ripped off on gumtree

sham69 · 25-03-2009 12:42PM #1

Title says it all.
I spotted a phone on gumtree that the missus was insterested in, emailed the guy (via gumtree) and he seemed legit.
I sent payment via paypal ( I normally wouldnt do paypal apart from ebay and recognised sites but needed something in a hurry for mothers day)
He said he would post the phone on Thursday but then even bothered to get back to me on Friday to say that he was late getting to the post office and that the phone should reach me by today. It did....
I paid for an LG Cookie phone but ended up getting a 10 yr old motorola phone complete with aerial that doesnt even work.
I have the guys email address (web based) and surely there is some sort of tracking on the parcel (from royal mail).
I really want to nail this guy , I realise it was my own stupidity and feel a bit sick to be honest.
Its the first time in over 10 years of buying stuff online that I have been ripped off.
I feel like sending the guy a nice email thanking him for the phone and pretending that I am happy with it etc.
I wouldnt give him the satisfaction of knowing that I am p'd off.
Is there anything I can do about this or is it a waste of time.
Cheers
Sham

ps I only paid 80 euro so while extremely annoying it could have been worse.

eth0_ · 25-03-2009 12:59PM

You paid with paypal, contact them ASAP to get a refund.

Rebel021 · 25-03-2009 01:04PM

item not as described claim

kildara · 25-03-2009 01:09PM

Is it possible he had two phones for sale and unknowingly sent you the wrong one. Either way paypal can halt the payment as he has obviously not sold you what he said he would!

sham69 · 25-03-2009 01:59PM

Just entered a dispute on paypal but I dont hold out much hope.
The guy replied saying he posted the LG phone and he is sorry that I am not happy with the phone.
its his word against mine so don't know what else I can do.

jor el · 25-03-2009 02:38PM

Escalate the dispute to a claim, if you haven't already.

If this fails, you could try a credit card chargeback, if you used a credit card to fund the payment.

xxmarymoxx · 25-03-2009 02:42PM

the phone was not as described so therefore u are entiltled to your money back i never buy from gumtree heard to many bad rip off stories even if ur man wont refund you paypay will as they have good insurance but as above escalte it to a claim on paypay cos they wil contact this guy and sort it either way for u €80 is stil a lot of money

dudara · 25-03-2009 03:10PM

Moved to Online Buying & Auctions

dudara

eth0_ · 25-03-2009 03:17PM

I'm just worried the OP has no way of proving that the 10 year old motorola is the phone he was sent. The seller could claim HE is being ripped off by the OP

Lesson learned - buy from ebay from sellers with good feedback.

JJ · 25-03-2009 04:02PM

If you file a not as described claim, you need to remember that the item has to be returned by a trackable method. PayPal won't give you the time of day unless you return the item tracked.

If you file an item not received claim, the onus is on the seller to prove that you received the item.

sham69 · 25-03-2009 04:25PM

thanks guys.
Lesson learned is right.
Its proving it thats the problem, the guy is adamant that he sent me the right phone.

kildara · 25-03-2009 04:47PM

What was the basis of the complaint you have lodged with Paypal?
I ask this because you could have lodged a "Not Received" complaint to Paypal - because he obviously didnt send out the LG that he said he would.
You dont know who this poxy Motorola came from but it couldnt have been him if he claims to have posted an LG

(so the Motorola now becomes none of his business).

It might be easier to say he never sent it out in the first place rather than he sent a poxy one out.

sham69 · 26-03-2009 09:07AM

Unbelievable....
They closed the claim a couple of hours after I opened it.
Some stupid explanation and said that they would keep an eye on the sellers transactions from now on...
What a crock of ****.
How are they allowed to get away with this?
I saw another post where the guy emailed all the head honchos so i am going to try that.
Nothing to lose.
Thanks for the replies all.

xxmarymoxx · 26-03-2009 09:38AM

they had no right to close it as it hasnt been resolved either he has to give u a refund or they do go and give this guy as much negative feedback as u can then go higher than the eejit on paypal that closed the claim good luck

HarryD · 26-03-2009 09:47AM

Chargeback required..

ednwireland · 26-03-2009 10:09AM

sham69 wrote: »

Unbelievable....
They closed the claim a couple of hours after I opened it.
Some stupid explanation and said that they would keep an eye on the sellers transactions from now on...
What a crock of ****.
How are they allowed to get away with this?
I saw another post where the guy emailed all the head honchos so i am going to try that.
Nothing to lose.
Thanks for the replies all.

what you've got to remember is paypal is a completly unregulated by the financial services system just type paypal problems into google and see what comes up. they are not a bank and i'm not sure they are not regulated in the usa by the federal authorities.
in europe they are in luxembourg where they seem to be under their regulation (whatever that is)
. buyer (and seller) beware when it comes to paypal (and ebay i only ever buy low value items on ebay and with paypal anyway)

Eireann · 26-03-2009 11:46AM

OP, check your PMs... sent you those email addys for an appeal

E.T. · 26-03-2009 09:32PM

This might sound a bit stupid but is there any way you can find out how much the package he sent weighed (through Royal Mail) and find out how much it should have weighed with the type of phone you paid for? If there is a difference it would show that he didn't send the one you paid for.

