I have been PayPal scammed by sandon18 on eBay, a tale of stupidity

[mtbd500]

Hi guys, I have been using PayPal for about 10 years now and up until recently had only had one scam attempt and it is easy to become complacent. I recently had a an picco engine on eBay and a seller called sandon18 expressed interest and he said he had a problem checking out the immediate payment required Item so he asked for my payment details and I awaited the money, to my amazement I then received 9 x £10 payments! He said keep the change, I thought this was suspicious as he was so blasé with the money but after listing the engine 5 times I just wanted to sell it. The second nail in my coffin was the fact there was no address on the payment.
PayPal investigated the transaction and the seller is refusing to verify the payments were authorised so PayPal are saying tough tits.
Yes I was stupid but I took a chance, my advice to my fellow ooples is ALWAYS stick to the PayPal guidelines or trusted names or hard cash.

[bigred5765]

did the engine get sent to the paypal buyers address if so its his tuff titts as long as u sent it recorded

[mtbd500]

The PayPal payment did not have an address on it, he told me the address in a separate email. I sent the item special delivery, cost me £8.00 that rubbed salt in the wound, PayPal don't want to know

[jimmy]

Is he just ignoring you on ebay?
Whats his real name? Might as well out him :woot:

[jimmy]

In fact, put his address up too

[bigred5765]

i would never ever send to a unconfirmed or any address other than what is on there paypal, if in doubt don't send refund, but i agree with Jim bob on this one out him name address and all

[Danny Harrison]

If you have recieved the payments first I don't get what the issue is. Did he open a case and get the cash back?

Even then its 9 individual payments so I doubt paypal would take it back from you.

Can you give a bit more info please?

[racingdwarf]

Yer, have to admit mark I can't quite follow whats happened, Has he opened a dispute, and because there is no trace as to what the payments were for he has got away with it? did he pay gift (petit style:bored:) as if you sent recorded special you have proof of postage, who received the engine?

The only time I have heard of something like this was when a friend of mine sent £80 worth of models to france, non recorded, the chap then open a dispute saying he never received them, with no proof of postage they gave the french chap the money back. to add insult to injury my friend runs a die cast models shop all on line, they froze his paypal while they looked into the case, he could recive money, but nothing else

[mtbd500]

The guy sent me 9 £10 payments for a £75 engine and said keep the change. PayPal put the funds on hold as they looked suspicious and asked the buyer to confirm he authorised the payments, he says he has but I phoned PayPal twice and they say he has not responded and if they do not receive a response they will assume the funds were not authorised vanish into the ether.
I was stupid, i was suspicious from the start but took a chance, the guy swears he has responded to paypal. I will give it a couple more days and if unresolved I will post his name.
He had the cheek to accuse me of sending a faulty item coz the piston kept jamming( new and tight) and says it is in the shop. This as you can imagine was infuriating and I nearly smashed my iPad I was that angry.

[sly]

By Sending 9 transaction for the same amount the buyer can and has in this case not verified the transactions when he questioned them to payapl, most properly after delivery has occured, i would guess then paypal refund the buyers the transactions look fruadulent to them. In the meantime the seller loses out as the address would be a mate or works address to which paypal can`t match to the buyers account details.
buyer wins, seller loses.

Next time the buyer says they cant use the checkout, invoice them instead.

[bodgit]

You can see from his ebay history this must be the first time he's tried this on as he has no negs You could ask the stoke on trent lads on here if they know himas he may race with them.
His previous ebay name was kirstymatt18 so do they know a racer called matt with a wife/gf called kirsty. Maybe they could lean on him for you as he would'nt want to be known as a scammer with his racemates.
From his record he uses a Spektrum DX3C 3CH DSM2 2.4GHz Radio System and runs a HoBao Hyper 7

[mtbd500]

Just To clarify sequence of events..
Payment sent by buyer
PayPal are suspicious of the multiple payments
Funds held while PayPal investigate if the account holder made the payments
Seller has ignored paypals attempt to verify he authorised the transaction
PayPal say if seller does not verify he authorised payments I will lose the money
Very different to usual scams but seemingly able to make use of a loophole

Funny you say about his old account kirsty and matt although I don't know how you found that info, his name is Mathew and it Is because of his flawless feedback I took a chance on the unconfirmed/unusual payments."

Particularly infuriating as responding with all pertinent info to 9 separate disputes was a right palava of multiple browsers and copy and paste taking about half hour and n to be accused of sending a faulty itm was the cherry on a very unsavoury cake.

[mtbd500]

Ps, I don't think he races due to. The noob questions and inability to start an overly tight engine (picco) thanks god it was not a go engine, I broke my box and nearly my fingers on my old 7 port, mad power tho!

[bodgit]

His other name is in his previous id history. Maybe some body from stoke on trent knows him . Hope it helps

[sly]

Just To clarify sequence of events..
Payment sent by buyer
PayPal are suspicious of the multiple payments
Funds held while PayPal investigate if the account holder made the payments
Seller has ignored paypals attempt to verify he authorised the transaction
PayPal say if seller does not verify he authorised payments I will lose the money
Very different to usual scams but seemingly able to make use of a loophole




So at what point did you send the engine?

