PayPal Dispute! Help?

[powah]

Hello all, new here as this is the first time ive needed help with this sort of thing.

 

Ok lets get into this...

 

On 11/04/2013 I listed a brand new iPhone 5 on eBay with not Buy it now or Reserve on the listing (This was one of the first sales i made on eBay).

 

About 25 minutes before the auction ended, i get a call from the top bidder on my auction.

He was asking if it would be ok if he could pick the item up instead of me sending him it if he won the auction.

I replied to him saying that it would be fine as long as he sent payment via PayPal promptly. (Little did i know that this was a well known [problem] on ebay)

 

After the phone call, i contacted eBay directly using live chat support because i didn't know how he could have got my number.

I enquired as to how this person obtained my number.

I was told anyone who bids has access to this information.

I also asked the eBay operator if there would be any issues with me giving the item in person once payment had been received.

I was told this would be fine as long as you have received payment.

 

The auction ended for £410.99 and the money was promptly in my paypal account.

As soon as the funds appeared i transferred the entire amount into my bank account.

I then made arrangements to meet with the buy in person about a mile from my home address.

 

After meeting him, i handed him the phone and came home and retired for the night.

 

The very next morning i got an email from paypal stating that there was an investigation regarding a payment reversal.

I then logged into my paypal and could see that my current balance was -£396.82.

 

I then decided to check the buyers information.

After checking the information i notice that the buyer had conflicting information between his paypal and ebay account.

After all this it quickly became apparent that either the ebay and/or paypal account was fraudulently used

and that the person who picked up the phone was not genuine.

 

Since then, the genuined holder of the paypal account has been in contact with ebay/paypal

and ebay removed the listing from my history and credited all fees to my account.

 

Yesterday, paypal 'resolved' the dispute, i am still in negative balance and paypal want me to restore my balance back to 0.

 

Am i completely screwed or is there something i can do?

 

Thanks alot!

[Bombaymix]

Eurgh!! eBay and paypal strikes once again!

 

A well known con on eBay.

 

I don't have an answer for you regarding this. The only thing I can say is remove any bank accounts associated with paypal they could try and restore the negative balance with the alternative funding method you have with them.

 

There's lots of threads here on cag from people who've all had the same happen to you.

 

Might be worth contacting the police non emergency number and asking for advice? Or and contact the phone provider and have the iPhone turned into a housebrick by them blocking it.

 

Hopefully somebody more experienced in this area will be along to offer advice.

[powah]

Eurgh!! eBay and paypal strikes once again!

 

A well known con on eBay.

 

I don't have an answer for you regarding this. The only thing I can say is remove any bank accounts associated with paypal they could try and restore the negative balance with the alternative funding method you have with them.

 

There's lots of threads here on cag from people who've all had the same happen to you.

 

Might be worth contacting the police non emergency number and asking for advice? Or and contact the phone provider and have the iPhone turned into a housebrick by them blocking it.

 

Hopefully somebody more experienced in this area will be along to offer advice.

 

Forgot to mention that i did have O2 block the phone and that PayPal wont let me remove my bank account because my Paypal balance is in the negative. No money goes into that account though as i am unemployed and dont have any income. (21 living with my parents)

[scotgal68]

So you've still got the funds for your phone?

Don't even consider paying paypal back.

Get a crime reference number from the police and email/write to Paypal telling them you are a victim of fraud.

Make sure you keep all correspondence.

 

You'll get no satisfaction from them they're useless.

 

Just reiterate them same facts to them over and eventually they will threaten you with court action,

it won't ever get to court BUT if it did you would win (providing you have the paper trail,

as they will only have sent you the same email over and over requesting you to restore your balance)

 

Eventually they will pass it to a debt collection agency and when that happens you can come back for more advice - guys on here are experts.

[powah]

So you've still got the funds for your phone? Don't even consider paying paypal back. Get a crime reference number from the police and email/write to Paypal telling them you are a victim of fraud. Make sure you keep all correspondence.

You'll get no satisfaction from them they're useless.

