Ebay - I am starting to feel sick, think I been scammed

[freddy]

I am feeling sick. I think I have been scammed. I cannot believe that I have been so stupid.

I bid on a branded item on ebay, for a diamond ring. I made payment by bank wire, and seller confirmed that payment was received, and stated the day that the item would be sent. The seller also said that ups would contact me with the tracking information. I contacted ups as I ave not heard anything, and they said that they do not send out that information, and that I need to get the tracking details from the sender.

I have emailed the seller/sender, a few times over the last ten days, and have heard nothing. It is not a small amount of money, and I feel sick over it now.

This is a international purchase, and I am now starting to wonder if I have been scammed. I hope I am wrong, but ......

I am now angry with myself for letting this whole situation happen.

Any advice from anyone.., other than do not ever make the same mistake again.

 

[Gypsy]

You bank wired the money? Not paypal? Um... do they have good feedback? Contact Ebay about it.

 

[freddy]

Yes, I bank wired the money. (I know big mistake).

Have contacted ebay, who suggested I tried to contact the seller, which I informed them that I have been, through ebay and directly to their hotmail account.

Other than that all they have suggested is to open a item not received in the resolution centre, and to contact law enforcement (they were going to send me the link but have not).

I think I have been an idiot.

 

[minmin001]

contact your bank and see if they can do anything about it also.... never ever bank wire money on ebay..

 

[Gypsy]

Okay. Well, when you say it's international. Where is the seller? Are they in the US? Or maybe a UK country? I don't know where you are, or where they are so it's hard to advise better.

Um... in general wiring money anywhere you don't know REALLY well or that doesn't have a great BBB record and is within easy reach of a local police station is not a good idea. But, you sound like you've already figured that out.

((HUG))????

 

[centralsquare]

Yikes, this doesn't sound like a good situation! Definitely follow up with the bank...they may be able to refer you to the right law enforcement folks for followup.

 

[TristanC]

Just got to hope and wait I think. How long has it been? Sometimes it takes a while - has all hope fled? Good luck...

It is too late to say credit cards and paypal, but for anyone reading after - this is how you should do it for ebay.

 

[janinegirly]

EEk, this is why one must always go through CC's or paypal so you can dispute payments and not have to worry about mistakes. Wiring money is a lot tougher to get back (IF it's a scam).

How was the seller's feedback? If it was all positive and lots of reviews, you might still be ok. Keep us posted and I hope it works out.

 

[freddy]

Thanks for your replies, like I said I was stupid!

I am in australia, and the seller in NY USA.

I obtained contact details for the seller, and have just phoned them. "THIS NUMBER IS OUT OF SERVICE - PLEASE CHECK THE NUMBER" is the response I get. So I contacted ebay and have opened a item not received case with the resolution centre. I know sometimes international postage can take a while, but having not had any responses sent of alarm bells to me.

I have also phoned my bank, and have put the details in writing to them, so I will keep you updated.

The item had plenty of other bidders as well as me. But lucky me not in being the winner.

Definately no bank wire transfers ever.

Please anyone reading this, learn from my stupid mistake. I have always been so careful, but this whole mess, and the amount of money makes my stomach churn.

 

[dani13]

I'm so sorry you're going through this!!!! I understand because I went through something similar with Ebay a few years ago....I paid by personal check (I know- totally dumb) but the seller had great feedback, etc. so I wasn't worried. As soon as the check cleared, she disappeared off of Ebay, wouldn't answer my emails/calls, etc. When I contacted Ebay, they basically told me I was SOOL and there was nothing they could do. And I never got my $400 back. That's why I haven't and will never use Ebay for anything expensive ever again!!

Its so easy to get screwed there, there are alot of nasty people in this world that will take your money and run. I hope you can get some answers!!! Best of luck!!!!

 

[dragonfly411]

I'm sorry this happened to you. I hope you can resolve it.

 

[Clairitek]

I totally understand the sick feeling you have when you think you're being scammed! So frustrating. Check out the seller on toolhaus.org. This website, as I understand it, logs negative and neutral feedback for years on someone's eBay account. See if there are any red flags there.

 

[tyty333]

Fingers crossed that it shows up...

 

[VapidLapid]

Horrible story.
Are they in New york City?
I am, and I would be glad to pay them a visit in person with my local boys.

 

[Amys Bling]

HUGS I am really hoping that this all works out for you and that you do indeed receive the item. Lesson learned the hard way I guess. If you do not end up receiving the item maybe you could post the EBay User name so no one here buys from them.

 

[julia_girl]

Sorry this is happening to you...my ex used my paypal account a few years ago to put down a deposit on a snowmobile. Drove about 12 hours across the border to pick it up, loaded it up and asked for the title only to be told "oh right...well I don't have that because I am still paying a small amount of money on it, but as soon as I am done I will send it to you" Needless to say, Paypal was never able to recover the deposit, so I don't always feel safe doing it that way either.

 

[Rhea]

Is your bank able to do anything? I'd contact them and let them know of the fraud. They can at least give you recommendations, even if they are unable to do anything. I'd also attempt to contact the bank of the person you paid and let them know about the issue and that law enforcement is being contacted. I'm not sure if that would achieve anything, I doubt they'd freeze the money from being withdrawn while an investigation took place or anything, but they may be able to offer recommendations as well.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

How much feedback does the seller have? Do they still have items up for sale? Was it an individual or a company?