[mtbd500]

I sent the engine as soon as I saw the funds showing in my account, then PayPal took an Interest and froze the funds, he was emailing me every hour rushing me to send it, like he. Knew i Would get an email :mad:

[Robby]

Just To clarify sequence of events..
Payment sent by buyer
PayPal are suspicious of the multiple payments
Funds held while PayPal investigate if the account holder made the payments
Seller has ignored paypals attempt to verify he authorised the transaction
PayPal say if seller does not verify he authorised payments I will lose the money
Very different to usual scams but seemingly able to make use of a loophole

Funny you say about his old account kirsty and matt although I don't know how you found that info, his name is Mathew and it Is because of his flawless feedback I took a chance on the unconfirmed/unusual payments."

Particularly infuriating as responding with all pertinent info to 9 separate disputes was a right palava of multiple browsers and copy and paste taking about half hour and n to be accused of sending a faulty itm was the cherry on a very unsavoury cake.

So at what point did you send the engine?

Exactly - if you (or paypal) was not able to verify the payment it makes no sense you should have shipped the item. :eh?:

I sent the engine as soon as I saw the funds showing in my account, then PayPal took an Interest and froze the funds, he was emailing me every hour rushing me to send it, like he. Knew i Would get an email :mad:

So, you let him pressure you into doing the wrong thing twice?
First by devoiding the ebay/paypal system, designed to protect the buyer and the seller - and then again by sending the item the moment the funds started to appear in your account?
How long did it take for the bells to start clanging and the lights to start going off in your head?

Seriously - you should have no shame or feeling of regret in outing this dude publicly!

[mtbd500]

The funds actually cleared in my account when first paid. I transferred them into my bank account which only takes a matter of hours now so as far as I was concerned the money was mine, then the transaction caught the attention of PayPal and was frozen and I had a negative balance for that amount which I have had to clear using my card to pay my eBay fees. I did not mention that in the first post as it is confusing enough already but yeah I admitted I was silly to send to an unconfirmed email. I posted to remind people to be careful so they do not have to go though this.

[Shaun_TLR]

Exactly - if you (or paypal) was not able to verify the payment it makes no sense you should have shipped the item. :eh?:



So, you let him pressure you into doing the wrong thing twice?
First by devoiding the ebay/paypal system, designed to protect the buyer and the seller - and then again by sending the item the moment the funds started to appear in your account?
How long did it take for the bells to start clanging and the lights to start going off in your head?

Seriously - you should have no shame or feeling of regret in outing this dude publicly!

Constructive as ever. I'm sure the seller feels a whole lot better about his situation now..... Hi 5 ! #keyboardwarrior

[cigbunt]

you might be lucky and he just hasnt checked his emails...

over paying would get me worried from the outset

[bodgit]

A bit more digging for you. he was trying to sell this a while back but did not make reserve so still may be running it. Someone may recognise the shell.
http://i.ebayimg.com/t/Hobao-Hyper-7-NOT-Savage-Traxxas-Losi-Mugen-Hong-Nor-/00/s/NzQ2WDEwMDA=/z/jhsAAMXQbjxRDl1E/$(KGrHqZ,!oQFE!C-4porBRDl1Dd4nw~~60_1.JPG

How long ago did you sell it

[cigbunt]

hyper 7 pre painted shell?

probably the most common 1/8th shell you can get

[Rich D]

Put it down to experience buddy. Its annoying but its not life changing so dont let it get you down too. You will have forgotten about the money within a few weeks. Give the guy a few days to reply then as others have said, just name and shame him if all else fails.

[bodgit]

hyper 7 pre painted shell?

probably the most common 1/8th shell you can get

Yes but run by a lad from stoke on trent called matt with a wife called kirsty and that transmitter.

[hf integrale]

Hi I'm from stoke name doesn't ring a bell but ill put the word out none the less.

I was scammed this time last year by a guy from the USA..not rc related by the way..it was signed for and he said I'd sent to wrong address(he changed the house no after id posted)gave PayPal all the info and they just gave him his money back.i was fuming...
Good luck...!!!

[mtbd500]

He has checked his emails because he swears blind he has replied to PayPal but they have no record. As per the constructive criticism, I don't know how many more times I can say I was stupid, please don't remind me anymore. I am trying to save you guys some grief by reminding you not to take a chance.
It is a very unusual situation because the dispute was seemingly instigated by PayPal themselves and not the seller, however that does to change the fact that if he reuses to respond to the verification email they find in his favour and I lose the money.

[bodgit]

He has checked his emails because he swears blind he has replied to PayPal but they have no record. As per the constructive criticism, I don't know how many more times I can say I was stupid, please don't remind me anymore. I am trying to save you guys some grief by reminding you not to take a chance.
It is a very unusual situation because the dispute was seemingly instigated by PayPal themselves and not the seller, however that does to change the fact that if he reuses to respond to the verification email they find in his favour and I lose the money.

