Scammed 410 euro from adverts.ie after trying buy phone

FrozenYoghurts

Hi about a month ago I paid 410 euro bank transfer to someone selling a 5s on adverts. He kept coming up with excuses every day on how he missed the post and so on. I have his name, bank details and address. Will the bank/gardai be any help to me or will I ever see this money again?

Judgement Day

FrozenYoghurts wrote: »

Hi about a month ago I paid 410 euro bank transfer to someone selling a 5s on adverts. He kept coming up with excuses every day on how he missed the post and so on. I have his name, bank details and address. Will the bank/gardai be any help to me or will I ever see this money again?

Instead of posting here you should be round to the Gardai, getting on to the bank and Adverts.ie . Does the seller still have any Ads running on Adverts.ie? What sort of feedback did they have? I don't know whether you have any chance of getting your money back but you must have been crazy to part with €400+ without having the goods in your hand.

Spocker

File a complaint with the Gardai. Please PM me a link to the seller/ad

blahblah06

Wasting your time..same happened me and was told its tough luck..adverts couldnt give a flying ¥¥¥¥

firestarter51

same thing happened to my wife, paid by bank draft all the guards did was ring the person and tell him to send my wife the phone, to which he said he would, obviously he didnt, gaurd said he sounded like a traveller, and nothing he could do
lesson learned, only use paypal, if the seller doesnt agree move on to another seller

jacksie66

This post has been deleted.

firestarter51

jacksie66 wrote: »

How much feedback did they have. I personally wouldn't hand over that much cash to someone unless they had plus 20 positive and no negs..

20 positive feedback means nothing on adverts, they could have got 20 free items from people or given away 20 things, always use paypal for a high amount and you have paypal buyer protection
or meet in person for a cash deal but bring a friend

mikeym

http://www.advertiser.ie/mayo/article/62536/man-jailed-for-donedeal-fraud

A man who placed adverts on a website offering goods for sale, which he did not have and for which he received money, was jailed by Judge Mary Devins this week as he failed to have full compensation in court.

At a previous court sitting it was outlined by Garda Nicola Golden that on July 14 2012, gardaí received a complaint by Patrick Kiely from Claremorris that he saw an advert on donedeal.ie for an iPhone for sale for €300. The seller ‘Mick’ was contacted by phone and Mr Kiely agreed to lodge money into Mick’s AIB account on Friday July 13. Mick was to send the man a text when the money was received, with a postage tracking number, but this was never texted and Mr Kiely then contacted gardaí.

Garda Golden made enquiries and discovered that another man in Dublin had also paid money into the same account after seeing an advert on the same website for an iPad. The details of this account belonged to Michael Lawrence, 2 Kilkenny Close, Moneen, Castlebar. Lawrence admitted to gardaí that he placed adverts for items he did not have for sale.

Altogether, eight injured parties came forward. A total of €1,835 had been scammed from these people.

The 20-year-old man was co-operative and he had no previous convictions.

Solicitor James Ward said that he did not think Lawrence concocted the idea. Mr Ward said that the “unpleasant crime” was used to pay towards Lawrence’s wedding which took place in January.

Judge Mary Devins adjourned the case for the full amount to be paid to all people defrauded. However at the adjourned court sitting he only managed to come up with €200. At Wednesday’s court he only had another €100 in court and the judge gave him to 1pm that day to have the full amount in court or he would be jailed. Lawrence was not in court at 1pm and the judge jailed him for defrauding innocent people.

He was convicted and sentenced to a total of six months in prison, with the last month to be suspended on the condition that the full amount of compensation be paid in full.

Heres another article.

http://www.advertiser.ie/galway/article/49936/man-jailed-for-donedeal-fraud-and-possession-of-house-breaking-implements

firestarter51

must depend on what guard you get i guess, if the person did not pay the fine and went to prison then the victims did not get any money back, so in effect a waste of time really and we have to then pay for the thieving scum to be fed 3 meals a day and watch tv and get schooled in better frauds from the professionals
paypal has to be the way forward

deckycoop

FrozenYoghurts wrote: »

Hi about a month ago I paid 410 euro bank transfer to someone selling a 5s on adverts. He kept coming up with excuses every day on how he missed the post and so on. I have his name, bank details and address. Will the bank/gardai be any help to me or will I ever see this money again?

im sorry but what age are you.. people of ireland are really lacking common sense..

foggy_lad

firestarter51 wrote: »

must depend on what guard you get i guess, if the person did not pay the fine and went to prison then the victims did not get any money back, so in effect a waste of time really and we have to then pay for the thieving scum to be fed 3 meals a day and watch tv and get schooled in better frauds from the professionals
paypal has to be the way forward

In this case the person was jailed for non payment of a court ordered sum so afaik even if he does the full 6 months he should still owe the money when released.

john the one

deckycoop wrote: »

im sorry but what age are you.. people of ireland are really lacking common sense..