Just reiterate them same facts to them over and eventually they will threaten you with court action, it won't ever get to court BUT if it did you would win (providing you have the paper trail, as they will only have sent you the same email over and over requesting you to restore your balance)

 

Eventually they will pass it to a debt collection agency and when that happens you can come back for more advice - guys on here are experts.

 

Glad i signed up on here and asked. Good advice and i will do what you suggested! Thanks alot!

[andydd]

As mentioned above, its such a commpn [problem]..i didnt even need to read the whole post, id say that for every sale involving things like iphones, ipads, at least one pf the bidders is a [EDIT]. Good advice above, youll get letters from dca's but theyll eventually give up.

[just_jue]

This is happening way too often.

Another problem with ebay is that on some categories you can only accept Paypal as a payment.

I sell a lot on Ebay and if someone wants to collect it is Cash on Collection only.

 

Hopefully you have blocked the phone and been to the police and got a crime number, raise a complaint via Paypal giving them all the details either via email or best via recorded letter.

 

Do let us know how you get on.

 

JJ

[powah]

I called Action Fraud and got a crime reference number. I told PayPal about it and gave them the CRN so now its just a waiting game i guess.

 

UPDATE:

Just got a call from PayPal telling me i should restore my balance,

if i have any family members or friends that can help me restore it

and if i dont, a debt collection agency will be sent to help PayPal get the money from me.

 

The guy on the phone was telling me about what would happen if i dont restore my balance

and asking me if i am aware of this right now and it will be noted on my PayPal account.

 

I did tell him that im unemployed and about the Crime Reference Number but he seemed to brush it off so yeah...

 

So if they carry on calling should i just keep telling them i wont be able to restore my balance anytime soon? If you have any other tips, they would be much appreciated.

 

Thanks!

Edited May 2, 2013 by powah

[Bombaymix]

If they ring again, treat them like a debt collector. DO NOT answer any security questions and tell them "In writing only" and hang up.

 

They obviously not listening to your valid defence here so there's no point in wasting your time trying to tell them.

[scotgal68]

Totally agree with Bombay, deal only in writing, stay off the phone! I told you they're not interested in amything you have to say and are totally useless. Family and friends? Ffs aren't they kind to have made that suggestion.

Don't restore that balance! Let them bear the burden of the fraud, why should you be out of pocket?

 

Good luck

[powah]

Ok, so if they call me again soon shall i just tell them that i would rather deal in writing and hang up? Not sure how i should go about telling them, sorry!

[scotgal68]

Say to them... I don't want to discuss this over the phone. Please contact me in writing . Dont ring me again! Goodbye!

Seemples

 

Don't worry if you think you're being rude, they're trying to fleece you for £400. You need a paper trail for evidence.

!

[powah]

Say to them... I don't want to discuss this over the phone. Please contact me in writing . Dont ring me again! Goodbye!

Seemples

 

Don't worry if you think you're being rude, they're trying to fleece you for £400. You need a paper trail for evidence.

!

 

Awesome, seems pretty simple. Thanks alot Scotgal68 youve been awesome!

[scotgal68]

You're welcome,

 

I had a long running dispute with eBay, not on the same scale as you and they were utter fuds.

 

They were bombarding me with the same emails over and over.

 

Despite me carefully wording responses, they would reply with another generic email. Theyre like robots!

 

Eventually I got a letter from a DCA, (something solutions)I never responded.

 

Another one arrived..

 

After about 4, I printed off all the correspondence and posted it to the DCA, told them to p..s off

and IF they filed for court action to remember and send the court all my emails so they could get a laugh.

 

Never heard from them again.

 

I've had a few calls which I suspect might be from them.

 

I just say 'I'm sorry there is a fault,

 

I'm sorry there is a fault til they hang up

Edited May 3, 2013 by scotgal68

[Bombaymix]

Word perfect from scotgal. Have that little telephone greeting written down next to your phone.

 

Don't let them catch you off guard or talk over you. Be firm and after you've said your piece - hang up.

 

It's courteous enough which is a hell of a lot more than they've offered you so far.

 

Have you tried explaining everything in an email to paypal?

