Ripped Off on eBay!

[Almeister]

I'm not sure if this is the correct forum to post this, my apologies if it isn't.....Fellow AO'ers three weeks ago I won an auction on ebay for a Nightkast Autococker. I paid the seller within 2 days of the auction ending just like the seller asked and when I didn't get a tracking # from the seller 5 days after paying I contacted him and he told me he had to wait for his distributor to send it to him and then he would send it to me, after he had told me he had it in stock. :mad: So I waited a few days and then one of the other winners (it was a dutch auction) e-mailed me asking if I had heard from the seller because they had filed a claim with Paypal since the seller wasn't responding to any of their e-mails and they were also able to get their money back. After that the seller wouldn't respond to any of my e-mails or telephone calls. I ended up filing a claim against the seller with paypal and today I was notified that they were unable to recover my money. So now I don't have a marker or my money. Does anyone know of any other ways I can go after this deadbeat besides small claims? If I sue him in small claims I would have to fly all the way to New York from California to do it and I don't think it would be worth the hassle. I WANT TO MAKE THIS DEADBEAT SELLER PAY! Any and all suggestions are welcome.

[FragTek]

There are "ways" to take care of people like this :)

Give us some details if possible. Name, phone number, an address that you might have somwhere.

The AO community is far reaching and i'm sure someone here probably lives within a few block of him, w00t! Beat downs are always top notch. :shooting:

Sorry to hear u got ripped off.

[Crighton]

Did you deposit funds into paypal using a Credit Card? If so contact your card company.

[djmrk]

Yes, give name and address. Usually, paypal will back charge to persons account while they investgate. If he did not send the item, paypal should give your money back. Contact ebay, they have a very good fraud department, they will help. Chances are, ebay has the sellers bank account info and presonal info. Good luck. It is ppl like this that make ppl question online trading and selling.

[Almeister]

There are "ways" to take care of people like this :)

Give us some details if possible. Name, phone number, an address that you might have somwhere.

The AO community is far reaching and i'm sure someone here probably lives within a few block of him, w00t! Beat downs are always top notch. :shooting:

Sorry to hear u got ripped off.

Thanks, Fragtek. Thats the kind of support I wanna hear. :headbang:

Okay, here's what I info I have so far....

Name: Adam F. Howard
Phone: 716-259-1059
Location: Le Roy, New York
E-mail: howardthecubanduck@hotmail.com (also his Paypal address)
webmaster@blackice585.com (this is the one used for eBay)

I was unable to get his address, I would have to subpoena Paypal or eBay to get it. So, if there are any skiptracers on AO, help a fellow AO'er out. ;)

[Southparkrocks]

Did you pay with a credit card, because if you did could you cancel the payment?

[nate2k191]

i too am sorry to hear your tale. i have never been ripped off before, but im pretty sure ebay has some policy where if a seller/buyer does not do his part in an auction there are serious consequences - unless both buyer and seller agree the deal is off. so file a report or something with ebay. they might arrest him or soemthing. BTW thats what u get for buying an autococker :), j/k

[Destructo6]

Does anyone know of any other ways I can go after this deadbeat besides small claims? If I sue him in small claims I would have to fly all the way to New York from California to do it and I don't think it would be worth the hassle. I WANT TO MAKE THIS DEADBEAT SELLER PAY! Any and all suggestions are
Get the Feds involved. The FBI has a division dedicated to investigate Internet fraud complaints. If the guy has left a paper/electronic trail, and it sound like he did, and ripped off several people, they'll look into it. It may take a while and you may never see your money, but the guy could very well spend times behind bars. Worked once for me.

http://www1.ifccfbi.gov/index.asp

[Almeister]

Did you deposit funds into paypal using a Credit Card? If so contact your card company.

Yeah I did I'll do that right now.


Did you pay with a credit card, because if you did could you cancel the payment?

I called and they said I could file a claim for non-receipt of merchandise. They're gonna send me some afadavits to sign and get notarized, so hopefully I will get my money back. Even if my credit card company gives my money back the seller still has money that doesn't belong to him. Do you know if the CC company goes after him?