Eireann · 27-03-2009 11:38AM

It wouldnt go on weight, I believe the only info recorded would be the value of the item.

Daibheid · 27-03-2009 12:25PM

sham69 wrote: »

Unbelievable....
They closed the claim a couple of hours after I opened it.
Some stupid explanation and said that they would keep an eye on the sellers transactions from now on...
What a crock of ****.
How are they allowed to get away with this?
I saw another post where the guy emailed all the head honchos so i am going to try that.
Nothing to lose.
Thanks for the replies all.

I've maybe made 5 claims on Paypal over as many years and only claimed sucessfully once - for $11 on the last attempt. I learned each time that they have so many rules in the fine print that you need to be prompt and seriously committed to pursuing a claim with them. The usual problem is we allow a week or two extra for postage from even the UK to get here. Then you find after emailing the seller and getting a few promises it's suddenly too late to file a claim. They're just as quick to tell you it's too soon to file a claim.

The most amazing reply was when I'd got everything right , filed on time after going through the motions with the seller and gone through their whole arbitration deal and they found in my favour. But again no money back as that seller had no funds in their account to fund the claim but if that changed they'd let me know. I'd assumed they covered the loss but no - only with the sellers money.

They claim protection has improved but I'd advise don't risk money you can't afford to lose with private sellers on any forum and ensure it's credit card funded so you have some recourse there. Again I can tell you from experience that the credit card people are pretty good at quoting cut-off dates on claims too so in all cases file early rather than worrying about offending the seller. Hope this spares someone some grief!

Hagar · 27-03-2009 12:31PM

Can you trace the owner details of the phone via its IMEI number? If you can you have him. It would be definitive proof of him sending you the wrong phone. Paypal could not ignore that. It also opens up the possibility of a small claims court action.

here.from.day.1 · 27-03-2009 01:07PM

Hagar wrote: »

Can you trace the owner details of the phone via its IMEI number? If you can you have him. It would be definitive proof of him sending you the wrong phone. Paypal could not ignore that. It also opens up the possibility of a small claims court action.

Good call. (No pun intended!)

jor el · 27-03-2009 01:21PM

The network that the phone was originally on, would know who originally owned it, but they won't give that information to you. Also, it would depend on it actually being registered, and if it was PAYG then it might not have been.

lecheile · 28-03-2009 01:38PM

Interesting scam - don't tell me we are going to have to start videoing the arrival and unpacking of all items bought to be able to prove such cliams like this ;(

eth0_ · 28-03-2009 06:09PM

OP - get your credit card issuer to do a chargeback.

Paypal will probably cancel your account but hey, feck them.

okidoki987 · 29-03-2009 11:23PM

They closed the claim a couple of hours after I opened it.
Some stupid explanation and said that they would keep an eye on the sellers transactions from now on...
What a crock of ****.

Same thing happened to me a while ago.
Will never use Paypal again.

Again I can tell you from experience that the credit card people are pretty good at quoting cut-off dates on claims

Credit cards companies will try and get out of chasing problems with Paypal payments.
According to them it's to hard to get their money back from them!

sham69 · 30-03-2009 08:52AM

Thanks all for the replies.
I was thinking of trying to do something with the phone, it is quite old so not sure if it is registered or not. Its a lot of hassle but would be worth it if I got my money back.
I emailed all the CEO's etc so waiting on a reply to see if they will overturn their decision.
I don't hold out much hope.
Might try the chargeback...
Thanks again.

sham69 · 01-04-2009 08:42AM

Result (I think).
Got an email saying that they reviewed my case and are willing to refund the money as a good will gesture.
They sent me an affadafit I had to sign and fax back to them to say that the item was destroyed. I sent it back yesterday s just waiting for the money...
Thanks to everyone, especially Eireann...
Thanks.

here.from.day.1 · 01-04-2009 09:03AM

Well done, and thanks for letting us know. Good to see a somewhat positive outcome.

Eireann · 01-04-2009 05:18PM

sham69 wrote: »

Result (I think).
Thanks to everyone, especially Eireann...
Thanks.

Thanks Sham.. glad I came on here now since I seem a little bit of help to someone !!

Davy · 01-04-2009 06:03PM

Glad you got it sorted. Wasnt to long drawn out either.

ripped off on gumtree

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