 

You're probably getting their collections commission based phone drones calling you who really only care about extracting money from you.

 

I have little faith in paypal and eBay but surely with all this evidence there must be somebody with some sense there... Or apparently not as it seems!

[Bombaymix]

(lmao scotgal @ I'm sorry there is a fault)

[scotgal68]

Bombay I do it in that BT recorded voice, I actually pmsl at them trying to talk to me. It works a treat for spam calls, telemarketing anything really

[powah]

Would anyone here be able to help me with a complaint email/letter i can send to PayPal?

 

Thanks

[powah]

Ignore the above quesiton.

[powah]

Just got another call from PayPal just now. I said exactly what you told me to say and while im hanging up he says "We cant do that" but i hung up anyway. I dont understand why he said he couldnt do that, they have my address and all my details.

Edited May 10, 2013 by powah

[scotgal68]

Well done, proud of you! They want you to think there is no other way to communicate other than phone, that suits them! Just repeat same message over and over to them, the penny will drop- eventually x

[johnym]

I use ebay quite a lot for selling but over the past couple of years I’ve stopped selling expensive items due to the risk.

 

I’ve had negative feedback a number of times for refusing PayPal on collection items, a few non performing seller reports too just for trying to protect myself. As you say you can’t remove any bank account details I would inform your bank to stop all direct debits to eBay/PayPal.

 

Even though you have a crime number don’t expect PayPal to help you, it’s down to you in their eyes and you probably got hit with a £17ish surcharge if it was a chargeback.

 

I was following a thread on the ebay sellers forum regarding a similar situation, even the pinks (ebay staff) were involved and despite the police recovering the stolen property and making a couple of arrests ebay did nothing and the police didn’t pursue it due to PayPal not cooperating, though the seller got their goods back after a couple of months.

 

Has ebay suspended your account yet? Do other people at your address have different ebay accounts? If they do and ebay suspend your account due to the negative balance they will also suspend every account at your address and the accounts of anyone who has logged into ebay on your computer, ebay are very good at linking accounts using addresses, IP addresses, cookies etc.

[powah]

I use ebay quite a lot for selling but over the past couple of years I’ve stopped selling expensive items due to the risk.

 

I’ve had negative feedback a number of times for refusing PayPal on collection items, a few non performing seller reports too just for trying to protect myself. As you say you can’t remove any bank account details I would inform your bank to stop all direct debits to eBay/PayPal.

 

Even though you have a crime number don’t expect PayPal to help you, it’s down to you in their eyes and you probably got hit with a £17ish surcharge if it was a chargeback.

 

I was following a thread on the ebay sellers forum regarding a similar situation, even the pinks (ebay staff) were involved and despite the police recovering the stolen property and making a couple of arrests ebay did nothing and the police didn’t pursue it due to PayPal not cooperating, though the seller got their goods back after a couple of months.

 

Has ebay suspended your account yet? Do other people at your address have different ebay accounts? If they do and ebay suspend your account due to the negative balance they will also suspend every account at your address and the accounts of anyone who has logged into ebay on your computer, ebay are very good at linking accounts using addresses, IP addresses, cookies etc.

 

I did contact my bank and told them to stop direct debits to paypal and stuff. My eBay account is still active. My brother has one too i think so yeah. Im not too bothered if that happens if im honest.

[johnym]

I did contact my bank and told them to stop direct debits to paypal and stuff. My eBay account is still active. My brother has one too i think so yeah. Im not too bothered if that happens if im honest.

 

I wouldn’t be bothered either if I’m honest, id rather have my ebay account suspended than be conned out of £400. Apple stuff is like a magnet for fraudster’s on ebay.

 

There is a good chance ebay will suspend your account and all those associated with you so you better warn your brother.

[powah]

I wouldn’t be bothered either if I’m honest, id rather have my ebay account suspended than be conned out of £400. Apple stuff is like a magnet for fraudster’s on ebay.

 

There is a good chance ebay will suspend your account and all those associated with you so you better warn your brother.

 

Yeah will do, thanks alot.