Fake phone bought online

armand1230

Hi everyone. I bought a samsung galaxy s6 online about a month ago for 320 euros. It was posted on a buy and sell website. The seller said that they were selling it cheap because it had a problem with the camera thats why they were selling it cheap. The seller said that we can meet up so I can check the phone but the seller lives far away from where I am so I just said I'll send the payment in paypal and ship me the phone. When I got the phone, it didn't feel right. Something was wrong and I told the seller. The seller said have it checked. Since I am busy it took me about 3 weeks to figure out it was a fake. When I did, I contacted the seller right away and asked for a refund. The seller said they did not know it was fake and that the money was already gone so they cant give me a refund. I tried to figure out what to do with the phone but I am really upset about the fact that I was sold a fake phone. So I sent them a message saying that I will tell the gards that they did this and demanded for a refund. My question is, is there anything I can do to get the refund? I only have the name of the seller. I had the address on the package but I threw it away and don't remember it. So all I have is their name. Can I file a case against the seller? Thanks!

Pat Mustard

Look for a refund through Paypal. Don't know the details but check it for yourself.

https://www.paypal.com/ie/webapps/mpp/refunded-returns

roast

Yup, file a paypal dispute. PP refund you the money and then chase the seller themselves. You'll need to officially message the seller on paypal first. https://www.paypal.com/ie/webapps/mpp/first-dispute

Was the paypal a "Personal" transaction? If so, there's no recourse, as far as I'm aware.

topmanamillion

It's worth letting the guards know too. The name and phone number of the seller should be plenty for them to work with. Best of luck with it.

Edit;I'm unsure if you have the sellers number as you may have been contacting them online. Anyway still certainly worth informing the guards.

Cabaal

topmanamillion wrote: »

It's worth letting the guards know too. The name and phone number of the seller should be plenty for them to work with. Best of luck with it.

Edit;I'm unsure if you have the sellers number as you may have been contacting them online. Anyway still certainly worth informing the guards.

Gardai won't care and won't get involved , the op is only wasting their time.

coylemj

topmanamillion wrote: »

It's worth letting the guards know too. The name and phone number of the seller should be plenty for them to work with. Best of luck with it.

Edit;I'm unsure if you have the sellers number as you may have been contacting them online. Anyway still certainly worth informing the guards.

Seriously naive attitude and rubbish advice.

OP says he/she only has the seller's name, it's a complete waste of time informing the Gardai. Even if the OP had the seller's name and address, it would be a waste of time, the Gardai would say it's a civil case, i.e. we couldn't be bothered.

This is similar to the situation where a dodgy car dealer sells a car with a serious fault which was known to him at the time of the sale, the Gardai will do nothing.

Caveat Emptor

melon_collie

coylemj wrote: »

Seriously naive attitude and rubbish advice.

OP says he/she only has the seller's name, it's a complete waste of time informing the Gardai. Even if the OP had the seller's name and address, it would be a waste of time, the Gardai would say it's a civil case, i.e. we couldn't be bothered.

This is similar to the situation where a dodgy car dealer sells a car with a serious fault which was known to him at the time of the sale, the Gardai will do nothing.

Caveat Emptor

Not correct. I had an issue about 2 years ago where I purchased a phone from another buy and sell website. Genuine phone but after 6 months the phone IMEI was blocked on the network. I rang Vodafone about it and they told me that the phone had been reported stolen.

Apparently this is a common enough trick. Seller gets money for the sale of the phone and then gets a new phone from vodafone after reporting it stolen a few months down the line.

Anywho I called the Gardai and reported the incident. Gave them the number of the guy who sold the phone. They also told me that they would sign a statement provided by me which I could present to Vodafone fraud department with a view to getting the IMEI unblocked. As it happened I didn't need the statement from them as I sorted it out with Vodafone directly.