BTW thats what u get for buying an autococker , j/k

It must be a sign from the paintball gods telling me to stick with my Mag.

[djmrk]

Try this specialized site for internet fraud www.ic3.gov ; paypal gave me to solve a disput I had for an item that was not purchased off of ebay.

[Crighton]

Yeah I did I'll do that right now.



I called and they said I could file a claim for non-receipt of merchandise. They're gonna send me some afadavits to sign and get notarized, so hopefully I will get my money back. Even if my credit card company gives my money back the seller still has money that doesn't belong to him. Do you know if the CC company goes after him?



It must be a sign from the paintball gods telling me to stick with my Mag.


CC companies ALWAYS go after they guy as they are the ones out the money. That's the reason they make you sign all the paper work and usually file a police complaint.

[Almeister]

Get the Feds involved. The FBI has a division dedicated to investigate Internet fraud complaints. If the guy has left a paper/electronic trail, and it sound like he did, and ripped off several people, they'll look into it. It may take a while and you may never see your money, but the guy could very well spend times behind bars. Worked once for me.

So, you were actually able to have the guy that ripped you off get arrested? This sounds very encouraging.

[djmrk]

Keep in mind, investigations could take up to 30 days or longer. Most likely, if he did not send, you will get your money back.

[Almeister]

CC companies ALWAYS go after they guy as they are the ones out the money. That's the reason they make you sign all the paper work and usually file a police complaint.

My CC company didn't tell me to file a police report. Should I go ahead and do that too? I want to use every avenue possible.

[nate2k191]

go almeister, get that bastard! go go go

[Timmee]

I had an issue recently with an online paintball "store", where I paid with PayPal. It was well after the 30 day period that I realized that I wasn't going to get my items (had not been able to contact him after the 30 day period, either), so I contacted the police department in his area. Shortly after that, I recieved new communication from the person in question, and got my refund. I'd recommend taking all the info, calling the police department in his town, and filing a complaint. That should get the ball rolling on your situation. One thing though, be sure to save ALL communications with him, wherever possible.

[eNder159]

leroy ny ..ibelieve that's a couple hours away from me...i live in buffalo

[eNder159]

leroy ny ..ibelieve that's a couple hours away from me...i live in buffalo


yup one hour away from me...if you give me more details like street address ill pay him a visit...and ask him wuts up...ill be sure to be armed with my airsoft pistol, aired up mag, knives, and an old poolstick....anybody from rochester wanna help a fellow AO'r out?

[AGDlover]

my mom works for the IRS. We got his name on file ;)

[eNder159]

post up the street address

[lord1234]

there is no town in NY that is called Le Roy...there is one called Leroy though...also only 4 howards listed in Leroy

[SlartyBartFast]

Reverse lookup isn't giving any results on that phone number. :mad:

[Tunaman]

I had an issue recently with an online paintball "store", where I paid with PayPal. It was well after the 30 day period that I realized that I wasn't going to get my items (had not been able to contact him after the 30 day period, either), so I contacted the police department in his area. Shortly after that, I recieved new communication from the person in question, and got my refund. I'd recommend taking all the info, calling the police department in his town, and filing a complaint. That should get the ball rolling on your situation. One thing though, be sure to save ALL communications with him, wherever possible.I can give you guys a real life experience that just happened to me.
I see a 6000 dollar military computer on Ebay. I bid and loose by 10.00. I ask the seller to contat me if the high bidder does not follow through for some reason. The seller states that there are 2 item and would offer me the other one for the high bid price of 600+ bucks. I agree and send the 630.00 to a residence in Buffalo NY. The chick cashes my money order. No product ever came my way. I contact the Buffalo PD. They go check it out and find her. She states she knows nothing about it and doesn't even own a computer. I contact the Postal Inspection Service. They persue the investigation and she admits cashing the money order and states that her boyfriend does some selling on Ebay. I get a copy of the signed money order...blah blah...blah. After hearing nothing from the postal service for a while, I call them and they tell me in so many words that 630.00 is not enough to warrant any prosecution. The chick gets away with my 630.00 and the Feds tell me "OH Well". This is what you get for your tax dollars. Nothing. My only recourse to to get a judgement against her, aloowing me to place a lien on anything she buys in the future. The ***** will never own a house etc. until I get my 630.00. I will wait it out. I will try to stop thinking about midnite runs to buffalo. Keep your eye on the newspaper...nobody beats me and gets away with it.:cuss: :mad: :cuss: :cuss: :mad:

