Bait and Switch Scam

[ruraltrade]

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.

[repentatleisure1952]

I'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.

[papermoon.lady]

Is 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.

[jellybirddesigns]

Unfortunately, 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.

[etb321]

Australian owned and operated, 92%, registered in China.

There's only one thing that would terrify a refund out of a Chinese

scammer.  

[papermoon.lady]

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@jellybirddesigns wrote:

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.

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Sadly, 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

[sugar249]

It'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. 

[countessalmirena]

Sugar, 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]

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@countessalmirena wrote:

Sugar, surely all of us give this elderly gentleman great compassion! B. 

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I 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.

[*sons_n_daughters*]

I'm wondering how the OP knew about this when they don't know the buyer's ID? Have I missed something?