Ebay Scam - Can I sue?

[kevinreece]

I am just south of Charlotte, NC, and the other party is located in Charleston, WV. I purchased an item from him through ebay, sent payment by cashier's check, and he never delivered the item I purchased. I spent $455 on the item, and can't lose that kind of money and not get something in return. The item I purchased was for my small business, which I was going to resell for a profit.

I have several questions. Would I have to file small claims in the Charleston, WV area or in my area? Can I sue for the lost money that would have been gained from the re-sale of this item? Also, will I be able to recoup attorney's fees and court costs?

One last thing - if anybody knows the address of the small claims court and the maximum amount in WV that I can sue for, I'd really appreciate it.

Thanks!!!!!!

 

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

I am just south of Charlotte, NC, and the other party is located in Charleston, WV. I purchased an item from him through ebay, sent payment by cashier's check, and he never delivered the item I purchased. I spent $455 on the item, and can't lose that kind of money and not get something in return. The item I purchased was for my small business, which I was going to resell for a profit.

I have several questions. Would I have to file small claims in the Charleston, WV area or in my area? Can I sue for the lost money that would have been gained from the re-sale of this item? Also, will I be able to recoup attorney's fees and court costs?

One last thing - if anybody knows the address of the small claims court and the maximum amount in WV that I can sue for, I'd really appreciate it.

Thanks!!!!!!

My response:

These instructions appear at the top of this page :

"**** Before posting a question, please check the Questions and Answers listed on the Home Page to see if your question was already covered or easily search over 155,000 previously posted questions and answers. ****"

IAAL

 

[FreakingOut]

I too would like to know the answers to these questions. If anyone has answers I would love to hear them!

FreakingOut

 

[alax]

Please follow this thread: (it took me a little while to find this thread for you, and there are several other postings that may be of interest to you. To do this, I went to the 'header' instructions about checking on the 155,000 previous postings, and did a search, but then, I'm not freaking out at the moment! I hope this helps you.)

turbo88
Junior Member

Registered: Oct 2001
Location:
Posts: 4
Ebay Fraud Question
The seller of a vehicle on Ebay motors misrepresented that vehicle. Described as mint condition but had accident damage, missing lights, many other obvious defects. Damage noted on bill of lading by transporter when he picked up the car. I have this document. Can I file criminal fraud charges? Would I have to travel to the state (MA) where seller resides to present evidence? from New York. Paid by electronic funds transfer. Is that wire fraud? For a civil action regarding this event can I file in my state (NY) or do I have to file in Massachusetts? Thanks.

 

[JETX]

Q1) "Would I have to file small claims in the Charleston, WV area or in my area?"
A1) You will want to sue the other party in their county court. That way, you eliminate any challenge to jurisdiction that could be made. You also assure that a judgment you get can be enforced where the judgment debtor has assets.

Q2) "Can I sue for the lost money that would have been gained from the re-sale of this item?"
A2) Of course you can sue for any amount you want. The key will be whether you can convince the court that it is reasonable damages for the action taken. But don't be surprised if the court doesn't allow the 'potential' loss... especially if you can't prove what the sale amount 'might' have been.

Q3) "Also, will I be able to recoup attorney's fees and court costs?"
A3) Yes. Most courts include attorney and costs in the judgment (but not travel and time off from work).

Q4) "You will need to find out the county that the defendant lives in. As for the jurisdictional limit of WV Small Claims, it is $5,000.00.

 

[FreakingOut]

Is this a fraud case or a civil case?

 

[Jackson-Kitty]

Best thing to do would be to turn the person in for mail fraud ( go to www.usps.com ) Does not cost a thing... fairly effective.
If found guilty, this can mean prison time & mail receiving rights revoked (If the payment was sent through U.S. mail, or item was to be rec'd through U.S. mail, either one)

 

[JETX]

Best thing to do would be to turn the person in for mail fraud ( go to www.usps.com ) Does not cost a thing... fairly effective.
If found guilty, this can mean prison time & mail receiving rights revoked (If the payment was sent through U.S. mail, or item was to be rec'd through U.S. mail, either one)

I wish what you are saying were true....
Having experience with the Postal Inspectors (they actually are the enforcement 'arm' of the USPS), they will certainly take your complaint, even online. And eventually, you will get a confirmation of your complaint, but given the number of mail fraud complaints received every day, they really can't devote the resources to an individual claim.

At one time (a few years ago), I found an active scammer on eBay and spent some time chasing him (he actually was using about 10 different eBay names). I eventually documented almost 140 different persons who were scammed by him for just over $13,000. Knowing that only one or two complaints wouldn't mean much to the US Postal Inspector, I managed to get them to complain in bulk and gave out the investigators name and phone number and suggested that they call her once a week. After about a month of these calls, the inspector called me and said that they were going to move on the scammer. I even traveled to New Orleans to meet with the inspector and turn over the data that I had accumulated. Eventually, they arrested him for federal charges and he negotiated a repayment plea.

Bottom line, the US Postal Inspection Service will accept your complaint and might even contact the scammer, but that is pretty much all that will happen unless YOU harass the inspector.

I have gotten much better success by filing a theft or fraud complaint with the local police where the scammer lives. Call the PD and make a complaint. The "local's" are far more likely to act against the scammer since he is in their backyard. Nothing gets the scammer to move faster than to know that you are AGRESSIVE about protecting your money.... so much so that a local 'uniform' or detective comes a knockin'.

Another thing I have done is to contact the local media (TV, newspaper, etc) in the scammers city. Most of them will have a 'consumer' reporter and they are always looking for a good, local story about the concerns of shopping on the internet.