by his place... and they managed to find a few citations they could give him.
Regrettably, not everyone has the ability to pursue and litigate as I can.

You must not have purchased the item on ebay! Ebay uses the "PayPal Buyer Protection Policy" not the "PayPal Buyer Complaint Policy" that is noted in your letter. There is a big difference. Since the OP purchased the computer on ebay your experiences would have no bearing on the discussion!

13. Disputes between Buyers and Sellers - Buyer Protection Programs.

13.1) Buyer Protection Programs. If you buy an item using PayPal and either do not receive the item or receive an item that you believe is Significantly Not as Described by the seller, we encourage you to open a Dispute with the seller in our Resolution Center. By doing so, you will initiate our Online Dispute Resolution Process—a step-by-step system designed to facilitate communication between you and the seller in order to get resolution of the issue. If your dialogue with the seller fails to produce a satisfactory result, you can then escalate the Dispute into a Claim that we will evaluate for reimbursement under one of the following programs:

a.) PayPal Buyer Complaint Policy - Our best efforts program to reimburse Users for losses only to the extent we are able to recover the funds from sellers.

b.)PayPal Buyer Protection Policy - Our program to reimburse Users for losses for up to (i) $2,000.00 USD (Top Tier Coverage Amount) for eligible items purchased on eBay and (ii) up to $200.00 USD (Basic Tier Coverage Amount) for all other eligible items purchased on eBay and for eligible items purchased outside of eBay that PayPal processed through the ATM debit network. Please see section 13.9 to determine whether Top Tier Coverage Amount or Basic Tier Coverage Amount applies to your eBay purchase.