It did once I sat down and looked at what I had and nor realise how easy people can walk into these things. My issue is, Paypal where happy to credit my account instantly and let me transfer the money to my bank account. The individual arrived at my house as I was returning home from work. According to my email, funds where cleared. I couldn't really turn him away based on the fact that I in theory had his money. This is a serious flaw in ebay and Paypal. They should not enforce paypal as a 'must have' option for auction/buy it nows... I did a search on the internet and was horrified at how rife this crime is!!

Yeah I know and I can relate to those who have been. My enquiries have started locally and the individual should be relatively easy to trace. I was hoping that those who have had experience with paypal may well be able to advise me from a civil point of view. Where do I stand with the fact that my paypal account is currently -£192 as a result of the fraudulent transaction? I was disgusted that they managed to carry out a fraud 'investigation' over 4 emails!

Its a shame. I have been using them for years and yes, I have payed hundreds in fees via ebay. This is the first time anything like this has happened on my ebay/paypal account. I would much rather do cash on collection deals but ebay now demand that you offer paypal. On this occasion, the payment had cleared into my paypal. I then transferred the payment to my bank account which also cleared. How could I possibly withhold the goods from the buyer? I couldn't. I gave him them when he produced ID, He signed a document to say he had collected, the deal was closed. This has put me right off ebay and paypal. I will be closing both accounts with immediate effect. The paypal one will no doubt remain open as the fraudulant transaction of £-192 is still showing.

Thanks for the response! I feel physically sick over this! I trusted that if the funds had been approved, put into my paypal, transferee to my account, paypal where safe! The debit is currently with them at the moment

Hi, I am brand new to this forum. I was the victim of a [problem] yesterday and paypal took about 2hrs to carry out an investigation that should take at least 10-20hrs! Guess what? Not in my favour. Here are the details, I sent this to paypal. Ebay Sale. Squantoreal (me) Sold Item to Mattys18. Mattys18 paid via paypal then arranged a collection in person as per listing. Paypal Transaction 4x83859ME93852505. Buyer turned up to collect, and provided ID the same as that off the paypal account holder. Goods where given over and signed for. When individual left property, transaction reversed and property stolen. Matter reported to Hertfordshire Police, awaiting their response. I have been the victim of a [problem]/fraud. within the current dispute, I cannot resolve the issue on paypal without refunding the money. I do not intend to pay the money back into my paypal account. I am VERY concerned about an obvious flaw within paypals system. Should you not be able to recover the costs from the buyer, I do not intend to pay them back. The buyer now has my nice shinny xbox 360 with 10 games and is trying to get his money back! I also must inform you that I am a Sergeant in the Metropolitan Police London. The reason that I am obliged to tell you this is if this issue develops into a civil dispute, I am legally obliged to inform you of this. End of email I managed to withdraw the money to my account prior to ebay freezing or reversing the funds from my account. The paypal account is not £-192. I simply will not pay this back to them. This matter must, if they want the money, go to court and be heard by a judge. Any advice on this is welcome! Hope its not to confusing.