dicked by ebay/paypal/some fukker in santa cruz, CA -- help a brother out.

Bought a new fork ($450, brand new fox talas RLC) for my bike on ebay 3 weeks ago. contact w/ the seller was great until i actually made payment -- since then, not a word.

after 3 or 4 days w/ nothing i called up his user info on ebay, got the phone number and all -- phone's disconnected.

Sit around in frustration for a couple days, fire off a few more emails to the seller, still nothing.

So i do the whole complaint resolution rigamarole w/ paypal and ebay, they finally get back to me; say "sorry, looks like you got fukked, and the seller's at fault, but nothing we can do."

I also contacted the person he most recently did business w/ (just before me) to see if they can help me out. guy forwarded an email to his work address for me, but no response. the guy takes pity, gives me some more beta -- the seller works for Santa Cruz bicycles, lives in santa cruz (or aptos?)....and he gave me the seller's work email.

Went to the bank today, told them the story, and that I want my money back (done as an ACH through paypal, not w/ a CC, dumbass that I am. thank god i got "verified.") they started some kind of form and told me they'd try to get my money back (from paypal -- pigfukkers).

What other options do I have here? should i sue the seller? head out to CA and kick his ass? notify the police? what would maggots do?

Me: 6'3", 205 lbs. Residence: Santa Cruz, CA. What can I do for you?

Wow, that really sucks. I can't be of much help, but I had a situation somewhat similar where a dude sent me a damaged guitar that was supposed to be mint when I received it. I paid through Paypal with my Visa, but the Paypal dispute process seemed like a pain so I sent my contract I had with the dude to Visa and their claims department took care of everything for me. Paypal then suspended my account for not using their dispute process. Its just too bad we have to find out the hard way that Paypal's dispute process is a crock of shit. Good Luck man.

p.s. If I were you and had free time on my hands, I would go to Santa Cruz, scare the shit out of the guy either legally or otherwise and get my money back.

I'm on my way...........



http://www.snipershide.com/photoshoo...swatsniper.jpg

If the guy works for SC bikes and is selling new SC components on EBay, I'd be contacting somebody at the top of SC bikes and letting them know that you got screwed. The guy's probably jacking components and selling them. Maybe SC will help you out and then fire this creep.

Quote:

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Originally posted by Mustonen
what would maggots do?

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Can't help with your situation, sorry. It sounds as if it really sucks for you. I would, however, recommend to all who buy expensive stuff on ebay to either ensure they can pick it up in person or fork out the extra for COD. There are so many scam sellers on ebay, especially for premium bike parts.

I always use CC for PayPal - but I would contact his employer if u have his name - it is possible that he had a car accident or something..

I thought ebay and/or paypal insured transactions to a certain amount. Probably wouldn't cover everything but some's better than none. Covered me for part of a deal I got hosed one but they did use a technacality to get out of a bigger portion. That was a couple of years ago. I agree in contacting higher ups at SC bikes. They generally frown on their guys floggin' gear on ebay.

www.paypalsucks.com

Lots of devoted sympathy here. If you get the CEO's phone number, whatya think he'll do after a thousand phone calls from maggots?

Don't any of you guys (Cody) go threatening anyone........ Cops love to come after people that do that shit and I believe they have added powers for prosecution these days (*post 9/11).
Cody, shoot me your phone number down there.

Other folks have offered reasonable and well thought out suggestions (and/or beat-downs), so here's something that might make you feel better.

This fellow was selling a powerbook on e-bay and realized someone was trying to scam him. So he took the scammer for a ride instead. Some buds from (what I can only suppose is) a computer geek forum helped him out.

The story is told in pdf, download it here.

http://easynetworknyc.com/powerbook/images/Keys1.jpg

Quote:

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Originally posted by Will
This fellow was selling a powerbook on e-bay and realized someone was trying to scam him. So he took the scammer for a ride instead. Some buds from (what I can only suppose is) a computer geek forum helped him out.[/img]

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Just read that whole account. Frickin' hilarious. Almost tempted to head down there to get my hair cut for the fun of it. :D

Quote:

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Originally posted by Mulletizer
Just read that whole account. Frickin' hilarious. Almost tempted to head down there to get my hair cut for the fun of it. :D

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Go check the screen savers, and if they've been changed, set them to p-p-p-powerbook again.

Buyers

PayPal helps you buy with confidence on eBay. Before filing a claim, we encourage you to work with your seller since most issues can be resolved through direct communication. If you find it necessary to file a claim, your transaction may be covered by either PayPal Buyer Protection or the Buyer Complaint Process.


Items Covered by PayPal Buyer Protection
Items listed on eBay that show the PayPal Buyer Protection icon in the Seller Information box.


Items paid for with PayPal and paid to the seller's email address associated with the listing. (To make sure you pay the correct email address, use the grey Pay Now button you'll see when the listing closes on eBay.)


Items you paid for but never received.


Items purchased on eBay that are significantly different than what was described in the listing.


Physical goods. Services and intangible items are not covered.
PayPal Buyer Protection Rules
You may only file one claim per PayPal payment.


Claims must be filed within 30 days of the PayPal payment.


You may not file a claim if you are simply disappointed with the item you have received. Items must be significantly not as described or never received.


You are limited to two PayPal Buyer Protection refunds per calendar year. Beyond that, we are unable to guarantee full recovery of funds.


Refunds issued on PayPal Buyer Credit transactions may apply towards this limit. Learn more by reviewing the PayPal Buyer Credit Policy.


You must be willing to provide information during the investigation process. If we are unable to obtain the necessary information, your case may be cancelled without a refund.

hahahahaha....computer nerds are cool!!

I got burned by an eBay seller back in January. Won an auction for the complete Monty Python 14 DVD set and next thing I knew, the seller was "no longer a registered user" and was ignoring my emails. I paid with a MO so no PayPal recourse for me.
I filed all the eBay fraud stuff and ended up getting my bid price minus $25 back. Far from satisfying, but better than nothing.

How long has it been since the auction closed. I have run into peeps who had a personal prob arise and things were made right eventually.

Yeah, you never know when you might need an emergancy vasectomy...

brownmonkey almost got burned with a Powerbook buy on ebay. He won the auction and agreed to pick up the laptop as it was only an hour or so away from him.

When he arrived, the guy selling seemed a very respectable family sort with a nice house and so on. No cause for alarm. Anyway, when monkey gets the Poewerbook home, he's sitting there fiddling with it, and being a nosy git, he decides to see what's in the recycle bin.

There are a few files of no interest and one spreadsheet titled 'Burglary'. He opens the spreadsheet and finds the Powerbookj listed among a bunch of domestic items 'stolen' in an apparent burglary.

He rings me up and asks for advice and I let him know that it sound like a fraudulent insurance claim. This could mean that he has no legal title to the Powerbook (it being the property of the insurance company). Being an evil bastard, all sorts of blackmail possibilities loom befiore my eyes, but monkey is a much nicer guy than me. He asks the advice of the police without getting too specific. They say that if the computer was never actually stolen, then he has legal title. If it was stolen and recovered, it's not his.

So he kept it. Apparently there are no ergisters of serial numbers of stolen Powerbooks if you need it serviced or anything like that. I'd still feel slightly dodgy about paying top market rate for a computer that had been reported stolen...

Quote:

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Originally posted by Will
Other folks have offered reasonable and well thought out suggestions (and/or beat-downs), so here's something that might make you feel better.

This fellow was selling a powerbook on e-bay and realized someone was trying to scam him. So he took the scammer for a ride instead. Some buds from (what I can only suppose is) a computer geek forum helped him out.

The story is told in pdf, download it here.

http://easynetworknyc.com/powerbook/images/Keys1.jpg

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Hilarious. I was kinda hoping for more of a climactic ending though....

Quote:

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Originally posted by 3o3
If the guy works for SC bikes and is selling new SC components on EBay, I'd be contacting somebody at the top of SC bikes and letting them know that you got screwed. The guy's probably jacking components and selling them. Maybe SC will help you out and then fire this creep.

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I think there might be trouble at Santa Cruz. My friend ordered a Bullit months ago, still no delivery. I see SC bikes all over the place. The Bullit has become the ford f150 of mt. bikes, and this company still can't get it's stuff together:rolleyes: Now I hear this?

Months and months of wait time on Santa Cruz bikes has been pretty much standard for a long time now. It's insane.

My brother in law ordered one about a year and a half ago - the shop required that he pay when he placed the order. Said it would be 2 months. Then another month. A few more weeks... After waiting 5 months, we found him an identical bike sitting at a shop here in UT and said he should get his money back and we'd grab this one for him. Shop wouldn't give him his money back and just made him wait another month. It's a great bike, and now that he has it he's totally satisfied, but it blows me away how long people wait for them - after paying in advance, no less.

Great bikes though. I wanted a Heckler, but knowing their lack of reliability about delivery times ruled out ordering one - I'm not that patient. And as it turns out, my Yeti is awesome, and I got to deal with my favorite shop, so I have no regrets.

At least go in and give him a crap rating on the ebay. I did this when I guy scammed me and it was so funny...he came back and got all defensive. Ended up looking like a jack-hole. It aggravated him, but that's all it did. I never got what I ordered, or my money back.
Hope it works out better for ya!
Sprite

Quote:

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Originally posted by altagirl
Months and months of wait time on Santa Cruz bikes has been pretty much standard for a long time now. It's insane.

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Lucky for my friend, I have a blown out knee, and he has my Balfa. it is outrageous how long he has been waiting.:eek:

I'd recommend the same. Either get a SC bike in stock, or get something else.

It's not the long delivery times that are most frustrating. It's that they're not honest about the wait. They always say "2 weeks," even though it could be from 2 weeks to 3 months.