[Almeister]

my mom works for the IRS. We got his name on file ;)

Nice, see if you can get his home address so we can have someone take pics of his house and I'll e-mail them to him. MUAHAHAHHAHA

[Almeister]

My only recourse to to get a judgement against her, aloowing me to place a lien on anything she buys in the future. The ***** will never own a house etc. until I get my 630.00. I will wait it out. I will try to stop thinking about midnite runs to buffalo. Keep your eye on the newspaper...nobody beats me and gets away with it.:cuss: :mad: :cuss: :cuss: :mad:

Paypal told something similar...since they couldn't recover my money the only thing they could do was wait until someone pays him with paypal again and then those funds would be given to me until which time I am fully reimbursed. Somehow I just don't see this happening.

[SlartyBartFast]

My only recourse to to get a judgement against her, aloowing me to place a lien on anything she buys in the future.

Can't you get a lien on any paychecks or other income?

You could get a baliff to seize property as well.

What ticks me off is that you can't claim the recovery costs against them. :mad:

Well, car fires happen....... :shooting:

[Steelrat]

Don't expect the FBI to do anything at all. Try the local PD in that area, see if they would be willing to do anything. If you paid with a CC (and you should ALWAYS use a CC with paypal payments) then your company should take the hit. You can also file with ebay for a small amount of restitution, but not the full amount.

Crap like this is going to ruin Ebay.

[ilikePB]

These are the closest I could find in the reverse directory thing:

http://www.reversephonedirectory.com/whitepages/name/index.html?fname=&lname=Howard&city=Leroy&state=NY

http://www.reversephonedirectory.com/whitepages/name/index.html?fname=&lname=Howard&city=Le+Roy&state=NY

No one by that first name, but maybe you could call them and ask around. Hope that helps some.

[Almeister]

Don't expect the FBI to do anything at all. Try the local PD in that area, see if they would be willing to do anything. If you paid with a CC (and you should ALWAYS use a CC with paypal payments) then your company should take the hit. You can also file with ebay for a small amount of restitution, but not the full amount.

Crap like this is going to ruin Ebay.

I just got off the phone with the LeRoy Village Police Department. I gave them all the info I had and the special Paypal phone # for law enforcement. The officer said he would get back to me tomorrow.


These are the closest I could find in the reverse directory thing:

http://www.reversephonedirectory.co...=Leroy&state=NY

http://www.reversephonedirectory.co...Le+Roy&state=NY

No one by that first name, but maybe you could call them and ask around. Hope that helps some.

ilikePB, thanks for trying to help out. It's good to know that your fellow AO'ers will rise up and help you out.

[Steelrat]

The smaller the town, the better. Leroy sounds small, so thats a plus. Paypal accounts have to be linked to a valid checking account, and thats the best place for the cops to look.

[Almeister]

The smaller the town, the better. Leroy sounds small, so thats a plus. Paypal accounts have to be linked to a valid checking account, and thats the best place for the cops to look.

It is small. When someone answered the phone I asked if I called the police station and the woman on the phone said, "you called the police station, fire station, & ambulance." How classic.

[50 cal]

Use the AO Army. It helped me recover an RT classic body a guy owed me in Michigan.

BTW, thanks Michigan AOers for the help. :headbang:

[Steelrat]

Keep in mind that he might not even be there. It is entirely possible to spoof ebay. Did you use a credit card for your ebay purchase?

