Advice on Fraud pls

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bunbury

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I think I am in the process of being defrauded out of a guitar by an eBay "buyer" in Canada and would appreciate advice pls. I feel all the more foolish because a forum member warned me this might happen.

The buyer first threatened to cancel the transaction when the guitar didn't show up on ParcelForce's tracking system for 2 days after despatch.

So, at the end of last week it was delivered (in a flight case). The buyer promptly canceled the transaction because a tensioning spring on one of the pup screws was missing (if true then mea culpa - I hadn't noticed). This is a 50p fix - hardly serious. Allegedly the volume knob had come off in transit - IMO the average 6-year old could put it back on. And, allegedly, the 'master' volume knob didn't work. This guitar doesn't have a master volume knob, and I suspect the problem could be solved by putting the volume knob back on ... or putting a battery in the guitar (it has a built in fx processor). It looks like a deliberate attempt to retrieve the payment without returning the guitar (repair cost estimate: 50p).

PayPal have taken the money out of my account.

I have contacted a local guitar store (a big chain) in Canada who are willing to take the guitar in and fix any issues at my expense. Surprise, surprise, the buyer has not responded to this offer.

Anyone got any ideas? I have an ID and an address - but are they real?
 
OK. My buyer has responded to my offer to pay for any repairs (thought to be negligible) with this explanation for why the guitar cannot be repaired:

"i kicked the ******* across the room and threw it out in the trash"


Jeez. Am I dealing with a teenager out of their depth in a scam? That's a pretty clear declaration and exercise of ownership rights. I also kills my offer of repair or refund.

And I can't imagine doing that to any guitar. And it would hurt.
 
Another email from the buyer:

"anyways i got rid of it now,,, firewood"

Terrible spelling and grammar and sounding a little anxious and repetitive. Must be a teenager.
 
I'm interested in how this turns out when you forward these messages to dear old PayPal. They vindicate your position so you ought to get the money returned to your account. But... This is PayPal, so all bets are off.
 
ampmaker said:
I'm interested in how this turns out when you forward these messages to dear old PayPal. They vindicate your position so you ought to get the money returned to your account. But... This is PayPal, so all bets are off.

+1. You're definitely being scammed. Let us know what Paypal does / doesn't do. Good luck.
 
At least I know that whoever it is must be limping. No way I'm kicking a guitar across a room
wink.gif
 
A new and erudite message from the buyer: "well it was fuked beyond repair"

I've escalated this to a dispute. He/she says he's trashed and thrown away the guitar - and has turned down two attempts by me the get it into a nearby major guitar retailer, for either repair or so that I can issue a full refund against return of the guitar - which ever the buyer wanted and at my expense.

Now the guitar is allegedly wrecked and dumped, there's no basis for a refund.

Clearly the buyer wants to have his cake and eat it. I expect the guitar is playing very nicely somewhere in Alberta.
 
Unfortunately I've got no advice to give you but I just wanted to express my sympathy....this persons sounds like a disgusting twat and I wish you every success in getting your money...

And I also hope this scumbag's karma catches up with him sooner rather than later...

All the best,

John.
 
He sounds very un-Canadian, but that doesn't mean we don't have our share of douchebags. He sounds like an idiot, take it up with the powers that be, state your case and then let him speak his peace, that should have them rule in your favour

P.S. we're not all like this cock-knuckle.
 
Document everything. If you sold it on ebay be sure that all of your communication is thru ebay messages so they can see it.

I am sure the guitar is fine and he is shaking you down.

As long as you can document the delivery of the guitar and the buyer's communication ebay/paypal should decide in your favor. I would be shocked if they didn't

Good luck!
 
brokentoes said:
He sounds very un-Canadian, but that doesn't mean we don't have our share of douchebags. He sounds like an idiot, take it up with the powers that be, state your case and then let him speak his peace, that should have them rule in your favour

P.S. we're not all like this cock-knuckle.

I've spent plenty of time in Canada and like the place and the people very much. Mrs Bunbury and I often talk about moving to BC (dream on ...). This is the first and, I expect, the last Canada-based douchebag I'll run into.

Anyway, all the messages went through eBay. Fingers crossed.

