Please help, I'm at a loss.. What options do I have, if any??

[mozismyshepherd]

I won an auction for 3 concert tickets. I was going through some **bleep** & they buyer agreed to let me pay in 2 instalments. He didn't want me paying by PayPal due to fees being taken out (yeah, you can see where this is heading). He agreed to lower the cost of the tickets by $145.

Upon winning the auction, he sent me an invoice he got for purchasing the tickets from the Sydney Opera House.

I paid by bank transfer. 2 payments of $650 in total. I provided him with receipts of said transactions. Now he's saying that he only received $200.

....In his last email he stated:
"I today received an invoice from ebay for $103 for the sale of the morrissey tickets to you however still no sign of $450 or anything further from you (including an email) other than the $200. I have to tell you I have no money to pay my credit card bill let alone the ebay bill and am beginning to wonder whether you have even transferred any more than the $200. I am letting you know that if I do not receive the additional $700 balance in my account by close of business Thursday I will cancel the sale and return $97 to your account subtracting $103 to cover the cost of the ebay sale and my losses.
IF I receive the FULL amount of $700 in my account by COB Thursday the tickets remain yours and I will cover the cost of the eBay sale."

I then contacted eBay & was told that I should not have paid via bank transfer (yes, I know I am stupid, please don't tell me something I already now. I was stupid & desperately wanted these tickets). I was also told that the conversations should've been done through eBay, not me replying to his emails (no. I didn't know this).

I messaged the seller on eBay, replied in length to wrote he wrote & stated that he couldn't cancel the auction & keep my money, & that I will be opening up an investigation with my bank, which will take 10-15 business days. No reply.

Thursday has come & gone, he's still not replying, hasn't sent any of my money, nothing... Ebay have said that they're trying to get in touch with him.

What do I do know? Is there anything I can do?!

Yes I know I was stupid to pay via bank transfer.. It was a rather daft thing for me to do. What I would like to know now, is, what (if anything) can I do? Should do? Or have I lost my my money as well as the tickets...?

Thank you in advance.

[amber-eyed-girl]

Dave, the three tickets were sold at over a thousand, then reduced a little for the buyer (-145$). Buyer owed another 700$ after the initial 200$. So 1045$ I think for winning price, for fees owing. That's probably true, the 103$.

[harley_babes_hoard]

One would assume if that is the case and he works for the Government then he would not want to be reported to ACORN. If you don't get the money do make sure you report him.  How stupid is he using a work email if you are going to scam someone.

[amber-eyed-girl]

I think the work email was found on Google. If the seller is trying something he won't want his workplace involved or known, no.

[cq_tech]

---

@mozismyshepherd wrote:
@ ambridgebuckskins:

Yes, it's a tassie bank.
A quick google provided a lot of info, he's head honcho at a gov.au firm (which is intimidating), his work email etc comes up.. Do I write to that? A FB comes up as well. I honestly don't know anymore. If he's ignoring eBay and my messages, will he even bother with his work addy? I cannot believe how stupid I was. Ugh.

---

Why not make a written complaint to the Federal Minister responsible for his gov.au workplace explaining the situation in full, as well  as contacting whichever anti-corruption group is currently operating in Tasmania (similar to our ICAC, etc.)? You could also send this fellow an email telling him exactly what you're going to do unless he returns your money in full. He can't just ignore this as he has far too much to lose if you involve higher authorities.

[pentney97]

The whole transaction is problematic. OP wins an auction but cannot pay. Seller agrees to payment terms but on their terms. Buyer pays by bank transfer as requested. Seller says payment incomplete and wants buyer to pay their fees for the cancelled sale.

Proof of payment by the buyer via bank records vs statement from seller claiming partial payment.The Police can gather the evidence from the bank records to prove fraud and resolve the issue.

Quote "Yes I know I was stupid to pay via bank transfer" . Does the OP know how much business is done by bank transfer? Do they get their salary/wage/benefits/allowance by bank transfer? Bank transfer is a safe payment method. It is documented and the Police will investigate - will they investigate a Paypal dispute?

Quote "I paid by bank transfer. 2 payments of $650 in total. I provided him with receipts of said transactions. Now he's saying that he only received $200" . Very easy for the Police to determine this. Walk into your local Police Station with your evidence and the sellers messages. Advise seller so and also advise seller you will determine their employer via the .gov.au email and advise them as well.

[joethenuts]

as normal i am confused .

firstly after you won an auction ,not a buy it now , the seller gave you a discount of $145 ,[amazing]

could it be posible that the seller is tellinng the truth that only 1 of your payments went thru , could it been sent to another account by mistake or a wrong account number , a mistake by you or the bank teller or what.[these things must happen and do happen]

also the problem is what date are these tickets for , they coukd be worthless if something is not fixed.

[dylan11235813]

I get paid by direct deposit all the time (usually by newly registered buyers) and have never had a problem. Are you sure that you made the transfer correctly, do you have proof of it. Ebays statement that you should should have paid by paypal is total garbage, stealing is a crime as I understand it.

[kingfisher.curiosity.shop]

Ebay promoting paypal is obvious to all because they make money from it. The scaremongering about bank transfers also benefits the owners of paypal.

[lyndal1838]

There is nothing wrong with bank deposit but you have no protection through ebay or paypal.

It should only be used to pay sellers that you know and trust as you have to rely on the seller's honesty if things go wrong.

[twyngwyn]

You have 2 x receipts for payments made...get your bank to 'trace the payments'....they will be able to give you further confirmation....if seller still refuses to listen, take his/your paperwork to the police