 

[Dancing Fire]

hate to say it but...once you wired the money there aren't anything that your bank can do to help you. last week i wired a large sum of money to a guy in NY whom i purchased a watch from.i felt comfortable wiring the money after i spoke with him over the phone.

 

[HollyS]

Certainly, contact your bank immediately. Contact law enforcement, although I wouldn't hold my breath expecting any help from them.

Please say you didn't give this person or business your personal bank info, so that they have access to your account number, etc. ???

If so, close your account now and open another one.



I have ebayed for years. Bought many things. Never been scammed. My rules are these: only same country vendors, only PayPal, and only 99.5% and up feedback ratings, with many, many sales under their belts. And I carefully read their info. If something doesn't smell right, look right, feel right, then I don't care how much I want something - - I don't buy.

 

[freddy]

Thanks for you replies.

Any amount of money is awful to lose, but like I said I was stupid, in a big way, the biggest way possible, this is a lot of money, high end of four figures.

Still no response from the seller, directly or through ebay. They are an individual, and have no other listings on ebay.

Like I said earlier I have contacted my bank, and have spoken with ebay and opened an item not received case in the resolution centre. I have not contacted their bank, Bank of America, Merrick NY. Should I contact their bank what do you think.

The address they listed on the invoice is in Merrick, same as on ebay. Doing a reverse search on the internet against the address, their are four people listed at the address. Two of these with the same first name as the seller, but different middle initial. The last name on the contact details from ebay, is only the first 3 letters of the last name I get with the reverse search.

I do not know if the information is current, as all the sponsored sites come up with the searches, and are only for US custoemrs etc.

I last heard from the seller on the 15th July, stating payment was received and item would be posted UPS on the 19th of July.

Do you think there is any hope after this time, as I have not even had any contact from UPS in relations to paying duty/customs, and that is meant to happen when in transit from what I have read on the ups website ?????

I do not have a passport, and have never been overseas, (live in Australia) but if I did have a passport, I would seriously consider paying a flying visit ...

 

[Pandora II]

Have you contacted customs yourself?

9/10 when I have parcels with duty payable no-one bothers to call me to let me know that they are held up.

What was the seller's feedback like?

 

[centralsquare]

I have not contacted their bank, Bank of America, Merrick NY. Should I contact their bank what do you think.

Yes - definitely!! Do you know how long shipping usually takes?

 

[kelpie]

Sorry this happened to you. One way to handle large sums of money in exchange for items is using an escrow service like www.escrow.com.. I've done it this way and it worked seamlessly and makes fraud virtually impossible.

 

[Indylady]

I'm so sorry to hear this! Any updates? I'd also contact the vendor/individual's bank.

 

[melave]

Hi Freddy

Are you in a capital city in Australia? I know it takes a minimum of 2 weeks for stuff to get to me but i live remote in WA.
I purchased something on the 15th of July and still haven't received it, but because of where i am, i usually wait for 3 weeks until i start questioning

UPS also seems slower to Australia than fedex as well.

Here is hoping you get some good news soon

 

[freddy]

I have contacted australian customs this morning. As I do not have the airway bill number they cannot help me. They also said UPS act as there own customs agent, so I need to speak with them.

I live an hour outside of Adelaide.

When I rang UPS last week, they could not help me also without the tracking number, but they did say a package posted on the 19th July from 11566 NY to my postcode should have been delivered on Thursday 28th July, and that I would have been contacted by UPS to pay the duties on the package whilst it was in transit. ....Frustrating though as they say they cannot search against anything other than airway bill to conifrm if there is even a package in transit for me.

No contact from seller, not even to the not received item case in the resolution centre of ebay, which ebay suggested be opened after contacting them due to the seller not communicating back at all regarding tracking number.

I am just hoping and praying that everything turns out okay, and that this week I get a lovely package delivery.

I will keep you updated.

 

[Indylady]

To your postcode--does postcode mean to your specific address, or simply your area code/general area?

 

[VapidLapid]

11566 is the postal code for Merrick NY on long island. That is encouraging. I wonder if perhaps, just speculating and trying to be optimistic, since their bank is in merrick ny and ups has a package in transit to you from there, maybe all might be well. Their phone number could have changed ages ago but they might not have updated every website they frequent, so the number ebay gave you as their contact may just be out of date. And the email, well it is vacation season. That's not really a good excuse, even on vacation most people check their email - if you have an iphone you can't really get away from it. And too, they really ought to have provided you with the tracking number and an email confirming everything, especially since there was a large amount of money involved. Still I am sending you some trans-hemispheric, inter-continental PS dust that this whole thing concludes as it should.

 

[freddy]

Yes postcode are the same thing here as what postal codes are in the US, so the same as what 11566 is for Merrick in NY.

UPS would not say a parcel was on its way from Merrick to me, I wish they would, it was a estimate of what they said should have been the delivery date if one was sent. I think on their website you can estimate delivey times by entering pick uo and delivery addresses.

Does anyone have a way to try and find out information from UPS without the trakcing number. I have phoned three times over the past week and they all say they cannot help me without the tracking number.

I am hoping that the item has been sent and the seller just isnt checking emails etc as the have nothing else listed at the moment, that is what I am hoping.

I am so hoping to have good news to tell someone, I have everything crossed.