Broken trust and wire fraud

[Ron in Indiana]

Just wondering if anyone has been involved with wire fraud? I tried to buy something via the internet and sent a Postal money order by overnight Express mail to pay for the items. The money order was delivered in time but the seller sent an email the day it went out saying the deal was off. I did not get that message until late that night. He said it was to much hassle to ship the items after earlier agreeing to ship them. I emailed him to have my money returned and after waiting over two weeks I have not received my refund. He said he had to wait for the money order to "clear" his bank. This was a USPS money order so there should be no waiting period. That took a week according to the seller. So after more than two weeks I have no parts and am out $150 plus $16.79 for the over night delivery. He claims to have sent the MO out over a week ago as promised. I entered into this deal in good faith and trust but now feel I am getting the short end of the stick here. I have to wait another two weeks until the USPS will do a trace on the money order and start an investigation. Yes this is a federal case which is regrettable but if it happened to me how many more times will this seller get away with this behavior? It's more about trust being violated than anything. This is the first time I've been burned doing business over the net and hope it's the last time. I have my doubts about that.

[Steve Pellock]

Hope it all turns out good for you Ron. Too bad everyone isn't like the people in the PW community

[Gordon Maney]

I suppose that is why Ebay wants you to use their payment system, though the skeptical side of me suggests that is somewhat self-serving on their part.

The part about ot clearing the bank is baloney, of course, as the money order is guaranteed funds.

It will be interesting to learn what recourse you have through the USPS to resolve this. It seems as if it should be mail fraud, which is a bad crime.

Please keep us posted....

[Ron in Indiana]

I suppose that is why Ebay wants you to use their payment system, though the skeptical side of me suggests that is somewhat self-serving on their part.

The part about ot clearing the bank is baloney, of course, as the money order is guaranteed funds.

It will be interesting to learn what recourse you have through the USPS to resolve this. It seems as if it should be mail fraud, which is a bad crime.

Please keep us posted....

The problem is it's NOT through eBay. I've not had a problem with eBay and sellers there as I can read the feedback to find reputable sellers. I too hope we can resolve this matter before it gets ugly.

[74w300uteline]

Postal inspectors/ Chuck Norris

Have lots of time on their hands and love chasing bad guys. I have averted similar problems with the mere mention of getting Postal Inspectors getting involved. If, and thats a big IF, this guy knew what was good for him, he would buck up pronto!

[Ron in Indiana]

My intent is not to name the party involved as long as this can be resolved in a favorable manner. I've not resorted to any unreasonable behavior and do not care to. There are proper authorities who can take care of things if it degrades to that level. We wait for a response or the 30 days to expire on the USPS money order, tic toc tic toc.

[pwdave]

But in the meantime Ron, what if one of us order something from the same guy with a similar result? I do buisness on e-bay often,(got one yesterday, waiting for another now) it would seem to me that the transaction is already in the ditch for all pracital purpose's, and it would be an advantage to some of us who play on e-bay often to have a hand up on the people who are somewhat less than honest in their dealings with the public. I try to watch closely the seller feed-back, but sometimes it will happen anyway, (first hand exp.) see you at your show this year. Dave.

[Ron in Indiana]

Dave this was NOT an eBay transaction. It's more of a case where fore thought of what is truly involved in selling nationally was not fully taken into consideration. It is a wait on the mail deal right now to see when the returned money will show up. It's evidently on Pony Express from out west. I'll post when the check gets here and clears MY bank.

[OLD DODGE]

Try calling the local police in the sellers area. They may be able to motivate the seller into either returning your money or sending you the parts.

[KevinM]

Ron,

If all else fails you can always take Steve (sret) up on his "offer".....hope it works out before it gets to that......

[Ron in Indiana]

This issue has been resolved satisfactorily and is now a moot point as far as the money goes. The trust issue is another matter but we'll let that one go as well. Thanks to those who posted.

[sret43]

Aah, no cops and robbers. :)

[pwdave]

OOPS, assumeing again, sorry. Dave.

[712edf]

Why would the seller deposit the money order if the seller wasn't satisfied with the agreement & wasn't intending on shipping the parts? Was this a direct wire transfer or snail mail?

I never do wire transfers unless I personally know someone. On stuff that I sell, I usually ship first (after agreeing to a price), then request payment only after the buyer has received the part & is satisfied. Depositing the money is the LAST part of the transaction. I know this is risky to an extent, but hopefully someone isn't willing to tarnish their name & reputation just to beat me out of a few parts/shipping.

What comes around goes around!

Bucky