IMO if a guitar can be described 'firewood' 4 days after delivery and then thrown away, then it is bizarre to report only a small, hard-to-see missing spring and a loose knob on the day of delivery!
 
This might sound silly, but have you actually contacted eBay? You'll find they have heard of every scam in the book and they will assist you.

I'd bet my bottom dollar he hasn't thrown it in the bin either.

If all else fails you have his address right......
 
Brian_C said:
This might sound silly, but have you actually contacted eBay? You'll find they have heard of every scam in the book and they will assist you.

I'd bet my bottom dollar he hasn't thrown it in the bin either.

If all else fails you have his address right......

It's clearly a fraud and I have a name and address - although I can't say for sure that either is real.

The issue now rests with PayPal who are holding the money. They are aware that the buyer was offered and refused a full refund, that I offered to pay for the return of the guitar, and that The Guitar Centre 5 or so miles down the road (in Spruce Grove) had agreed to collect it at my expense - which IMO shows I tried hard to sort this out/get the guitar back. They are also aware that the buyer admitted wilfully damaging and disposing of the guitar after my offer of a collection & refund. And that although he/she lodged the complaint freezing the money just 10 mins after delivery it took those 5 days to decide that the minor issues reported on the day were as nothing to the destruction wrought by Canadian Customs who'd 'torn the guitar apart'.

In my opinion I'm dealing with none-to-bright fraudster. However, I'm not sure which way PayPal will jump.
 
bunbury said:
Brian_C said:
This might sound silly, but have you actually contacted eBay? You'll find they have heard of every scam in the book and they will assist you.

I'd bet my bottom dollar he hasn't thrown it in the bin either.

If all else fails you have his address right......

It's clearly a fraud and I have a name and address - although I can't say for sure that either is real.

The issue now rests with PayPal who are holding the money. They are aware that the buyer was offered and refused a full refund, that I offered to pay for the return of the guitar, and that The Guitar Centre 5 or so miles down the road (in Spruce Grove) had agreed to collect it at my expense - which IMO shows I tried hard to sort this out/get the guitar back. They are also aware that the buyer admitted wilfully damaging and disposing of the guitar after my offer of a collection & refund. And that although he/she lodged the complaint freezing the money just 10 mins after delivery it took those 5 days to decide that the minor issues reported on the day were as nothing to the destruction wrought by Canadian Customs who'd 'torn the guitar apart'.

In my opinion I'm dealing with none-to-bright fraudster. However, I'm not sure which way PayPal will jump.


that's good that you've informed PayPal but MUST also open a complaint with eBay. The longer you wait before informing eBay the worse it looks to them. They will open a complaint and can freeze his eBay account.
Out of curiousity, does the Buyer have good feedback?
 
Brian_C said:
that's good that you've informed PayPal but MUST also open a complaint with eBay. The longer you wait before informing eBay the worse it looks to them. They will open a complaint and can freeze his eBay account.
Out of curiousity, does the Buyer have good feedback?

OK, thanks for that - I have made a complaint to eBay. The buyer had just two feedback, both positive of course. I failed to check that before shipping and there's a big lesson for me there.

All the correspondence was thro' eBay and I crossed the road to be reasonable.
 
I have a development. PayPal have responded:

"We've determined that the buyer should receive a refund if they send the merchandise back to you. The merchandise will be in the same condition as when the buyer received it and the buyer is responsible for all postage and packaging costs."

The money won't be released unless/until I confirm delivery. I'm sure this is a standard PayPal response, but it puts the buyer in a quandary. The major issues reported as reasons for not returning it came after I offered the refund last week and with the buyer's subsequent admission that he'd "kicked the ******* across the room" and put it in the trash. Later he followed up with "anyways i got rid of it now ,,, firewood" and "it's fuked beyond repair" etc. These were not the minor issues reported to PayPal in the formal complaint 5 days before (or indeed at all - they were only sent to me in eBay messages). So, the guitar has to come back with a loose volume knob, a missing tensioning spring and no volume (probably due to no battery). These are the issues reported to PayPal in the complaint - which was filed as "internal damage".

So, if he/she wants their money back, they have to admit they were lying and therefore, I assume, attempting to swindle me out of the guitar.

jazzybass.gif
 

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