eBay Fraud - BEWARE!!!

Bille

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Hi All,
I've just been victim to an eBay fraud advertising trailers on eBay under someone else's account.

They raised an, what I thought to be a genuine, eBay invoice with all the right graphics and links for me to pay the money by bank transfer.

Found out 30 minutes after the transfer it was a fraud. Phoned the bank, Lloyds TSB, and they said because I paid the money willingly, they won't help and are not liable.

Phoned Barclays (where the fraudster has their account), they are not doing anything, because apparently the fraudster has the right to privacy and the money is now his.

Phoned eBay, they said nothing to do with them (even though as I had found out the REAL holder of the eBay account had already reported that her eBay account had been hacked into, but had just been told to change her password!!!

Phoned the police - nothing to do with them!!!

Phoned Action Fraud - logged a cased - they said it would most likely not be pursued!!!

IS THERE ANYONE HERE WHO MIGHT BE ABLE TO HELP - PLEASE???

Thanks for listening :)
Bille
 

Singing Dawg

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I am really sorry to hear what's happened to you, I know how you must be feeling because exactly the same thing happened to me with a 60x40 steel framed building i paid £4000 for to ieuan aled owen in wales who never supplied it.

You can start a claim at "moneyclaimsonline", this will get you a county court judgement against your fraudster. The court will eventually order them to repay you, but the fraudster can ignore that judgement and not bother to pay, which is what ieuan owen is doing in my case. Next step will be court bailiff but in my case I have put a debt collector after him now, they will start seeing him face to face regularly to try to enforce the debt but i am not holding my breath.

Ebay told me to report it to police as fraud but police say not enough evidence. Ebay seem to only protect the seller.

Google his name, find out as much as you can about him and use it to your advantage.

Ieuan Aled Owen, NW Fabrication Services, has a girlfriend called Vicki Small , Small Steps Animal Training, I wonder how they spent my money while my horses stand in the mud without their shed and my kids wonder why Christmas was so poor? Barstewards.

Ebay should take far more responsibility, they have all sellers details and could do something with the sellers bank to get the victims money back. But they won't bother, as it's not their money.
 

Clippy

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OMG what a nightmare.

Would have thought most people pay cash when they collect and someone asking for more than a depoisit would start the alarm bells ringing with me.

Hope you sort it out
 

HelenPassfield

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I would try phoning Lloyds TSB back, even though you willingly paid the money it was under fraudulent activity from the other party. I have received refunds from Lloyds TSB where my debit card has wrongly been used whilst they conduct an investigation. I am not sure how debit card use would be considered different from a transfer but maybe ask them? At least that way you will have the money back and not lost while an investigation is underway.

Also, I do wonder why the police would not help, that seems very unfair
 

Andiamo

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omg, you poor thing.
How much did you lose?

It's tricky with ebay, they only protect you if you use Paypal, they don't offer protection if you pay outside of ebay.

I've bought a couple of big ticket items off ebay - in both cases I went to see the item before parting with my cash. I paid cash to the sellers on collection of the item. So, I paid it, and took the item away straight away.

On that note, they were both scams though - dodgy cars - I have been done twice now buying 4x4's. The first was in 2011 - I bought an Isuzu Trooper to pull a horse trailer, the car had a brand new MOT. It turned out afterwards when the brakes failed 2 days later, that the MOT was fake and I could have been killed. But because I paid cash on collection, ebay did nothing.

The next was a Jeep Cherokee in May 2012 - cost me £2500 - paid cash on collection. Drove it away, and on the way home the transmission light came on...after lots of diagnostics, it turned out the transmission was just about dead, and needed to be replaced for £2K, it was unsafe to drive. Again, it had a brand new MOT on it. I had to sell the Jeep for scrap, it wasn't worth it to fix it, and ebay wouldn't do anything. The Isuzu - same - had to sell as scrap.

I was badly burned, but in a different way. I would say though, that paying by Paypal is the way forward, because ebay can reverse transactions in Paypal, whereas they can't with external bank accounts.

Sorry about what's happened, you must be gutted.
 

Spyda

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OMG :eek: This is outrageous. Why doesn't anyone want to help recover the funds and prosecute a fraudster? Shucks, if it's soooo darned easy to get away with these things then why aren't we all at it?! Oh yeah, we've got morals. :mad:

So sorry to learn what's happened and I just cannot believe every organisation involved is just shrugging their proverbial shoulders. Ludicrous. What did the Police say? If they say it's a civil matter and nothing to do with them - I'd have insisted they tell me where to go to get help in pursuing these criminals. Grrrrrr..... makes my blood boil. Do hope you get some resolution (and your money back.)

