Getting robbed by a fellow forum member!

[Wmacky]

I have to admit, I'm so pissed right now I can barely post this. I been buying on the Internet for years, and years. In many cases with individuals through forums which is always riskier. I've been very lucky up to now. As all the people I've dealt with have been great, and have come through for me. Then there is this last deal............

Lets say you did a deal with a forum member, and due to having issues during the Paypal payment process, you inadvertently over payed by $100. Just how long do you think you should reasonable have to wait for a refund, after reporting to the seller what had happened?

1 Hour?

1 week?

1 month?

Several months?

:scowl:

 

[Elektrotechniker]

who is the seller

 

[grainde]

So how long has it been and who's the seller?:beer:

 

[Wmacky]

He is forum member Soulero.

This whole ordeal has gone on almost a month now after purchasing a Opir. I notified him hours after the transaction that I had overpaid $100. It was too late. He had already emptied his entire Paypal account including the extra $100. He claimed the transfer to his bank from paypal would now take several days, and again several days to transfer the $100. He agreed to refund me within a week. He also seemed to have spent all the money he recieved from this deal without waiting to see that the deal was complete!! This left him with 0 funds.

Well I didn't get the refund. He later promised to refund again in 2 weeks after getting a paycheck from some new job. The promised day came and went with no contact. I then emailed him agian ( close to 30 emails all together now.) I'm now told that the check was for less than he thought and is was more important to have gas money and pay some bills.

SO what he told me was that it is important for him to pay HIS bills with MY money?

This isn't some partial refund, discount, or favor I have asked him for. I just want MY money that was sent accidentally back!

WTF! Why is he paying his bills with my overpayment! I can't really see him ever giving me back my money. His appears to be High School student with no money, and he has decided to steal mine.

 

[KrowBar]

That depends entirely on the situation. For example, I am in the middle of an exchange for a correct item with a respected forum member who happens to have been out of town for the past couple of weeks and was very busy a couple of weeks before that. Since I am aware of this, I am not particularly worried about getting my correct items and can continue to wait for him to return. If you gave some details about your transaction we may be able to help determine what is reasonable, or by making the issue public, you might encourage faster action by someone who does not want to lose "social standing" in this community. Private communication should have allowed this person to at least respond to your concerns. Are you saying you cannot get a response? Or that you have been responded to but not seen any action?

 

[Wmacky]

There has been plenty of response after I press for it, but never any action. He's has set a date twice to repay me, and failed to come through breaking his promise. He no longer has given me a promised date, but rather says he will pay when he can at some unknown point in the future.


I will say this. If someone overpaid me I would have let him know right away, and not grabbed the money for myself. I would have done everything in my power to get their money right back to them. I would have done it within minutes, not months. That you can be assured of.

 

[grainde]

How did it happen that you over paid by $ 100 and is there any reason he might think he may be entitled to the money? Just asking, because for him to clear the account like that he either thought everything was in order, or he was being dishonest as this would prevent you from recuperating your money via PP.

Have you started a claim BTW? If it is the latter, PP should block his account until the matter is resolved. :beer:

Edit: If he doesnt respond to this thread and/or come good, I will enter his details into the list of scammers in the vets section. That is provided nothing else is going on here, as we havent yet heard his side of the story...

 

[icecruncher]

Not the first - Won't be the last.

I've been waiting several years for a refund from a highly respected member that just disappeared with over $100.00 - He ran into some personal financial problems and several people lost money, then he left the boards.

Join the group.

I have to admit, I'm so pissed right now I can barely post this. I been buying on the Internet for years, and years. In many cases with individuals through forums which is always riskier. I've been very lucky up to now. As all the people I've dealt with have been great, and have come through for me. Then there is this last deal............

Lets say you did a deal with a forum member, and due to having issues during the Paypal payment process, you inadvertently over payed by $100. Just how long do you think you should reasonable have to wait for a refund, after reporting to the seller what had happened?

1 Hour?

1 week?

1 month?

Several months?

:scowl:

 

[Wmacky]

How did it happen that you over paid by $ 100 and is there any reason he might think he may be entitled to the money? Just asking, because for him to clear the account like that he either thought everything was in order, or he was being dishonest as this would prevent you from recuperating your money via PP.

Have you started a claim BTW? If it is the latter, PP should block his account until the matter is resolved. :beer:

Edit: If he doesnt respond to this thread and/or come good, I will enter his details into the list of scammers in the vets section. That is provided nothing else is going on here, as we havent yet heard his side of the story...

Here's how it happened. I had a problem getting the transaction to accept my shipping address, After the 5th time through I accidentally hit a 3 instead of a 2 and ther went my extra $100. No he has no reason to feel the $100 is his. He understood it was a mistake.


As for Paypal, they have let me down. I called them to inquire, but there appears to be no recourse if you overpay someone. The claim dept. said a claim should be filed, but that there was no options for overpayment. He then took it upon himself to start a claim but said he had to use the option "Not as described" then he would add a note that I would accept a $100 partial refund!!!

WTH? I told him that didn't sound right, but he insisted that was the correct path to take, and if it did NOT motivate the seller to give back the $ they would fight for me!

So the next thing I know I get a email that says the seller has responded and the case will be decided. A couple days later they say the case is closed as they have sided with the seller that the item was as described.

Again WTH?

There was no fight to get back my money, and they never even contact me to ask any questions. The Paypal guy screwed me over, and now the Soulero is going to apparently get off scott free.

 

[rhd]

Credit card chargeback?

 

[grainde]

Not sure if he can open a second case? I thought once a case had been settled there was no other recourse? Hopefully Soulero will do the right thing.

Have you PMed him to let him know you started this thread? :beer:

 

[Wmacky]

Credit card chargeback?

NOpe. It was a instant bank transfer. I don't know why Paypal forces that!

Here's the rub. Like many of you I have several unusual hobbies. This usually means lots of purchases from members of various forums. You know, the good stuff you can't get anywhere else. Well, After a good run, I just don't think I could ever do that again on large purchase amounts, unless they can take a Credit Card. This leaves out most individuals.

I just don't feel comfortable using Paypal every again for anything other than small items now that I see Paypal offers little protection.

 

[IsaacT]

Have you thought about calling Hoodscapes, the place he works, and telling them that their employee is a thief?

 

[Wmacky]

Believe me I'm considering many things. This bothered me so much after the last lie that I only got 2 hours sleep last night before having to work today. I just feel I can't let this pass.......

 

[Rifter]

Have you thought about calling Hoodscapes, the place he works, and telling them that their employee is a thief?

I would do this for sure.

Also paypal has fucked me more times than id like to admit I actually have come to the conclusion they offer ZERO buyer protection as every case I have opened(dozens over 10 years) they have taken months to decide on outcome and always sided with the seller.

If anyone has a paypal alternative please let me know!

 

[rhd]

To be fair, PayPal doesn't force you to use bank transfer. They default to bank transfer, but you can always switch to credit card per transaction manually. I do that hundreds of times a year because I never ever use bank funding through PayPal.

Second, your situation is a tough one for PayPal to protect against. On the other side of things, as a recipient of funds, I wouldn't want a buyer to be able to dispute a charge after the fact on the basis that they typed it in wrong. Non-delivery is one thing, but typos are a different story. Again, to PayPal's credit, you have to go through a few steps of confirmation before a payment is sent. You DO have a couple opportunities to double check the amount.

Finally, with payments by CC, you can, as far as I know, start direct chargebacks if PayPal doesn't help you. PayPal doesn't like that, but your CC issuer will typically help anyway.