Another scam… who to report it to?
Discussion
A friend has been scammed. Sold something for £250 and due to confusion failed to get payment before despatching the goods.
The "buyer" is now telling her to send the return postage and he'll return it... this is likely a second part of the scam to get more cash.
She has reported it to the post office, the police and some fraud helpline. She has the scammers deliver address and the item was sent via Royal Mail tracked delivery.
She thinks no one is interested but it is early days.
Has she done the right thing? Should she do more?
(The address is in a Wolverhampton council tower block... if anyone local wants to pop round and "sort it out" for her!)
Thanks.
The "buyer" is now telling her to send the return postage and he'll return it... this is likely a second part of the scam to get more cash.
She has reported it to the post office, the police and some fraud helpline. She has the scammers deliver address and the item was sent via Royal Mail tracked delivery.
She thinks no one is interested but it is early days.
Has she done the right thing? Should she do more?
(The address is in a Wolverhampton council tower block... if anyone local wants to pop round and "sort it out" for her!)
Thanks.
It was a catalogue of errors. Two old women: one was going to the post office so took the item but with strict instructions not to send it until the purchaser had paid. That old lady's phone was stolen at the post office so never got the "post it/don't post it" message so just posted it anyway whilst flustered.
The reason why we are calling it a scam is because the "purchaser" said they'd paid for it when they hadn't via BACS, then said their bank would send the money directly and "the bank" emailed my friend with a banks name but the bank's email had a @gmail.com domain. The purchaser had several attempts at getting my friends email address and other personal data, and repeatedly said payment had been made and so on.
The scammer is saying they never had the money for the item and now need my friend to send more money to pay the cost of return postage.
I don't know where they advertised it as yet; have asked but not yet found out.
The reason why we are calling it a scam is because the "purchaser" said they'd paid for it when they hadn't via BACS, then said their bank would send the money directly and "the bank" emailed my friend with a banks name but the bank's email had a @gmail.com domain. The purchaser had several attempts at getting my friends email address and other personal data, and repeatedly said payment had been made and so on.
The scammer is saying they never had the money for the item and now need my friend to send more money to pay the cost of return postage.
I don't know where they advertised it as yet; have asked but not yet found out.
Scarletpimpofnel said:
The scammer is saying they never had the money for the item and now need my friend to send more money to pay the cost of return postage.
On the offchance that they might return it, is it possible to buy the return postage label and email that to the buyer? It's a gamble of a few quid, but at least they don't get the cash.I sold an iPad mini 4 on eBay that needed a new battery two weeks ago, sold it for £80 as needing new battery, listing clearly said 'this needs a new battery it last less than an hour'
Buyer ask to return, eBay said send it back. It arrived yesterday minus the brand new lightning cable and I'm convinced it's a different iPad, the one I sent had an obvious ding on the case which isn't on the one I got back.
Do eBay care?, do they f
k
Buyer ask to return, eBay said send it back. It arrived yesterday minus the brand new lightning cable and I'm convinced it's a different iPad, the one I sent had an obvious ding on the case which isn't on the one I got back.
Do eBay care?, do they f
kScarletpimpofnel said:
It was a catalogue of errors. Two old women: one was going to the post office so took the item but with strict instructions not to send it until the purchaser had paid...
It does sound like a catastrophic chain of events, that on reflection could have easily been avoided, hence why any authority would most likely be less than willing to put time and effort into it.My advice is forget about it all and write it off. The £250 will never be seen, the item will never be returned and sending more money for 'return' postage is just another scam.
Draw a line under it at this point and don't let them repeat the same mistake.
sutoka said:
I sold an iPad mini 4 on eBay that needed a new battery two weeks ago, sold it for £80 as needing new battery, listing clearly said 'this needs a new battery it last less than an hour'
Buyer ask to return, eBay said send it back. It arrived yesterday minus the brand new lightning cable and I'm convinced it's a different iPad, the one I sent had an obvious ding on the case which isn't on the one I got back.
Do eBay care?, do they fk
Have eBay explained why they won't take any action? They have a thing called "seller protection" and this is a clear case.Buyer ask to return, eBay said send it back. It arrived yesterday minus the brand new lightning cable and I'm convinced it's a different iPad, the one I sent had an obvious ding on the case which isn't on the one I got back.
Do eBay care?, do they f
kdundarach said:
It's gone, learn and move on, there's not a chance you'll see it again sadly.
This ^. The story about the email from the bank from a gmail address with proof of funds being sent tells you all you need to know. You've been scammed and obviously sending money to send it back will just go straight into their pocket whilst they roll around on the floor laughing. You won't see the watch or the money again. Police won't care in the slightest. Forget about it and move on.QJumper said:
Scarletpimpofnel said:
The scammer is saying they never had the money for the item and now need my friend to send more money to pay the cost of return postage.
On the offchance that they might return it, is it possible to buy the return postage label and email that to the buyer? It's a gamble of a few quid, but at least they don't get the cash.Secondly, agree a date for parcel collection and email them the labels as suggested above.
Unfortunately, people bid to high on stuff and then suffer buyers remorse, when they realise their mistake.
More unfortunately, ebay allows them to walk away.
Put yourselves in the other persons shoes.
Someone sends you something you don’t actually want and haven’t paid form then requests you to pay for its return out your own pocket. In the real world, who is going to do that.
Tommo87 said:
firstly, they aren’t a scammer. They have never created the scenario where the seller posts the item before they paid for it (which would be a scam) The sellers side of the equation had and issue where someone made a mistake in sending it too soon.
Secondly, agree a date for parcel collection and email them the labels as suggested above.
Unfortunately, people bid to high on stuff and then suffer buyers remorse, when they realise their mistake.
More unfortunately, ebay allows them to walk away.
Put yourselves in the other persons shoes.
Someone sends you something you don’t actually want and haven’t paid form then requests you to pay for its return out your own pocket. In the real world, who is going to do that.
You are slightly misrepresenting the events, The buyer said they wanted it and made comms that they had paid/would pay. Doesn't alter the facts that the seller shouldn't have sent it without the money, but it's not just something unexpectedly arriving in the post.Secondly, agree a date for parcel collection and email them the labels as suggested above.
Unfortunately, people bid to high on stuff and then suffer buyers remorse, when they realise their mistake.
More unfortunately, ebay allows them to walk away.
Put yourselves in the other persons shoes.
Someone sends you something you don’t actually want and haven’t paid form then requests you to pay for its return out your own pocket. In the real world, who is going to do that.
GasEngineer said:
sutoka said:
I sold an iPad mini 4 on eBay that needed a new battery two weeks ago, sold it for £80 as needing new battery, listing clearly said 'this needs a new battery it last less than an hour'
Buyer ask to return, eBay said send it back. It arrived yesterday minus the brand new lightning cable and I'm convinced it's a different iPad, the one I sent had an obvious ding on the case which isn't on the one I got back.
Do eBay care?, do they fk
Have eBay explained why they won't take any action? They have a thing called "seller protection" and this is a clear case.Buyer ask to return, eBay said send it back. It arrived yesterday minus the brand new lightning cable and I'm convinced it's a different iPad, the one I sent had an obvious ding on the case which isn't on the one I got back.
Do eBay care?, do they f
kForums | Speed, Plod & the Law | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff