Email/verbal contract

[Ritz]

Good day. Hoping that I can get some advice as to how to proceed. on or about May 3rd I was the high bidder on an eBay auction for a Sony Vaio computer. For undisclosed reasons the auction was cancelled by eBay stating they had suspended the seller. Previous to this suspension I had contacted the seller to inquire as to the amount of shipping and received a response that the shipping from Sacramento, CA to Bremerton, WA would be $15. After recieving the cancellation of the auction, I contacted the seller via email and inquired if they were still willing to complete the transaction and quoted them a price of $425 plus shipping of $15. The seller replied back stating that they accepted my offer but if I wished to pay via Western Union I could deduct an additional $20 and they would ship the computer out via UPS and insure the item for an additional $150 worth of value for no additonal charge. I responded that I did not use Western Union and would they accept a USPS money order? I also left my contact phone numbers and requested that they respond to my email or phone. I received another email from the seller stating they had tried to contact me via phone but could not reach me. The seller identified herself and left a phone number to contact her by a certain time that evening. The phone was a Sacramento area code so I called at about 9 pm. I then talked to the young lady and discussed the amount for the computer. She had stated that she was in the process of trying to start up a small computer sales business. We exchanged addresses and I told her that I would get the money order the following day. I obtained the money order and mailed it on 4 May. I emailed the seller to notifiy her that I had sent the money order long with the serial number so she would know that I had sent it out. I requested that she reconfirm the email as to our terms as discussed per our phone conversation. I never received a response. I then began attempts to contact her via her phone number she had left. It appeared that this was a cell phone as I would receive immediate voice mail recording to "leave a message". I did this several times request that she contact me, respond to my email etc. On May 6, I received a phone call back from her saying she got my phone message and I inquired about her receipt of my letter with the money order. She responded in the negative and told her that it should be there on friday, or even Saturday at the latest. We discussed the deal further and once again she told me as soon as the money order arrived she would ship via UPS as she had a brother who worked for the company and stated again she would ensure that it was insured for $$575. I had become concerned when I did not hear from her via email so I accessed information on her local phone number and obtained information for another phone and address. When I discussed this information with her when she called, she told me that she no longer lived at that address and was now located at the address I sent the money order to. I attempted a call back to her on 12 May as I have not heard from her via email or phone since our conversation on the 6th. Her previous number was now disconnected. I called her cell number that she had given me and after the voice mail message there was another recording stating that this subscriber can not receive any voice mails. Now the phone number appears to be inactive as I now only get a rapid signal like the phone is busy. Hopefully you have been able to follow this. I have contacted the Post Office where I purchased the MO and they can do nothing until 30 days after the issue. As I live in Washingotn state and she is in California, should I contact the local police department to file a complaint? I know I can also file a small claims judgement, but what are some other options? I have even contemplatedeven driving down there to attempt to locate the young lady. But should I contact the police there and tell them what is going on? Thanks

 

[freebird]

I'm sorry to hear about your problems on ebay but my best advice is to really think about what is going on before you part with your money. To begin, eBay stated that the auction was canceled for undisclosed reasons -- that should have given you a clue that perhaps it would not be a good idea to send any kind of cash or money order to this person. Most wouldn't have done business with this person.

I highly doubt that the police will be actively involved and I'm not sure whether they will take a complaint or claim that this is a civil issue. I do hope that you have this womans information correct. This is also a federal offense but I'm not sure how quick anyone will move on your case for $425 and what may be a few isolated incidents -- but you never know. You should contact eBay and find out what they have to say.

You should definitely file in small claims if you are down in the area.

Originally posted by Ritz
Good day. Hoping that I can get some advice as to how to proceed. on or about May 3rd I was the high bidder on an eBay auction for a Sony Vaio computer. For undisclosed reasons the auction was cancelled by eBay stating they had suspended the seller. Previous to this suspension I had contacted the seller to inquire as to the amount of shipping and received a response that the shipping from Sacramento, CA to Bremerton, WA would be $15. After recieving the cancellation of the auction, I contacted the seller via email and inquired if they were still willing to complete the transaction and quoted them a price of $425 plus shipping of $15. The seller replied back stating that they accepted my offer but if I wished to pay via Western Union I could deduct an additional $20 and they would ship the computer out via UPS and insure the item for an additional $150 worth of value for no additonal charge. I responded that I did not use Western Union and would they accept a USPS money order? I also left my contact phone numbers and requested that they respond to my email or phone. I received another email from the seller stating they had tried to contact me via phone but could not reach me. The seller identified herself and left a phone number to contact her by a certain time that evening. The phone was a Sacramento area code so I called at about 9 pm. I then talked to the young lady and discussed the amount for the computer. She had stated that she was in the process of trying to start up a small computer sales business. We exchanged addresses and I told her that I would get the money order the following day. I obtained the money order and mailed it on 4 May. I emailed the seller to notifiy her that I had sent the money order long with the serial number so she would know that I had sent it out. I requested that she reconfirm the email as to our terms as discussed per our phone conversation. I never received a response. I then began attempts to contact her via her phone number she had left. It appeared that this was a cell phone as I would receive immediate voice mail recording to "leave a message". I did this several times request that she contact me, respond to my email etc. On May 6, I received a phone call back from her saying she got my phone message and I inquired about her receipt of my letter with the money order. She responded in the negative and told her that it should be there on friday, or even Saturday at the latest. We discussed the deal further and once again she told me as soon as the money order arrived she would ship via UPS as she had a brother who worked for the company and stated again she would ensure that it was insured for $$575. I had become concerned when I did not hear from her via email so I accessed information on her local phone number and obtained information for another phone and address. When I discussed this information with her when she called, she told me that she no longer lived at that address and was now located at the address I sent the money order to. I attempted a call back to her on 12 May as I have not heard from her via email or phone since our conversation on the 6th. Her previous number was now disconnected. I called her cell number that she had given me and after the voice mail message there was another recording stating that this subscriber can not receive any voice mails. Now the phone number appears to be inactive as I now only get a rapid signal like the phone is busy. Hopefully you have been able to follow this. I have contacted the Post Office where I purchased the MO and they can do nothing until 30 days after the issue. As I live in Washingotn state and she is in California, should I contact the local police department to file a complaint? I know I can also file a small claims judgement, but what are some other options? I have even contemplatedeven driving down there to attempt to locate the young lady. But should I contact the police there and tell them what is going on? Thanks

 

[Ritz]

Thanks for the insight but I am usually very careful aobut such transactions on eBay. But I received a very interesting phone call last night from the former room mate of the person I sent the money order to. Seems that my seller has a redcent boy friend and the two of them seem to have been running a bit of a scam as they have defrauded several other people including an attorney in Michigan. They had been using the lady who called me last night email account. She had been respecting her room mates privacy as they had known each other of over a year. She said she had noticed a change in her room mate after she had met this guy. She then stated she had not seen her for several days and that numerous enquiries had started to appear at her address along with her emails. She then started to check the emails and discovered what appears to be a scam as she knew that her room mate did not have any of the items she had been putting up for sale and contacted eBay informing them of this situtation. It appears that eBay had suspended her account for the other non-deliveries previous to mine even though she had glowing feedback. Needless to say the young lady who called me has been contacting all the previous people who had "purchased" items. I obtained numerous bits of information about my new caller as well as information about the lady who has my money order. She is filing a complaint with the Sacramento Police and will be forwarding that case number along with the email address of the other victims that she has been able to contact. Hopefully with others being involved I can recover my funds. Any recommendations on my next course of action? Should I too file a complaint with the Sacramento Police referenceing the case number or establish my own case number? thanks

 

[freebird]

You will likely need/have a second complaint number but there is no harm in referencing the first and it could be helpful with their investigation as well as in charges when that time hopefully comes...good luck.

Originally posted by Ritz
Thanks for the insight but I am usually very careful aobut such transactions on eBay. But I received a very interesting phone call last night from the former room mate of the person I sent the money order to. Seems that my seller has a redcent boy friend and the two of them seem to have been running a bit of a scam as they have defrauded several other people including an attorney in Michigan. They had been using the lady who called me last night email account. She had been respecting her room mates privacy as they had known each other of over a year. She said she had noticed a change in her room mate after she had met this guy. She then stated she had not seen her for several days and that numerous enquiries had started to appear at her address along with her emails. She then started to check the emails and discovered what appears to be a scam as she knew that her room mate did not have any of the items she had been putting up for sale and contacted eBay informing them of this situtation. It appears that eBay had suspended her account for the other non-deliveries previous to mine even though she had glowing feedback. Needless to say the young lady who called me has been contacting all the previous people who had "purchased" items. I obtained numerous bits of information about my new caller as well as information about the lady who has my money order. She is filing a complaint with the Sacramento Police and will be forwarding that case number along with the email address of the other victims that she has been able to contact. Hopefully with others being involved I can recover my funds. Any recommendations on my next course of action? Should I too file a complaint with the Sacramento Police referenceing the case number or establish my own case number? thanks