Re: Ebay rip off

[farna@xxxxxxx]

I've had the same problem. Even for a few hundred dollars it's usually not worth your effort unless they are in a town within an easy driving distance where you can go to small claims court and not run up expenses doing so. If the person is 2-3 states over you'll spend more getting a judgement than you lost. Even if you get a judgement, it's up to you to collect, which can often cost more than you lost. 

My advice is to drop it. I know it's frustrating, and you really just want to make sure the guy doesn't get away with ripping you off -- if you could make sure he got punished in some way that would be great even if you spent all you recovered in the process. Been there, felt the same way, but sense prevailed after a few days of cooling off and investigating what could be done. Would have cost me over $500 to recover $300. I did send a letter to the local police department letting them know about the guy -- told them there was no need to reply if they couldn't do anything, and I never got a reply. I also filed a complaint through the post office, who said they would investigate. E-bay banned the guy, and PayPal closed his account and gave me waht he had left in there. It was a $400 purchase, and I got $110 back. I've only lost money on three e-bay purchases over the last 5-6 years, and was able to recover some funds on two because I paid through PayPal. I lost $50 on the las!
 t one because of the $35 PayPal processing fee and shipping to send the broken item back, but I got $135 back, more than I'd have recovered if I'd paid any other way. 

On December 26, 2005 Francis J. O'Reilly wrote:

> I am an attorney. These matters can be frustrating. If it's interstate, it's
> too small for the FBI, they usually want to investigate very large matters.
> You can file a police report with your local police as well as witht he
> police where they live. Pain in the neck if you have to come into the
> station to file the complaint.
> 
> You may avail yourself of the local civil courts in the seller's
> jurisdiction. Also difficult because you have to be present to testify. This
> is also assuming that you know the actual identity of the seler, not just a
> screen name, and more importantly that the seller has any assets whatsoever.
> 
> Good luck,
> 
> Francis J. O'Reilly
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: <mail@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
> To: "AMC LIst" <mail@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Sent: Sunday, December 25, 2005 7:48 AM
> Subject: Ebay rip off
> 
> 
> > As I know there is a lawyer or two on the list here, I need some info. I
> > was ripped off on Ebay, first time. PayPal/eBay refunded only a portion of
> > the funds after a ten day grace period because the person didn't respond
> > to the complaint. How can one go after the person for the remaining funds?
> > Contact the local police where they live? Thanks.
> >
> > Merry Christmas
> >
> >
> >


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