[Almeister]

Keep in mind that he might not even be there. It is entirely possible to spoof ebay. Did you use a credit card for your ebay purchase?

Hopefully the local cops can get his correct address from Paypal since he does have to have a valid bank account linked to his Paypal account. Yes, I did use a credit card. I called my CC company and they are going to send me an afadavit to sign and have notarized then hopefully I will get my money back.

[eNder159]

there is no town in NY that is called Le Roy...there is one called Leroy though...also only 4 howards listed in Leroy


ya there is one in ny called LeRoy its in rochester..i pass by it everytime i take the thruway going back downstate...


YO you got me to knock on their door ...im serious i WILL do it ...nobdy deserves to get ripped off...and i will make sure they get a little scared

[Fixion]

Always pay w/ a creditcard if you use Paypal. Paybal is horrible about getting people's money back (it hardly ever happens), but your credit card company has a lot of leverage. They can canel the charge and (hopefully) Paypal will get stuck with the tab... although the credit card company might pay, I don't know how that works. What I do know, is that you won't have to pay.

[Almeister]

YO you got me to knock on their door ...im serious i WILL do it ...nobdy deserves to get ripped off...and i will make sure they get a little scared

Glad to know you got my back, thanks. If I can get an address you'll be the first one to know.

Hey guys check this link out my friend sent me, it's funny cuz it's kinda like the same situation I'm in.
http://chevytruckworld.tenmagazines.com/forums/topic.ten-id-82454-s-anybody_from_torrance_california

[desslock]

Hey Almeister I work for a major credit card issuer in their claims/chargeback dept, I see stuff like this all day long. Here is what you do, get a dispute form(your previous post stated u did, thats step#1) complete the form. Indicate on the form you won a bid paid X number of dollars for a paintball gun to be SHIPPED to your home addrrs. If you have copies of your sent emails to the seller print em and attach them w/the dispute form this shows you made an effort to resolve the dispute with the seller 1st. Your cc company will have to wait 30 days from the transaction date of the charge(they should place the $ amount into dispute which means u are required to pay that amount and no intrest will be added on the disputed amount) Your cc will take the money from ebay'a account and place it on your cc account as a credit, then ebay will go after the seller for the money they lost. So there is justice in the world the police report is not needed for the cc company thats up to you if u want to press charges. non recevied merchandise is one of the easier disputes for cc to win bottom line you gave up some money for a product the merchant/seller didnt deliver, if you have any more ???? pm me. good luck

[legion_02]

I did a whois lookup on his ebay address webmaster@blackice585.com heres what i came up with.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Domain Name.......... blackice585.com
Creation Date........ 2004-01-31
Registration Date.... 2004-01-31
Expiry Date.......... 2005-01-31
Organisation Name.... Adam Howard
Organisation Address. 9889 South St Rd
Organisation Address.
Organisation Address. LeRoy
Organisation Address. 14482
Organisation Address. NY
Organisation Address. UNITED STATES

Admin Name........... Adam Howard
Admin Address........ 9889 South St Rd
Admin Address........
Admin Address........ LeRoy
Admin Address........ 14482
Admin Address........ NY
Admin Address........ UNITED STATES
Admin Email..........
Admin Phone.......... +1.5857688742
Admin Fax............


Looks like this is your guy.


Also found another email addresse. blackice585@hotmail.com and

[ilikePB]

^^^ Nice work. ^^^

[legion_02]

DNSstuff.com The site is awesome for stuff like this. And its perfectly legal, too. Only worked cause he was the webmaster though.

[lord1234]

reverse lookup:

Reverse Telephone Listings

Howard Theron E Attorney Residence
9889 S Street Rd
LEROY, NY 14482
585-768-8742

[Steelrat]

If he replied to emails sent to that address, he is seriously screwed. Nice work guys. Forward that to the police.

[SPY 1]

Dude I´m a loyal AOer tell me his name, adres I will track him down I live in the Netherlands. I´am a few of the AO´ers in the Netherlands I Will help you out where I can.