How does that comment help in any way?

Sam Mac

john the one wrote: »

How does that comment help in any way?

It doesn't help at all. P*ss off decky.

Pocoyo

OP send the seller the above links or tell him about these links and then give him 48hrs to refund your money or you will go to the guards.

B_Rabbit

I'd call around to his address and ask him nicely for the money.

Pocoyo

B_Rabbit wrote: »

I'd call around to his address and ask him nicely for the money.

Ya never know what you might find

deckycoop

john the one wrote: »

How does that comment help in any way?

it will help them hopefully realise to be more careful.. think things true in there head before giving away 400 euro and to factor in a bit of common sense..now if the poster is only a young person, there loss of money will be enough for a kick in the teeth for them.. but if they re of a age where common sense is expected with maturity then my point of people lacking common sense is justified.

once bitten, twice shy

BeerSteakBirds

FrozenYoghurts wrote: »

Hi about a month ago I paid 410 euro bank transfer to someone selling a 5s on adverts. He kept coming up with excuses every day on how he missed the post and so on. I have his name, bank details and address. Will the bank/gardai be any help to me or will I ever see this money again?

Go immediately to the Garda and to a solicitor. Adverts will not help you.
Look up Facebook buy and sell groups . Everyones buying and selling on Facebook these days anyway as it is free and you can see your sellers profile photo and keep it for your records for when you meet. Adverts has shot itself in the foot with it's greedy changes taking your money but not making you any safer and is dead. Adverts will do nothing , they take their money and give you nothing back in return.

deckycoop

blahblah06 wrote: »

Wasting your time..same happened me and was told its tough luck..adverts couldnt give a flying ¥¥¥¥

;

A lack of common sense... we as a people are a naive nation.. this thread is only after opening and there is 3 people all saying the same thing.. i can bet it wont happen to these people again because they were naive in the first place..

amdublin

To be fair, the seller has scammed the man not adverts.
Plus the man handed over money without the item in his hand is the crux of the problem.

Have item in hand, or use pay pal.

PLUG71

B_Rabbit wrote: »

I'd call around to his address and ask him nicely for the money.

Dont go alone!:cool:

BeerSteakBirds

amdublin wrote: »

To be fair, the seller has scammed the man not adverts.

Nobody said adverts scammed yer man. Adverts can legally charge what it wants while not giving a flying about him. Adverts is becoming insignificant anyway because people are moving to Facebook groups which are free.

As one user already said ALWAYS USE PAYPAL.

You will save yourself the time, energy and financial problems associated with such issues.

If you do not receive the goods or the goods are not as described just open a case with them and if there is no response from the seller or the seller does not hold up their end of the deal Paypal will reverse the charges.

Mrs Garth Brooks

I'd like to say another thing. Use paypal but do not pay by gift.

I too was scammed and I was asked to sent the payment as a "gift" and because of this I hadn't a leg to stand on. A very painful lesson to learn. I was scammed out of €150.

The gardai were useless telling me it was only €150. Like I should let them away with it.

Paypal wouldn't reverse the charges as it was a "gift". And my credit card company wouldn't do a charge back either as I authorised this "gift".

I was screwed.

Came across a website were I was able send a fake email for about €3 from the scammer to me admitting to scamming me. I was able to send it off to the credit card company and they got the ball rolling then with the charge back. What he did was way worse!

Anyway always use paypal and use the option to pay for goods and services. That way you get your money back.

Judgement Day

BeerSteakBirds wrote: »

Nobody said adverts scammed yer man. Adverts can legally charge what it wants while not giving a flying about him. Adverts is becoming insignificant anyway because people are moving to Facebook groups which are free.

