I suspect I and several other people have been scammed!

[homostuck]

Story goes like this.

There was a seller on eBay who was selling things at too good to be true prices. 8gb macbook RAM, Car Radios, MS Office etc for only $24 each, well in that range. I bought two of his RAM kits for $24.99 and payed straight away. About two days after I payed, he got banned off eBay for an unspecified reason. He had around 130 feedbacks and only 2 negs which seemed legitmate. As I was saying, he got banned and now there is no way to contact him. I tried doing a dispute, but all I got was "We're sorry there's a problem with your purchase. Unfortunately, this item isn't in a category safeguarded by eBay Buyer Protection. You can try to work out this problem by contacting the seller." Because of this, I suspect the ban was staged so buyers cannot send a dispute or get their money back.  He somehow exploited PayPal's system to prevent a dispute being sent towards him. This has probably affected several other people too has his stuff was selling like hotcakes! I think I've lost $50 from this scammer! What do I do? This was only a week ago.

[jensmanchester-australia]

If you paid using Paypal and you are not covered under the ebay buyer protection policy try lodging a claim directly with Paypal for Item Not Received.

[horizon1907]

Was the seller in China perhaps ? I think the old adage, "if it sound too good to be true, it most likely is a con" applies here. Hope all works out well for you.

[homostuck]

I can't! The RAM was in the Cars Bikes and Boats category. This may have been under the exploit also as there is no I didn't receive my item.

[homostuck]

Yes, he was! Thing is all his feedbacks seemed very legitimate.

[jensmanchester-australia]

If you paid using a credit card through Paypal you can do a credit card chargeback through your bank.

[homostuck]

I used a load and go card. I cannot do chargebacks.

[modestbods · Accepted solution]

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@send_me_it wrote:

I can't! The RAM was in the Cars Bikes and Boats category. This may have been under the exploit also as there is no I didn't receive my item.

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Okay, here is where your problem is.

Neither eBay's Money Back Guarantee or Paypal's Buyer Protection covers vehicles, so by default it is not recognizing an item that was listed in the vehicles category. This does not however mean you're not covered.

Both eBay's MBG & Paypals BP state vehicles are not eligible, it doesn't however state that other items that are merely listing in the vehicle category are ineligible though. It's obviously an attempt by a scammer to find a loop hole, a call to eBay customer service or Paypal customer service should get it sorted for you.

I'd go through Paypal customer service if I were you. If they try and fob you off and tell you it's ineligible because it's in vehicles category, draw their attention to their own user agreement here >> https://cms.paypal.com/sg/cgi-bin/?cmd=_render-content&content_ID=ua/UserAgreement_full&locale.x=en_... PayPal Buyer Protection.

7.3 Ineligible Items. PayPal Buyer Protection only applies to PayPal payments for certain tangible, physical goods. Payments for the following are not eligible for reimbursement under PayPal Buyer Protection:

1. Intangible items, including Digital Goods (subject to exceptions as listed in Section 7.6)
2. Services
3. Real estate
4. Businesses (when you buy a business)
5. Vehicles, including motorcycles, caravans, aircrafts and boats
6. Custom made items
7. Travel tickets, including airline flight tickets
8. Items prohibited by PayPal's Acceptable Use Policy or by eBay's Prohibited or Restricted Items Policy
9. Items which you collect in person, or arrange to be collected on your behalf, including at a retail point of sale
10. Industrial machinery used in manufacturing
11. Items equivalent to cash, including prepaid or gift cards
12. Personal Payments

Even if your payment is not eligible for PayPal Buyer Protection, you can file a Dispute and resolve the issue directly with the Seller, however, PayPal will not find in your favor if you escalate a Dispute to a Claim when an item is not eligible for PayPal Buyer Protection.

And point out to them that nowhere does it say that an item is not eligible if it is listed in vehicles category when it is not a vehicle, boat etc...

If they still try to fob you off,, which I doubt they will, but if they do, then let them know that you'll be filing a complaint with the Financial Services Ombudsman.

Good luck.

[bakeandfry]

For load and go card, contact heritage at... Heritage bank limited, po box 190, Toowoomba, QLD, 4350. Phone: 131422.

[homostuck]

It's an Aussie post visa.