Send him a new paypal invoice with the reason. He now knows he has been refunded so he knows he owes you the money.

[Nathan2000]

Wow glad i do not use it

[mtbd500]

Further to my previous post here is a revised time line with all facts included..

Buyer wants engine, cannot check out immediate payment
I end item and invoice seller for 2 payments of 37.50 as requested
Buyer sends £90 in 9 £10 payments
Funds show in my account, PayPal reccomend me to email buyer to confirm authenticity as there was no address on payment.
I send email which is immediatly replied to
I transfer funds to bank account
I post engine next morning
I receive email from PayPal later that day saying the transaction looks suspicious
Funds are frozen but have already landed in my bank account is I am left with a a negative balance
PayPal are waiting for buyer to confirm he authorised payments
Buyer claims he has, pp have no record, I phoned them twice
Buyer is unwilling to resolve by phone to paypal
PayPal state if the buyer does not respond I lose the money. ( seems crazy)

Thanks for all your emails, nice to know there are guys to ask for advice.
I know It's not the end of the world but as the cheeky git said I sent him a faulty item coz he could not start a new tight engine has made this particularly frustrating.

[racingdwarf]

I can understand why you sent it mate, if money has cleared and the item is shown as immediate dispatch with the sad no life people out there you can get negative feedback at the drop of a hat and once you have negative feedback people see it no matter how stupid the reason is. If your not really clued up on ebay and paypal it's an easy mistake to make, I would and so would many others, thats the thing most scammers use, trust:(

The thing that would ring alarm bells with me is why with paypal you would send £90 in 9payments for a £75 item, I don't get it, you can send exact amounts with paypal. I wonder if the £90 was coming from one place (maybe stolen account details, card etc), and the refund was going to another, thus making him £90 cash in an account + he now has your engine:(:mad: Also there is nothing to correspond the payments to the engine,Did he pay with the invoice?

He could also be saying the item is faulty as an excuse should ebay paypal put pressure on him, which I doubt they will

[cigbunt]

why is it 2 payments of 37.50?

was it 9 x times from the same account?

sounds like these payments shouldn't be linked to the ebay item... its more paypay looking for payments that dont look right, if paypal refund the cash you could open a case on the buyer for non paying the best your going to get is your fee's returned. also there some new features on ebay you can report buyers now might be worth looking in to that.

[Robby]

He has checked his emails because he swears blind he has replied to PayPal but they have no record. As per the constructive criticism, I don't know how many more times I can say I was stupid, please don't remind me anymore. I am trying to save you guys some grief by reminding you not to take a chance.
It is a very unusual situation because the dispute was seemingly instigated by PayPal themselves and not the seller, however that does to change the fact that if he reuses to respond to the verification email they find in his favour and I lose the money.

That's where you can do everyone the biggest favor by posting his name and address, being as someone that would pull that kind of scam and go to such great lengths to do so is just as likely to make up another fleabay account. ;)

[Benh]

I can understand why you sent it mate, if money has cleared

As painful as it is for me, I must agree with GofasterGimley.

I send as soon as I get the 'you've got funds' mail.

Hope you get a resolution, or at the very least, the goods back from the executors of his will.

[mtbd500]

The guy said he had a problem with his PayPal account as he had spent a lot of money in one day and It would not let him pay the full amount in one go so he asked me to end the item off ebay and he said he would try to send the money in 2 lumps which sounded reasonable ( maybe PayPal had a £ 50 limit or something) but he sent the money in tens, he said he was adding a fiver to cover fees but he got confused, he sent 9 10's by mistake. I received the money, sent the item the next day it got on paypals radar as a suspicious transaction and they froze it, not the seller but if he won't confirm the payments were authorised by him,PayPal will not give me the money, I have lost it. He said he has replied but PayPal have no record of a reply. Very unusual case. Or fairly sophisticated long winded way of getting your money back, the guy has flawless feedback which helped me to believe his story. Also I had the wrong attitude of "the money's in my account now so they can't take it back even if there is a problem" but it just so happened I neede to pay overdue eBay fees and when I paid them PayPal automatically took the negative balance from my bank account tacked onto the sum of the eBay fees, they are some cheeky bastards, I wish someone would create a better rival to eBay and PayPal as they are the only show in town and we have to bend over and take it. I could to believe it when stopped sellers from leaving true feedback for buyers years ago, they certainly protect the c**ts of this world who can just win an item and decide they do no want it but that is a whole another thread.

[Lordslimjim]

Unfortunately this is another case of buyer protection gone too far by the looks of it tho

I agree both buyer and seller do need protection tho but it seems PayPal have gone too far towards the buyer now

But let's face it te state of the world when you need this level of protection instead o just honesty.

Is it possible that the eBay account is hacked (might give a reason for posative feedback)