You're kidding right? You want to buy/sell something so you move to Facebook...
I'm not a fan of Adverts.ie for various reasons - mainly the number of tyre kickers and the small footfall (is the right description?) but the OP's problem is caused by naivety and nothing else.

BeerSteakBirds

Judgement Day wrote: »

You're kidding right? You want to buy/sell something so you move to Facebook...
I'm not a fan of Adverts.ie for various reasons - mainly the number of tyre kickers and the small footfall (is the right description?) but the OP's problem is caused by naivety and nothing else.

Damn right you move to Facebook. It is free, you can private message people and they will have their profile photo up which you can save for your security. I know many people who are very happy with and got fantastic deals from FB.

By the way , a few weeks ago I mentioned Facebook casually on an adverts thread once and it got deleted and the thread closed without any communication, without telling me they had a problem with my remark so they shouldn't be surprised if I introduce it as the best solution to a problem again. So good in fact they fear it and have to censor it. Facebook is a lot more secure if you have the photo ID of the seller. Rep on adverts can be easily faked or built up over a short time with a little bit of patience by a scammer.

padyjoe

I sell some stuff occasionally on adverts too. But I don't really like paypal as a payment. Once I was burnt agreed to paypal payment, he sent me the agreed amount then the big surprise came: he pushed the charges onto me as well, got less money and never agreed to myself paying the charges involved. And the other big question for me: one pays paypal, gets the package and being a nice one escalates a claim to get their money back. If all success I'll be left no money, no item either.

PLUG71

BeerSteakBirds wrote: »

Damn right you move to Facebook. It is free, you can private message people and they will have their profile photo up which you can save for your security. I know many people who are very happy with and got fantastic deals from FB.

By the way , a few weeks ago I mentioned Facebook casually on an adverts thread once and it got deleted and the thread closed without any communication, without telling me they had a problem with my remark so they shouldn't be surprised if I introduce it as the best solution to a problem again. So good in fact they fear it and have to censor it. Facebook is a lot more secure if you have the photo ID of the seller. Rep on adverts can be easily faked or built up over a short time with a little bit of patience by a scammer.

Like Beersteakbirds said its free and no fee's.
You can converse privately and still go through Paypal!

I think Adverts in many ways is a good selling platform but for me the introduction of seller fee's has spoilt it!

amdublin

But, but, but....

Fb could be a fake profile. A profile "pic" doesn't really help you in the long run.

Adverts has it's pros and cons. Fb has it's pros and cons.

Common sense folks!
Whatever you are using, dont pay until you have item in hand, or else use pay pal.

Ps. For those denouncing adverts for not caring/ doing nothing. Believeme, fb will do nothing as well.
So don't get scammed! Usecommon sense!

PLUG71

amdublin wrote: »

But, but, but....

Fb could be a fake profile. A profile "pic" doesn't really help you in the long run.

Adverts has it's pros and cons. Fb has it's pros and cons.

Common sense folks!
Whatever you are using, dont pay until you have item in hand, or else use pay pal.

Ps. For those denouncing adverts for not caring/ doing nothing. Believeme, fb will do nothing as well.
So don't get scammed! Usecommon sense!

To be fair your right about FB, try resolving an issue through them!!

The moral is Use Paypal or use cash!

amdublin

Ps. I cannot bear those fb selling groups; all txt spk and bad spelling. Full of "full tym mamy to my angles" type of people.

I thought paypal only gave buyer protection for ebay?

Certainly didnt think they give buyer protection for adverts.ie, huge plus if they do.
,

yawhat!

amdublin wrote: »

Ps. I cannot bear those fb selling groups; all txt spk and bad spelling. Full of "full tym mamy to my angles" type of people.

Oh thats a lovely comment darling, thank you angels. Your the best seller ever xxx

PLUG71

Deleted User wrote: »

I thought paypal only gave buyer protection for ebay?

Certainly dont think they give buyer protection for adverts.ie!

Good point!

I thought if you use Paypal for any transaction your were under their cover

BeerSteakBirds

amdublin wrote: »

Ps. I cannot bear those fb selling groups; all txt spk and bad spelling. Full of "full tym mamy to my angles" type of people.

You have got to be kidding. Text speak is not banned on Adverts either and I have patiently communicated with many illiterate people on Adverts who I do not judge . However if people are serious about doing a deal they will communicate in the best way possible. I have a positive rep going into the hundreds with not one neg as mainly a buyer on Adverts. I am since long gone to Facebook.
On Facebook they are happy with the advertising revenue and promised it will be free forever unlike greedy Adverts.

nails1

PLUG71 wrote: »

Like Beersteakbirds said its free and no fee's.
You can converse privately and still go through Paypal!