[Steelrat]

He is in New York. But if he runs from New York, and tries to hide in the Netherlands, we will let you know ;)

[djmrk]

Get him Get him Get him :cuss:

[Almeister]

Legion, you're the man! :headbang: The long arm of the AO army rules! Thanks for all of your support guys!

[dyeguy65]

amazing...ill be sure to post my situation on here the next time i get ripped off (knock on wood) awesome job guys. i smell future CIA/FBI/PI careers in here. good luck getting that son of a gun.

DG

[Steelrat]

amazing...ill be sure to post my situation on here the next time i get ripped off (knock on wood) awesome job guys. i smell future CIA/FBI/PI careers in here. good luck getting that son of a gun.

DG


Oh, the irony ;)

[Destructo6]

Don't expect the FBI to do anything at all. Try the local PD in that area
The local PD is a good idea, too, but I had a similar situation where I filed with the FBI. They coordinated things with several local PDs (he'd ripped off a bunch of people for $100-$500 each) and later arrested him.

[Steelrat]

Don't count on the FBI to do anything unless it exceeds $50,000, or it involves terrorism. You are better off contacting the local police or the Postal Inspection Service.

[the larch]

consider contacting any prior auction winners in his feedback and seeing if they have his address? Also, if he starts any current auctions, email those people and tell them what the situation is with you. If you ruin a bunch of his current auctions, he WILL contact you. I know it is against ebay "rules", but it's not like THEY are going help you!!

[eNder159]

then it is done..i got a long weekend...how should i do this? should i do some social engineering and dress up all fancy and say im from the claims department of paypal...or should i just go straight to him and say hey hows it going...give me the money



I did a whois lookup on his ebay address webmaster@blackice585.com heres what i came up with.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Domain Name.......... blackice585.com
Creation Date........ 2004-01-31
Registration Date.... 2004-01-31
Expiry Date.......... 2005-01-31
Organisation Name.... Adam Howard
Organisation Address. 9889 South St Rd
Organisation Address.
Organisation Address. LeRoy
Organisation Address. 14482
Organisation Address. NY
Organisation Address. UNITED STATES

Admin Name........... Adam Howard
Admin Address........ 9889 South St Rd
Admin Address........
Admin Address........ LeRoy
Admin Address........ 14482
Admin Address........ NY
Admin Address........ UNITED STATES
Admin Email..........
Admin Phone.......... +1.5857688742
Admin Fax............


Looks like this is your guy.


Also found another email addresse. blackice585@hotmail.com and

*EDIT*

i just did a google search for blackice585....and well i dont know if its the same person but apparantly this guy sells assault rifles...or something to that extent...

[craltal]

Looks like dad is a lawyer (if the reverse lookup is correct)

hmm. interesting. I wouldn't make any visits to the house let the police do it. Should have more effect and much less risk.

[bornl33t]

I can give you guys a real life experience that just happened to me.
I see a 6000 dollar military computer on Ebay. I bid and loose by 10.00. I ask the seller to contat me if the high bidder does not follow through for some reason. The seller states that there are 2 item and would offer me the other one for the high bid price of 600+ bucks. I agree and send the 630.00 to a residence in Buffalo NY. The chick cashes my money order. No product ever came my way. I contact the Buffalo PD. They go check it out and find her. She states she knows nothing about it and doesn't even own a computer. I contact the Postal Inspection Service. They persue the investigation and she admits cashing the money order and states that her boyfriend does some selling on Ebay. I get a copy of the signed money order...blah blah...blah. After hearing nothing from the postal service for a while, I call them and they tell me in so many words that 630.00 is not enough to warrant any prosecution. The chick gets away with my 630.00 and the Feds tell me "OH Well". This is what you get for your tax dollars. Nothing. My only recourse to to get a judgement against her, aloowing me to place a lien on anything she buys in the future. The ***** will never own a house etc. until I get my 630.00. I will wait it out. I will try to stop thinking about midnite runs to buffalo. Keep your eye on the newspaper...nobody beats me and gets away with it.:cuss: :mad: :cuss: :cuss: :mad:


hahhaa GO TUNA!!!! I'm really surprised there hasn't been something like this on TV yet. Guy gets beat within a inch of his life over non-payment of an E-bay auction. YOu should call the police captain and tell him there a 6 pck of beer in it if he "forgets" to follow up on her claims for assault. :dance:


Damit I'm glad I stoped Ebay-ing, the resent onslaught of frodulent users is more then I can handle.