Fraud is fraud and it is against the law.

armand1230

Thank you for answering everyone. The paypal was a personal transaction. So i dont know if i can file a dispute but I will check on it. So there would be no use in reporting the sellers name to the gardai? I called the consumer act and small claims court and they said since it is and individual and not a business they can't do anything either. Is there anything I can do to the seller at this point asides from filing a dispute in paypal? Will I be able to file a civil case against them since I do have their name?

slimjimmc

You could file a civil case in the District Court but you'll need the seller's name and address. I doubt it's worth it financially as you'll have legal costs and if you lose you'll probably have to pay the seller's costs too and you can be fairly certain they'll be well in excess of €320. It won't do any harm to inform the Gardaí but don't expect anything from it.

coylemj

melon_collie wrote: »

Not correct. I had an issue about 2 years ago where I purchased a phone from another buy and sell website. Genuine phone but after 6 months the phone IMEI was blocked on the network. I rang Vodafone about it and they told me that the phone had been reported stolen.

What's 'not correct' about my post? You bought a genuine phone which got blocked by the network because the seller was a fraudster and you got Vodafone to unblock it - big deal. The OP bought a fake phone from someone and all he has is their name (no address) which is probably false, he will get nowhere with the Gardai reporting it.

armand1230

I called the gards and they said they cant do anything about it. they said I can file a civil case against them. So I went to the garda station near where I live and they said I need to report it to the gards where the seller lives. problem is I don't know the sellers address. I called up a solicitor and they said that they can file a civil case against that person but I would need their details. Wouldn't they be able to file a case up just by using the sellers name? That's all I have and the seller isn't responding to any of my messages and I cant call the seller phone anymore. I know it's wrong but if I don't get my money back, at least I can get the person back.

esforum

armand1230 wrote: »

Hi everyone. I bought a samsung galaxy s6 online about a month ago for 320 euros. It was posted on a buy and sell website. The seller said that they were selling it cheap because it had a problem with the camera thats why they were selling it cheap. The seller said that we can meet up so I can check the phone but the seller lives far away from where I am so I just said I'll send the payment in paypal and ship me the phone. When I got the phone, it didn't feel right. Something was wrong and I told the seller. The seller said have it checked. Since I am busy it took me about 3 weeks to figure out it was a fake. When I did, I contacted the seller right away and asked for a refund. The seller said they did not know it was fake and that the money was already gone so they cant give me a refund. I tried to figure out what to do with the phone but I am really upset about the fact that I was sold a fake phone. So I sent them a message saying that I will tell the gards that they did this and demanded for a refund. My question is, is there anything I can do to get the refund? I only have the name of the seller. I had the address on the package but I threw it away and don't remember it. So all I have is their name. Can I file a case against the seller? Thanks!

Highly unlikely. The Gardai wont be able to do much. No evidence its the same phone plus buy & sell sites are largely buyer beware. Not impossible mind you depending on what evidence can be garnered, you said you had emails, they might get the ball rolling. Bit unfair people saying the Gardai just couldnt be bothered, if its not a criminal act its not a criminal act. Gardai cant just go after someone for the craic.

paypal is not an option as it was a personal transaction.

when all is said and done, you have a name and an email address or phone number, probable unregistered. No imei records, no reciepts, even if the email is traced your mans just gonna deny he sold you a dodgy phone and you cant prove otherwise to a level for a criminal court case.

solicitor will probable I would imagine cost more.

You could always see if he selling other dodgy stuff and maybe set him up using a mates phone? If you make enough hassle for him you might get somewhere or you could get enough info this way to proceed with a small claims court case but again, unsure if you would win.

I dunno why you would go to a Garda station to file a civil claim, thats what solicitors ecist for. (its Guards or Gardai not gards by the way)

endacl

What will a civil case cost you in solicitor's fees...?

topmanamillion

It looks like it is a hard learned lesson.

mickdw

You are dreaming if you think you can get anywhere with this. You don't even have an address for the seller.
Waste of time.
Do your homework the next time. A fake is probably worth 100 quid anyway so just run with it for a while to cover your loss.

armand1230

thank you again to all of you for answering my post. So in short, since I don't have the complete details of the seller and only have the name (which sound like a foreign name) the gradai can't do anything and filing a civil case won't get me anywhere. Can the gardai trace the name? or would they not do anything about it as well?

Again thank you all for the help. All of your help is truly appreciated and has helped me deal with what is happening. Thank you.

dubscottie

OP, if you have an phone number, username or email (it would be on PayPal email you got)or rough location, google it..

Its amazing what folks have online.

I got done myself and was able to get an address, Facebook profile etc just from the email address for the guy that attempted to screw me a year ago..