Edited to say: PayPal is all very good in theory but lots of sellers wont accept it for large sums due to the ludicrous fees eBay/PayPal impose for transactions. I used to sell on eBay (small batteries at 99p a strip) but I had to give up because the fees were just making the whole thing unprofitable.
 
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shellonabeach

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Gosh I have to say I have seen several trailers for sale on ebay and reported the adds as they have been copied from elsewhere and the seller had no feedback.

One in particular would have been a bargain. I asked the seller for a contact number so I could arrange to come and view with cash, he kept saying he would send more photo's and delivery was included within the price. In the end he stopped replying to me when I said I could be there the next morning...

OP I found this advice regarding sending money to the wrong person:

Many have been left without thousands of pounds after accidentally getting one digit wrong when transferring funds.
If this happens, getting your money back can take months of phoning and writing to your bank. This is because bank rules stop money accidentally transferred from being snatched back immediately.
Instead, your bank must speak to the other bank, which must then ask the recipient to give the money back. However, getting two banks to talk to each other can be near impossible. And the recipient can also refuse to refund the cash.
They are not allowed to spend the money or benefit from it in any way — but they don’t have to give it back. Data protection rules mean you are unlikely to know the name of the person who has your money, though you will have their account number and sort code.
Therefore you may have to get a disclosure order via the courts to force the bank to tell you the name of the person who has your cash.
Once you have their name, you can take this to the police and pursue them through the courts — but this can be a lengthy, expensive and stressful process.

Also you may be able to get legal help / advice if you have any protection on your current account or home insurance
 

Luci07

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OK so name and shame, facebook spread the word. Don't accept the list of no's, politely ask to go to a person of higher authority within your bank and police force. Wild card idea but if I was really stuck and none of the organisations would help, what about looking up the investigative journalists, say in the Times? they always seem to get monies back off financial bodies where all else fails..but do. not. accept no as an answer.
 

Bille

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I've lost £ 2100.00. The legal line of my home insurance (Direct Line) was not much help). I have legal insurance. Will pursue that avenue.

Apparently Citizen's Advice might be able to help so will try them on Monday.

I've been so upset, NOT because of what has happened, but because everyone is shrugging responsibility.

I've been on the phone from 5:30 - 10:30 last night and today from 8:30 - 2:30, being passed from pillar to post and everyone saying its not there problem! :(
 

Redequus

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As far as I can see, Ebay have a responsibility as it's through their site the fraud happened - their T&C states items must be 'as described, fit for purpose', and actually sent / recieved, etc etc and the fact that it hasn't happened they shoudl be pursuing the seller for both non-selling AND fraud. I'd threaten them with Trading Standards if they don't pull their finger out, useless ******s at the best of times! The police have a responsibility as well because it is a fraud case. It's rediculous that you're not getting any help to sort this.
 

Toffee_monster

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I do feel for you and had a very similar thing happen yesterday when i received a second chance offer, rather than click the email link i logged into ebay and found no such offer, checked the old item and there was feed back from the real purchaser, lucky escape :(
 

Andiamo

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not sure if this helps, but look at: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1996/62/contents#l1g2 -
2. Dishonestly retaining a wrongful credit.

Ask the bank about their complaints process, and who to speak to to lodge a formal complaint against the bank for not recalling the BACS.
Follow up with Financial Ombudsman if you don't get anywhere with the bank.

Good luck with Citizens Advice, fingers crossed they can help.
 

Singing Dawg

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I found the police were not at all helpful, not interested, said i didnt have enough evidence. Hell they could see from bank statements that IEUAN ALED OWEN, PANORAMA COTTAGE, LLANBEDR, in Wales, received my money and knew he had not supplied the building as he did not have it to sell.

this is criminal activity but they were useless. you are on your own as i have found out.

I do agree with the name and shame tho', I wonder if IEUAN ALED OWEN trading (sometimes) as N W Fabrication Services does too?

What are the legal implications of stating facts on sites like facebook about these fraudsters? It has crossed my mind hundreds of times......
 
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cptrayes

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What are the legal implications of stating facts on sites like facebook about these fraudsters? It has crossed my mind hundreds of times......

I think its perfectly legal as long as its true. And of course you have to be able to prove it if he sues you, and cope with the stress of being sued.
 

luckyoldme

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a friend 'won' a black ifor williams about a month or so ago.
It was a very similar set up to yours..they gave her bank details to transfer the money but she insisted on paying cash... The seller said they would deliver but it all fell through..and they backed up with the false email to try to get her ebay password. She contacted the police and warned them about it ..I can t remember the exact details but the police were nt interested.
 