[Timmee]

I can give you guys a real life experience that just happened to me.
I see a 6000 dollar military computer on Ebay. I bid and loose by 10.00. I ask the seller to contat me if the high bidder does not follow through for some reason. The seller states that there are 2 item and would offer me the other one for the high bid price of 600+ bucks. I agree and send the 630.00 to a residence in Buffalo NY. The chick cashes my money order. No product ever came my way. I contact the Buffalo PD. They go check it out and find her. She states she knows nothing about it and doesn't even own a computer. I contact the Postal Inspection Service. They persue the investigation and she admits cashing the money order and states that her boyfriend does some selling on Ebay. I get a copy of the signed money order...blah blah...blah. After hearing nothing from the postal service for a while, I call them and they tell me in so many words that 630.00 is not enough to warrant any prosecution. The chick gets away with my 630.00 and the Feds tell me "OH Well". This is what you get for your tax dollars. Nothing. My only recourse to to get a judgement against her, aloowing me to place a lien on anything she buys in the future. The ***** will never own a house etc. until I get my 630.00. I will wait it out. I will try to stop thinking about midnite runs to buffalo. Keep your eye on the newspaper...nobody beats me and gets away with it.:cuss: :mad: :cuss: :cuss: :mad:

The only reason I think it worked is, I was fully prepared to file a criminal complaint through the Sedalia, MO police department, and I think it scared him into contacting me.

[Almeister]

The only reason I think it worked is, I was fully prepared to file a criminal complaint through the Sedalia, MO police department, and I think it scared him into contacting me.


I filed a complaint with the LeRoy Village police, so hopefully that will work too.

[Almeister]

then it is done..i got a long weekend...how should i do this? should i do some social engineering and dress up all fancy and say im from the claims department of paypal...or should i just go straight to him and say hey hows it going...give me the money




*EDIT*

i just did a google search for blackice585....and well i dont know if its the same person but apparantly this guy sells assault rifles...or something to that extent...

Just go by the deadbeat's house and take a pic and I'll e-mail it to him. Just don't do anything that will get you into trouble.

[MonsterMag]

There are "ways" to take care of people like this :)

Give us some details if possible. Name, phone number, an address that you might have somwhere.

The AO community is far reaching and i'm sure someone here probably lives within a few block of him, w00t! Beat downs are always top notch. :shooting:

Sorry to hear u got ripped off.

i live in western Ny :rolleyes:


:D

[1ofkind]

I once sold a autococker on ebay and shipped it to the seller in canada. We'll it took a little ling for the package to get there. So a couple of days before he got it he said he was compling with paypals I forget what and calling the cops, reporting it to paypal, filing reports to ebay... We'll anyway cops scared the poo poo out of me and I was glad he got the thing the day after.

Try menching cops to him maybe he'll start talking again ;)

[Almeister]

I once sold a autococker on ebay and shipped it to the seller in canada. We'll it took a little ling for the package to get there. So a couple of days before he got it he said he was compling with paypals I forget what and calling the cops, reporting it to paypal, filing reports to ebay... We'll anyway cops scared the poo poo out of me and I was glad he got the thing the day after.

Try menching cops to him maybe he'll start talking again ;)

How ironic, the seller called me today after the cops went to his house and had a little chat with him. So, now I'm getting my money back. :dance:

[Timmee]

How ironic, the seller called me today after the cops went to his house and had a little chat with him. So, now I'm getting my money back. :dance:

That's awesome. Let us know if he follows up on it. :)