[Lippy]

I recently purchased a set of IEMs from a fellow headfier and submitted payment to his Hotmail address via Paypal.

Payment was received, there were back and forth e-mail communiques with the seller, confirming payment, mailing address and an indication that it had been shipped with an active confirmation number soon to follow. He even left feedback for me on Headfi and asked me to do the same (which I said I would gladly do once I received the package intact).

Several e-mails that I sent to the same Hotmail address today came back as undeliverable and the seller has not gotten back to me with a confirmation number as promised.

I contacted another fellow Headfier today whom it appeared had also bought an item from this same seller on Headfi and he indicated that today he was beginning a claim with Paypal for money paid but item not yet received.

Does anyone here have any advice for me should this situation in fact turn out to be as unfortunate as it is starting to appear?

Is Paypal likely to recoup my $250 for me, or should I take this up with my credit card company?

If it appears we have a multi-offense crook on Headfi, who should I contact about the matter on this site?

Thanks.

Joshua

 

[[AK]Zip]

Hey Joshua,

I am sorry this happened to you. I would try with paypal first since someone else is also filing a complaint against him they will see that on file and maybe they will just refund both of you your money. Also, whoever this is I hope they are banned from here and cause no more problems on here. Please feel free to PM me if you have any questions I am willing to help in any way.

-Alex-

 

[PFKMan23]

I would file a complaint with Paypal as well as file a complaint with your credit card company.

 

[Lippy]

Thanks, Alex, for the sympathy and words of support and help. And thanks to both of you for your suggestions. Ultimately, unless this situation quickly turns around, I will indeed file claims with both Paypal and my credit card company.

 

[Squeek]

This is exactly why I will now only buy from Headfiers that have been around for a while.

With such a tight knit and trusting group, we can easily be preyed upon by scumbags. It's a shame because it is seemingly more and more prevalent here and is painting all new-ish members with the same brush.

If paypal is unwilling to help, contact your CC company for a chargeback.

 

[MusicJunkie]

How long has it been since you paid him?

 

[daycart1]

YOu should also describe your side of the story on the Head-Fi feedback forum. I hope things work out.

 

[Lippy]

Payment was made on 11-26-05 and though I realize this was only 3 days ago, it's the sudden undeliverability of e-mail to his e-mail address (via which I had been communicating successfully about the transaction) and lack of any contact since yesterday (and unread PMs), and the similar experience between this seller and another headfier that has me very concerned.

 

[Jahn]

sorry to hear about this - yeah the email thing is the most worrisome.
on a side note, everyone here can trust me, because most of the folks in NYC know where I live and can put a hit on me - meaning Lan would come and un-mod all my gear!

 

[fewtch]

I don't get the undeliverability part... Hotmail doesn't cancel Email addresses unless a person has been away for quite awhile. I don't think you can just cancel a Hotmail address, although I could be wrong.

 

[Enverxis]

There have been recent reports of some hotmail accounts going bonkers (plus one of my friends lost her account at random). Have you tried contacting him via Head-Fi or some other means ?

 

[[AK]Zip]

Joshua,

I would give it a full 14 days and if you get no contact from the seller at all then I would try to get a refund via paypal. If you file it before the 14 day mark with paypal you have a small chance of winning. Just like after 30 days you can't file it at all. I would have to say give him some time then contact paypal and if they don't refund you the money do it via your credit card. If you do it through your credit card and they give you your money back paypal will close your account so try via paypal first. Just a heads up.

-Alex-

 

[Firam]

Some general step, this info should be a sticky.

1.Paypal Scam Complaint
2.http://www.ifccfbi.gov/index.asp
3.http://www.usps.com/postalinspectors...dComplaint.htm
4.http://www.fraud.org/
5.Call their/your police department and get them involved.
6.Call your Bank/Credit Card company and let them know.
7.And the most important, call their parents/grandparents, if you can find them hopfully they are reasonable and when you tell them about what you did in the top 5 steps, they should cave in and get their spawn to stop being a jerk.
8.Keep trying to contact them and let him know that you are fighting.

 

[Lippy]

Thanks for the advice, Alex.

Since there are yet Unread PMs to this Headfier from me, I'll give it at most one week - then I'll initiate the claim with PayPal.

Joshua

 

[Edwood]

Feedback Forum, Feedback Forum.

Don't forget to leave feedback in the Feedback forum.

For taking a chance on an unknown, at the very least, get them to use another reference like eBay feedback for instance. But that's not enough, get them to send you a private message via eBay as well. That way you know they are not just showing another person's eBay feedback.

Not always a guarantee, but it helps.

Sorry to hear about being scammed, but part of what makes this community more tight knit is open communications and history. The feedback forum here in invaluable.

-Ed