Scammed on Marketplace by Seller - What Are My Options?

Lretardedrabit on 08/03/2021 - 22:52
Last edited 09/03/2021 - 12:41 by 1 other user

I recently bought a laptop on Marketplace. The seller was in a regional suburb, therefore they suggested they would ship it to me once the payment was received. I asked for a picture of their driving licence and was given, the name and picture matched the ones on the profile. The seller then gave me their phone number (payID), to which I sent the money (again the name on the account matched).

I sent the payment on Wednesday and the seller acknowledged that they received it on Thursday evening and said they would ship it asap. Later, in the evening they sent me a photo of the tracking number.

On Sunday, I noticed that the package was heading to another regional area in Victoria, away from where I live. So I contacted the seller and asked them to double-check the tracking ID. They said they would check with Auspost and get back to me. Later, they told me that it was possibly an issue with Auspost and they were having trouble contacting them due to it being the weekend and they will try again on Monday or Tuesday.

Today morning (Monday) I noticed that I was blocked from sending messages to them. Now, I noticed that the whole Facebook messenger thread is gone.

I have: their phone number, the image of their driving license, a screenshot of the full conversation. I'm with CBA and I already emailed their scam team with this information. What other steps can I take to recover my money?

Updates:

  1. Called CBA. They charge a $50 recovery fee regardless of the outcome. Also, they can only recover the money if the other party agrees, which doesn't make much sense if the other party is a scammer. They recommended that I file a complaint with the police.

  2. Messaged the seller (SMS) saying that I tried to contact them FB, but since I've been blocked I reached them here. Told that I have a screenshot of the full conversation and I'll go to the police if I don't get my money back.
    Seller denied blocking me on FB. So I sent a screenshot of the last message which shows a yellow exclamation mark with "Message could not be sent, tap for details".
    The seller sent me a screenshot of their chat with a new message for test purposes. The new message has a single tick that is not coloured, and I never received this one.
    I double-checked to see if I have accidentally blocked the seller, which was not the case.

  3. Seller sends money to my PayID

  4. Auspost tracking shows that the item has been delivered to a post office box 272km away from me.

The seller was apologetic. Now I honestly don't know if this was a scam or a series of unfortunate events. Hopefully, the money will clear soon. Don't know what's in the parcel at the post office that's 272kms away. No idea where the Macbook is, if there ever was one.

Thank you for your valuable suggestions!

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Comments

      • dcash on 09/03/2021 - 21:53
        +2

        Depends how much you're willing to lose I guess. Having said that, I've bought plenty of stuff on Gumtree using bank transfers and never had an issue.

        • Associated[Deactivated] @ Facebook on 09/03/2021 - 21:55
          +2

          for me always less $100. get to see what the seller is like and look at their feedback,

  • Aerith-Waifu on 09/03/2021 - 23:03

    I sold many thing on Ozbargain with bank transfer, so far all good. I would use Ozbargain as my first place to sell things. Members here are far more trust worthy than some fb things

    • capslock janitor on 10/03/2021 - 13:50

      OzB street cred and detective skills is far better than what any regular cop would do

    • whirlpool_guy on 11/03/2021 - 15:05

      Hey I remember you! Where's my iPhone now I paid you $900!!

      (j/k)

  • deme on 09/03/2021 - 23:15
    +1

    Why do some people here think scamming is not a criminal matter?

    If you have no intention to deliver from the outset that's fraud.

    Otherwise Ponzi would be a civil matter…

    • retardedrabit on 09/03/2021 - 23:35

      It may have to do with the fact that the police do not get involved in such matters (in most cases).

    • thei on 11/03/2021 - 18:43

      Police will only bother if they think they can prosecute. If there's no reasonable chance of prosecuting, then there's no point the police wasting their resources.

      How would you prove someone had intent to defraud? Maybe they meant well but got the address wrong… it's effectively impossible to prove.

  • snirodha on 09/03/2021 - 23:48

    This sound like Aust post stuff up. Why would a scammer give paid with a phone number and the DL. Unless he or she is really smart.

    • jv on 10/03/2021 - 09:26

      This sound like Aust post stuff up.

      What are the chances of that?

    • tomlikesbeetroot on 10/03/2021 - 19:06

      Phone number doesn't mean much with a throw away $2 prepaid sim.
      Driver's license could just mean the scammer is involved in identity theft and this is one way to make them seem more legit.

  • Stevecro on 10/03/2021 - 08:06
    +2

    Lesson: never EVER buy anything privately without inspecting it IN PERSON, unless you happy to be scammed of course.

  • naru6705 on 10/03/2021 - 08:12
    +1

    Seller sends money to my PayID

    So you did get the money back right, and he refunded you?

  • newjerseydamo on 10/03/2021 - 10:13
    +4

    2 words: cash, pickup.

    How people still fall for this stuff is beyond me.

  • wongzy on 10/03/2021 - 14:44

    Had kogan send me something through Auspost. The tracking started in Alexandria, Sydney about 30km from my house, and in a few days it ended up in Brisbane.. I still got it within the week so yes it can get weird.

  • JuryWheel on 10/03/2021 - 15:47

    Wow…..

  • Paulz on 10/03/2021 - 18:47

    Always use Paypal, not the free friends and family option, pay the fee and both the seller and buyer are protected.

  • Raj09 on 10/03/2021 - 20:31

    Sorry for you. But there is little recourse here. Take it as a lesson and don't pay online with someone who is not an established business. I pay and ask for cash for every purchase on gumtree etc

  • [Deactivated] on 11/03/2021 - 07:55
    +1

    When it comes to Fraudbook and Scumtree, cash and in person only. Anyone that asks to do bank transfer, PayID, makes me ship on those sites is a instant no no. At least with Feebay i get buyer protection.

  • the1doood on 11/03/2021 - 21:53

    Did the sellers first name start with A and last name with C?

  • PrinceOfWhales on 15/03/2021 - 18:17
    +1

    Based on my experience at FB marketplace, I believe the seller's account is temporarily suspended by facebook.

    I had similar problem when selling on FB last time, listed something at a cheap price when attracted hundred of enquiries. I sold to a few person (payment first before posting), and then replied to the rest saying out of stock.

    Then (I believe FB flagged me as spam due to the number of messages I sent out), FB temporarily suspended my marketplace function. When i try to send messages, nobody would receive it. I was able to text the few who provided me mobile number for tracking to explain, and they told me that my whole conversation thread gone missing.

    I felt bad to those who paid money but I couldn't send them the tracking code. After a few days, the marketplace function restored I could message them again (but message sent during the suspension will not be sent).

    Hope everything turns out well for you OP.

    (Also there is a good chance Auspost messed up, I once posted a parcel from sydney to sydney and the item flew to somewhere in Victoria)

    • retardedrabit on 16/03/2021 - 02:08

      That sounds like exactly what happened. Anyhow, I got my money back. The interesting thing is, the parcel that was delivered to a post office last Tuesday (the tracking number that was given to me) hasn't been collected yet. I'm guessing either the seller or Auspost messed something up.

  • Romper Stomper on 14/04/2022 - 09:08

    Stay away from Facebook marketplace. Facebook is bad enough. Its marketplace is worse and filled with dishonest sellers.

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