Well...I think I got ripped off big this time....any Londoners here at AO? PLEASE!

[SummaryJudgement]

I don't want to go into any details right now, but I think I got screwed big time on a second chance offer through ebay for an Eclipse autcocker.

Are there any Londoners here on AO that can help me find resources for locating people in London? Or have a phone number for local autorities so I can make a report. Or are willing to stop by a random address and beat someone up for me (just kidding...well, maybe not)?

I may go into details later. Lets just say that at this point it looks I may have been ripped off for nearly a thousand dollars

Any help/suggestions?

[Vex]

Ask eBay--they will steer you in the right direction.

[WenULiVeUdiE]

MarkM lives in England. PM him.

[BigEvil]

Well, im not sure of your details, BUT shipping from oversees, especially if you use a cheap method, will take what seems FOREVER.

[MarkM]

Send me a PM


*edit added*
Oh and for any reading this remebering I have no details as yet other than knowing this marker was sold via Ebay
The UK Version of Ebay does NOT allow the sale of Paintball Markers...parts yes but Markers no. So if any of you are watching/bidding on any Markers listed on the UK Ebay then withdraw your bids or take them off your watch lists...they rarely last long enough before someone reports them anyhow. The "posters" of Timmys are the most common scam (legal on the UK site) but then that is on the US version too

[SummaryJudgement]

Ok.....

DO NOT DEAL WITH:
[email protected]
kharalanov (Ebay id)
AND POSSIBLY Jusrin Dering of London England

I was contacted through Ebay via e-mail with a second chance offer from kharalanov and told to contact him through [email protected]. This was for an aurora Eclipse E-bladed autococker.
He said he was in England on vacation and would have his brother ship it to me as he had it at home (in the US). He said he could not do Paypal because he had gone over his spending limit recently and wanted me to send him cash through Western Union. I did so and got confirmation from Western Union and him that the money was picked-up. He immediately stopped all contact through e-mail. He has not sent any info as far as shipping and tracking numbers. I tried to e-mail him through ebay e-mail. The auction was originally under Ebay id gtrguy1978. I contacted someone who left gtrguy1978 negative feedback to see what had been bad about their transaction.
(Here's the tricky part)
He informed me that the reason he left negative feedback was because it took a while to contact the seller and get his aurora Eclipse E-bladed autococker shipped to him.....

So I come to find out that the guy who left negative feedback for gtrguy1978 hadn't actually backed out of the deal. HE HAD WON THE AUCTION for the gun. He has it. He's shown me proof. He suggested that I was being ripped off, because he clearly owns the product I was trying to buy through the Seond Chance offer.

So......the guy that contacted me for the Second Chance offer (kharalanov) wasn't even the guy who had the gun up for auction in the first place

I listed earlier contacts that were used to scam me. The reason I listed Justin Dering of London, England was because that's the information that was used to pick up the cash at Western Union in London. As far as I know at this point it may the actual person or a fake/assumed identity.

I have the address he gave me to put with the recipient name for Western Union, but that may be fake as well. I also have all correspondence during me dealings with this person.

So at this point I'm out nine hundred, don't have the sweet cocker I was after, feel really stupid that this has happened to me at all, and don't know/think I can even do anything about it.

Be careful AO, I wasn't................

Any suggestions??????

[SlartyBartFast]

Ok.....

You were less than careful. I'm sorry you got burned but that story had so many red flags and warnings it's painful.

Later contact, funny cover story, third party involved, no paypal, western union involved, ...

I do hope you get your money.

[Lohman446]

I was contacted through Ebay via e-mail with a second chance offer from kharalanov and told to contact him through [email protected].

He said he was in England on vacation and would have his brother ship it to me as he had it at home (in the US).

He said he could not do Paypal because he had gone over his spending limit recently and wanted me to send him cash through Western Union.

So......the guy that contacted me for the Second Chance offer (kharalanov) wasn't even the guy who had the gun up for auction in the first place

I am sorry to hear about your loss. For those who read this, look at the above parts, these are thing, that to me, spell fraud

Second chance offers are often a duplicate of E-bays - as in they look like they are official but are not actually from e-bay, hence why you where given a name not associated iwth the first auction.

Shipping $$ overseas makes doing anything against him harder (not impossible)

Western Union has become a scam in itself when paying for things over the internet.

[Muzikman]

Yeah, too many red flags on that one.

[MarkM]

http://feedback.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewFeedback&userid=kharalanov&item=-1&frm=2624

No date for when they were kicked off but they are gone whatever the case.

Different user and this one seems totally legit, must be a market for Maps and Flowers??

http://feedback.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewFeedback&userid=kharalanova&item=-1&frm=2624

You got burned big style Western Union although is reputable for what it does. However it is NOT something you should ever use for anything to do with unknown people...use Western Union to send money to relatives or friends but never third parties...which is what someone from eBay (or here for example) is going to be.

The London Western Union Branch that was used...didn't happen to be the one in Tottenham Court Road did it? As that has been used a few times and has be documented on here for fraud, both paintball and the Nigerian 1234 (whatever the number scam is)

[SummaryJudgement]

I don't for sure which branch of Western Union was used, although I could find out. MarkM, could you provide a phone number to the local authorities so that I could register a complaint and make a report? It would long distance for me, so whatever the number I would have to dial for an international call is what I need. Thanks for the feedback guys, keep it coming.

[MarkM]

You would need to know which area it was (the Western Union office) so that it would be that Borough's Police...chances are it would be one of the Metropolitan divisions but you do need the office location...you said you had confirmation that the money arrived from both WU and the "seller"
You can try and contact the police but to be honest you are done for as there is no trace after the money was picked up...the worst that could be done is the particular branch is noted by the police who contact their head office (WU) to get them to check ID's more closely for the people signing to receive the money..you might find that the particular branch is already known to the police and all this will be is another part of the puzzle in the long chain that will get someone jailed, maybe...I can't say what people but lets us just say that they come from the same part of the world (that is about as politically correct as I can be only basically two regions are at this scam).
I do understand you would like your money back but to be honest I think you have as much chance as taking a dump on the moon. You fell for the scam hook, line and sinker.
Let me know what branch of the WU it was and I will find the contact for the police for you.

[SummaryJudgement]

Hey, thanks man. I'll look into it and post again soon.

[Hexis]

the Nigerian 1234 (whatever the number scam is)

419 FYI.

It's the law that advanced fee fraud is covered under in Nigeria.