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Bait and Switch Scam
Summary: La discusión parece haber girado en torno a un caso de "Bait and Switch Scam", aunque el contenido específico de los mensajes no está disponible. Varias personas participaron, incluyendo a ruraltrade, repentatleisure1952, papermoon.lady, y otros, intercambiando respuestas posiblemente relacionadas con experiencias personales o consejos sobre el tema. Los mensajes se sucedieron durante varios días, lo que sugiere un interés continuo o preocupación entre los participantes. La participación extendida hasta agosto de 2024 indica que el problema siguió siendo relevante por un período prolongado.
An elderly gentleman spent $467 on an electric scooter. It was ordered here and the seller was ridedream. They sent this man a small box of chinese pastry with tracking. Then when he started asking where his purchase is, they screamed that he has received the item - here is the tracking. Sadly he left it too late to claim through Ebay and he paid by bank deposit.
He is a pensioner and these Chinese scammers should not be allowed on this platform. I do not have the gentleman's user ID to speak to Ebay, but I think pressure should be put on that seller to refund immediately.
kh-stanley1
·1 year agoHi everyone,
Due to the age of this thread, it has been closed to further replies. Please feel free to start a new thread HERE if you wish to continue to discuss this topic.
Thank you for understanding.
etb321
·1 year agoLooking to play hardball? Give the Chinese (PRC) Embassy a call, but have hard facts on hand, not some urban myth you heard from a friend of a friend
kywal-5006
·1 year agoHow did learn about this? Poor old thing. Very sad if it truly happened to a pensioner.
eol-products
·3 years agoToo late now but for anyone buying on ebay it is always best to pay for an item using a credit card via paypal as you have multiple options if anything goes wrong. Bank deposit only gives you ebay with a short time frame.
*sons_n_daughters*
·3 years agoI'm wondering how the OP knew about this when they don't know the buyer's ID? Have I missed something?
springyzone
·3 years agoYes, maybe.
I have some friends & family who use ebay occasionally. Very occasionally these days, but they used to use it more years ago and sometimes one of my friends would recount experiences on it etc
I wouldn't have a clue what her user name on ebay is. I am not sure of my sister's private username either.
So I can understand how ruraltrade could well have a neighbour, or even a friend of the man, who has come to him with this problem, knowing that he sells on ebay and so expecting he might 'know what to do'.
sugar249
·3 years agoYes true, but surely if they really wanted to contact Ebay as stated, they would simply ask the ''elderly gentleman'', ''pensioner'' for their user ID. But also if Ebay were any good with privacy they wouldnt talk to ruraltrade about it due to privacy.
springyzone
·3 years agoI suspect ruraltrade was just trying to cover all bases and get in to explain why he had not contacted ebay before he had boardies writing, "Why don't you contact ebay directly about this?"
I also suspect he may have been told about this by a 3rd party, not the older man himself, and he has been shocked and upset, so he's looking for ideas.
What is striking me is that an electrical scooter would be quite a heavy item, whereas a small box of pastry would be light, so even with tracking, it should be obvious that the parcel could not have contained a scooter.
I am wondering if they could get Auspost evidence as to the weight etc and go into ebay chat.
I know it was paid for by direct deposit but all the same, the actual sale would show on ebay and the man obviously has messages where the seller has said it has been delivered with tracking etc.
If the tracking numbers can be matched up and shown to have been attached to a small parcel, then ebay has evidence of a scam.
It's worth a try. Not saying that the buyer will get a refund but ebay may do something about the seller if fraud is proven.
The buyer may also be able to go to his bank to report what has happened, with evidence.
At this stage, anything is worth a try.
ruraltrade
OP3 years agoYou got it in one springzone. I advised him to contact his bank, but I don't hold out much hope that they will be able to do anything.
repentatleisure1952
·3 years agoI hope he has some success.
Hopefully you have advised him to pay with a safe method should he decide to buy on line again. And shown him where the eBay Money Back Guarantee is on listings & explained what type of case to open should this happen again.
imastawka
·3 years agoAnd not to buy a Chinese electrical scooter that could very well burst into flames whilst charging.
He may have lost money, but saved his life and/or house
ruraltrade
OP3 years agoBecause through the job I do, I spoke with this gentleman when he was crying out for help.
countessalmirena
·3 years agoSugar, surely all of us give this elderly gentleman great compassion! But your point is well taken, that — unfortunately — no one can help this individual to recoup their losses, as compassion just has no monetary value.
It is horrible that we must guard ourselves against thieves and scammers, and that those criminals will be utterly ruthless in pursuit of cheating people out of money. That is the hard reality.
sugar249
·3 years agoI am all for compassion when it is deserved, but some stories just don't stack up to deserve compassion. Read into my comment what you want.
sugar249
·3 years agoIt's sad that you got sucked in.
But at the end of theday Ebay have process's if you don't follow them, why should Ebay put pressure on the seller, and besides you claim you don't know the User ID of the elderly gentleman, then how would Ebay know. A non logical request really,
Elderly gentleman, pensioner, still need to follow due process', not jump on the forum months later asking for compassion.
etb321
·3 years agoAustralian owned and operated, 92%, registered in China.
There's only one thing that would terrify a refund out of a Chinese
scammer.
jellybirddesigns
·3 years agoUnfortunately, there is no protection when someone pays by bank deposit as there is no "proof" that Ebay can see to make a determination.
You can't name sellers on the forums, and the mods will come along to remove the information. I did manage to take a look at the seller and they have terrible feedback - most of us on this forum would not purchase from them.
Could he perhaps speak with his bank and tell them he was swindled? Get him to try and raise a chargeback.
Also, that seller is registered in China, and buying anything electric from a random Chinese seller can be problematic. Many third party products are not manufactured to our high standards, so they can be quite problematic. I would never have such an item in my home due to the fire risk. On top of which, there is no warranty if something goes wrong or it breaks down.
papermoon.lady
·3 years agoSadly, there are plenty of concrete stories in the news where e-scooters caught fire while charging... And we all know where they came from (most of the time at least). There is one even today. It happened in London.
https://news.yahoo.com/terrifying-video-shows-charging-e-151512105.html
papermoon.lady
·3 years agoIs that gentleman new to eBay?
It is always recommended to read how eBay and its MBG work before buying.
It is also recommended to avoid bank deposits because they offer no buyer protection at all. Scammers take advantage of situations like this (when they know a buyer is not protected).
I am afraid that gentleman has sadly lost his money.
If you wish to talk to eBay, the only way to contact them is via live chat, but they won't be able to do anything about it.
repentatleisure1952
·3 years agoI'm saddened to hear this happened to this "elderly gentleman".
Having paid by bank deposit he is out of luck.
eBay can't do anything if people do not use a safe payment method. He would have been protected had he done so.