OK you bought, you paid, you never received what you paid for,
the seller will not respond, or refuses to correct the problem
What do you do now?
There are several options available and I have found filing with the first options listed below seem to get better results.
But I recommend trying all options
I can not stress enough to stay calm, cool, and factual in your complaint reports.
Long complaints can result in frustration for an overworked investigator who is trying to pull out the important facts
Before you file make sure you have everything organized make copies of the auction and all photos, along with all correspondance to and from the seller, and have ready to submit when requested.
It is important to do this before the auction and/or photos dissapear
Keep copies of all reports with the date & time, along with the name of the person you corresponded with.
Keep these carefully convenient in case you are suddenly contacted. It is not good to keep an investigator on hold while you search for them
If the seller has other negatives for the same practice, try to coordinate your complaints with the other buyers.
At least two others would be good. Include those names & phone numbers in your reports
- First make sure it IS fraud.
Example:, if it is damage, and the seller described that damage in the auction description, it is not fraud and none of these links will help you.
Example:
If it is a fake, and the seller listed it in the category without specifically stating it is a new or fake piece, THAT is fraud by ommision.
- Dial 411 (National Information Registry Service) and get the phone numbers for the proper law enforcement officials in your community and in the city and state the con artist lives in.
- File first with your own Local & State law enforcement agencies. They can also give you assistance or advice on how to file with other agencies
- File with the sellers local & state law enforcement agencies. They are the ones who would have a better idea if there are other complaints, and the more they get the faster they will probably act.
Insist on a report being made if they attempt to "put you off"
- File with the sellers state Attorney Generals office for Consumer Fraud. Your own States Attorney Generals office may help you with this.
- If you used a payment service such as Paypal, file a complaint with them (usually required before 30 days)
- Hopefully you used a credit card or a US Post Office money order
If you used a credit card, file a charge back for a complaint of "the item you purchased was not received"
If you used a US Post office money order, file a complaint through your local post office. The clerks can assist you or you can call your main office for help
- File with Square Trade. If you use the basic service there is no charge. Do not get upset if the seller doesn't respond or refuses to make good. Just move on
- File with eBay, even if it is lower than the insurance amount
- File with the USPS, if they will not cover it they will send it to the correct agency
- File with The Internet Fraud Complaint Center
- File with the Better Business Bureau
- File with the Federal Trade Commission
Cross Border Forms
- Cross-border e-commerce complaints
- Competition Bureau, Industry Canada
BACK TO Fake Alert Index Page
Other links of interest
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