HappyHooves

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I found the police were not at all helpful, not interested, said i didnt have enough evidence. Hell they could see from bank statements that IEUAN ALED OWEN, PANORAMA COTTAGE, LLANBEDR, in Wales, received my money and knew he had not supplied the building as he did not have it to sell.

this is criminal activity but they were useless. you are on your own as i have found out.

I do agree with the name and shame tho', I wonder if IEUAN ALED OWEN trading (sometimes) as N W Fabrication Services does too?

What are the legal implications of stating facts on sites like facebook about these fraudsters? It has crossed my mind hundreds of times......


Name and shame here
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Horse-Community-Scams-uncoverdconmen-exposed/182385158505335

and help other horse people avoid what you've been through and maybe get help from someone who has successfully prosecuted? As long as you quote facts you will be OK.
 

flirtygerty

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Another one ripped off for a large sum, because I paid cash (paypal wouldn't accept payment) E Bay didn't want to know, despite having experts reports and photos proving it wasn't fit for purpose.
I intend going the court route, but only have the place she trades from, her email address and mob number, so not sure if that will work, god loves a trier
 

Pebble101

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I would also like to point out that you may not be covered even if you pay by Paypal. My friend bought a trailer, paid by Paypal but it was not as described. It was described as good condition but she had to pay a lot of money to have it made safe. 7

Ebay/Paypal found in the sellers favour as there was no tracking number to prove she had received it. How you send a trailer by tracked means they never explained!
 

Bille

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Wrote this letter to our local MP....and I'm not afraid to take things further and go public.....


Dear Mrs. Perry,

I am writing to you today to express my dismay about the lack of support of law abiding/tax paying citizens, namely the police and banks.

On the 24th of January I was deceived in such a manor, which led me to pay for the purchase of a horse trailer via internet bank transfer to the sum of £ 2,100.00.

Within 30 minutes of making the transfer I realised the deception and contacted my bank, Lloyds TSB, to report the fraud and stop the payment, only to be told there would be nothing they would do, as “I willingly transferred the money”.

Straight after I contacted Barclay’s Bank informing them of the fraud and they said they would NOT ACT WITHOUT THE POLICE making this enquiry.

I then contacted eBay and they said they would NOT INVESTIGATE WITHOUT THE POLICE making an enquiry.

I then contacted Wiltshire POLICE only to find they would not be responsible and would not take a report.

I then contacted ACTION FRAUD only to find that while they may take my report, they most likely (and it would appear they haven’t) would not pursue this matter, coming full circle not allowing me any reproach with regards to the BANKS and eBay!!!

At this point I am at a loss as to how I can get the POLICE to pursue this FRAUD?

I have contacted “Horse & Hound” magazine, as they have run an article about this particular Fraud, whereby horse owners have been targeted through internet sites, selling horse boxes, towing vehicles and horse trailers.

I can provide the POLICE with all details allowing them to trace the fraudsters, eBay can track the IP addresses and Barclays could track my money so it is not a crime lacking leads or evidence!

Can you please provide the impetus to the POLICE to pursue this matter. CRIME REFERENCE NUMBER: NFRCXXXXXXX.

Please feel free to contact me at any time, should you require further details on the matter.

Kind Regards,
 

weebarney

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Someone tried to rip us for for a campervan on ebay. It was an auction and obviously we wanted to view before bidding, the seller would never answer our questions about viewing it. Just kept offering to sell it to us for £5000 buy it now which was about half what it should be worth. We played along and said we would buy and received a fake ebay invoice. We never paid out and also spoilt the auction by bidding £100k for it just to make sure no one unsuspecting bid on it. We reported it to ebay and action fraud and the auction got cancelled.
 

twiglet84

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My dad tried to buy a mini digger on ebay and they presented him with a funny looking ebay invoice. I told him it didnt look right and i didnt want him transfering money without ensuring it was legit. Dad called Ebay and it turned out to be fraudster! Lucky no money was sent.

I cant understand why no one will help you, after all it is a crime!! The police need to get there finger out there a**e and start chasing these people, taking all your hard earned money!

Good luck, i really hope its a positive outcome x
 

Bille

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Thank you all, who contributed to this thread and your private messages. Your support is much appreciated and hopefully this will serve to stop others from falling into the same trap :)
 

bubbilygum

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We had a problem with our PayPal being hacked a few years ago, and in the end we managed to get the best advice from the Daily Mail "money" people... It could be worth contacting them as they were very helpful to us!
 

Superhot

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Are you a member of the BHS? If so, they provide free legal advice. Sometimes insurance companies and other organisations also provide free legal advice. Can't you raise a case against the fraudster through eBay??
Very good letter to your MP. Hope that brings a result.
 
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