Yeah, I'd keep tracking the guy down. Make his ebay account very red with angrey faces so that people never want to buy from him again.
It sounds like you are getting closer to him with every contact.
GL.

Originally posted by altagirl
Months and months of wait time on Santa Cruz bikes has been pretty much standard for a long time now. It's insane.

Yes it is, coming up on three months waiting for my heckler and I was originally told 1-2 months. At least the shop only took a $300 deposit (and is helping me out with free demos)--if I had paid in full, I would have gotten a refund by now for sure.

The form i filed w/ my bank was a success, the money was posted back to my account today.

hooray, right?

i check out my paypal account to see their reaction. it says debiting my account for the money seems to have failed, so they were nice enough to go ahead and debit my back-up funding source -- my credit card.

i about hit the roof when i saw that. i do feel more confident having the money go through visa...i'll get it back.

i'm focusing on getting my money back from paypal, regardless. it should be their fukking problem to get it back from the seller, since essentially they're protecting the seller in this case, instead of me.

anyhow, it seems a week before my auction w/ the seller he ripped off some other guy w/ the same fork. same thing happened. no communication at all after money was sent -- which means to me that it was a fricking scam all the way, since he was talking to me at the same time he was ignoring the other dude.

whatever....Eric Hoffman in Aptos or Santa Cruz, CA can suck my wang. If for some reason I can't get my money back from paypal or they try to get a collection agency involved against me, i'm gonna figure out how to sue the guy. anybody have any pointers on that?

You can file a suit in either small claims court or possibly the county civil court- depends on jurisdiction stuff. The clerk at the local courthouse probably won't be much help in advising you since they are not supposed to provide legal advice- but either way you could get a summons sent to them.

Sometimes if you can arrange a summons to be served- that might be enough to get it settled- but again, I'd probably page any lawyer people on this site for their take on that.

Another possiblity to not discount is that the ebay account might have been hijacked.

Quote:

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Originally posted by Telenater
Another possiblity to not discount is that the ebay account might have been hijacked.

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doesn't seem so likely. i was in contact w/ a buyer who completed his transaction AFTER the auction i won was concluded (he'd bought a brand new Santa Cruz, actually...killer deal).

all of this guy's recent auctions have been day-long auctions for new bike parts...which does seem sorta suspicious.

i just want my money back (or my frickin fork)...and if i can get it cleanly just by reversing payment i'm gonna do that.

Opened up the my local phonebook. Assuming the name he gave you isn't a false one, I gathered up the phone numbers of local Eric Hoffmans. None are from Aptos, which you curiously mentioned, but it might be worth a shot.

Eric Hoffman #1 - 831-426-8649
Eric Hoffman #2 - 831-479-1502
Eric Hoffman #3 - 831-476-9413

Call up Santa Cruz Bicycles as well (could be under the name NHS) and ask to see if your scumbag actually works there.

Nice work agent Alkasquawlik.

www.squartrade.com works fairly well sometimes

There are whole series of shit to fill out on ebay... certain forms for certain time periods (all as part of a procedure to have his account locked).

Threaten to file complaints with:
His local law enforcement
His employer/supplier
California State Attorney General's Office
California Consumer Fraud Department
National Fraud Information Center
Your state attorney general's office
Your state consumer fraud department

That threatlist scared one guy into sending me shit (the only time I've been screwed, that fixed it).

Have Aquasqwalik go to his place of employment and hand deliver a letter. That should be cool.

Quote:

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Originally posted by Alkasquawlik
Opened up the my local phonebook. Assuming the name he gave you isn't a false one, I gathered up the phone numbers of local Eric Hoffmans. None are from Aptos, which you curiously mentioned, but it might be worth a shot.

Eric Hoffman #1 - 831-426-8649
Eric Hoffman #2 - 831-479-1502
Eric Hoffman #3 - 831-476-9413

Call up Santa Cruz Bicycles as well (could be under the name NHS) and ask to see if your scumbag actually works there.

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"Datamine your leads and ye shall have sales." -Telemarketer #PAJ1

From Aquasqualik's list
Hoffman, Eric
Santa Cruz, CA 95060
426-8649

Eric Hoffman
5481 Ball Dr
Soquel, CA 95073
479-1502

Hoffman, Eric J
840 Eddy Ln
Santa Cruz, CA 95062
476-9413


For Hoffman's in Aptos I found (because Eric could be some punk kid who used his parent's CC to establish an account):

Hoffman, Chris
1726 Wilshire Dr
Aptos, CA 95003
685-9121

Hoffman, Michelle
Aptos, CA 95001
662-0242

Hoffman, T
Aptos, CA 95003
479-1124

Hofman, Diane & John
2711 Borregas Dr
Aptos, CA 95003
668-5275

www.mapquest.com :)

^add dont forget to threaten to take him to small claims court



-> SO WHAT HAPPENED?