I think Adverts in many ways is a good selling platform but for me the introduction of seller fee's has spoilt it!

It hasn't really though as most people just withdraw an add now once the item has been sold. It would be a different story If it cost money to place the add like on donedeal . It's still basically free to place and sell an item via the standard ad method, nothing has changed in this regard.

Baron Kurtz

blahblah06 wrote: »

Wasting your time..same happened me and was told its tough luck..adverts couldnt give a flying ¥¥¥¥

No, he certainly is not.

Something similar happened to me and the lads in Kevin Street were brilliant in retrieving my funds.

It will take a bit of time, as they have to acquire the information from the bank through some red tape procedure with warrants etc. I'd be hopeful the OP will get their cash returned, but be prepared to wait a month or two for it. The bank details of the scammer are what's important here - hopefully it wasn't one solely set up for this purpose. Wouldn't think so, as the bank would probably be onto it in no time.

mikeym

The scammer could be scamming other victims so I recommend that the OP reports the matter to the Gardai.

irish_goat

Why do these stories always seem to revolve around iphones?

FrozenYoghurts

Just letting everyone know I sent the scammer a message through adverts. I told him I'll do everything in my power to get the money back and that I'll even go to the small claims court. he replied saying he got caught up in some stuff and thats why he didnt reply, and he's going to go to the bank and do a transfer. Thanks for all of your advice guys.

foggy_lad

Would you put €400 in cash into an envelope and post it to someone? No

So why do people think it is ok to stick the same money into a strangers bank account when there is as much recourse as if you sent it through the post?

Judgement Day

FrozenYoghurts wrote: »

Just letting everyone know I sent the scammer a message through adverts. I told him I'll do everything in my power to get the money back and that I'll even go to the small claims court. he replied saying he got caught up in some stuff and thats why he didnt reply, and he's going to go to the bank and do a transfer. Thanks for all of your advice guys.

And this all took place over a month ago and you think he's going to pay now.:rolleyes: I suppose you still haven't brought it to the attention of Adverts.ie?

Kaizersoze81

HardLuckWoman wrote: »

I'd like to say another thing. Use paypal but do not pay by gift.

I too was scammed and I was asked to sent the payment as a "gift" and because of this I hadn't a leg to stand on. A very painful lesson to learn. I was scammed out of €150.

The gardai were useless telling me it was only €150. Like I should let them away with it.

Paypal wouldn't reverse the charges as it was a "gift". And my credit card company wouldn't do a charge back either as I authorised this "gift".

I was screwed.

Came across a website were I was able send a fake email for about €3 from the scammer to me admitting to scamming me. I was able to send it off to the credit card company and they got the ball rolling then with the charge back. What he did was way worse!

Anyway always use paypal and use the option to pay for goods and services. That way you get your money back.

Your admitting defrauding your credit card company by sending fake emails. Not a very wise thing to admit to online.

rubadub

foggy_lad wrote: »

So why do people think it is ok to stick the same money into a strangers bank account when there is as much recourse as if you sent it through the post?

I would guess that there is more recourse with the bank transfer, if the gardai or bank are bothered and/or are legally allowed act on it.

If you went to the gardai and said you posted it I would expect less sympathy or investigation -as it could have been stolen in the postal system, so no way to know if the person even got it.

Nody

FrozenYoghurts wrote: »

Just letting everyone know I sent the scammer a message through adverts. I told him I'll do everything in my power to get the money back and that I'll even go to the small claims court. he replied saying he got caught up in some stuff and thats why he didnt reply, and he's going to go to the bank and do a transfer. Thanks for all of your advice guys.

If he's not a business small claims court will do nothing; it's not for Consumer to Consumer sales.

As for bank transfer; the bank can only reverse it if it gets approval by the account holder or a court ordering them to basically. There is no way they can simply decide it's fraud and reverse the money out again because someone claims they got scammed.

Fred Swanson

This post has been deleted.

Kaizersoze81

Fred Swanson wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

Yes. Because clearly it's impossible to track down who a person is online, especially if they admit to a crime.

Fred Swanson

This post has been deleted.