Granddad been ripped off :(

[MrsRaegan]

My Grandad bought an ipad in May, my gran is in a carehome and he wanted to be able to facetime her.

He bought it second hand from eBay for £130. The seller was a scam artist and had no intention of selling. She strung him along for months, he finally told me today and I contacted eBay to open a case. Just been told that because it's over 45 days they won't deal with it. Is this right? Is there really nothing I can do to help him? I know in the grand scheme £130 isn't much, but I'm so so angry on his behalf. I truly believe she purposely strung him along to make it past the 45 days mark so she could get away with it.

Sorry for grammar and spelling, ipad is playing up.

Sorry should say I contacted both eBay and paypal in an attempt to open a case.

Report to the police or Trading Standards?

Would they deal with this kind of thing? I don't have any other details than the messages, here by username and the paypal reference.

Her username*

Please repost this in the ebay forum on MN, they will be able to advise what can be done. Or ask MNHQ to move this thread to the ebay section?

Sadly if it's over 45 days PayPal cannot help. Those are the rules he signed up for.

He can request her details from ebay and pass them to the police.

I have heard of some police being unable to help but when I reportd a scammer they did all they could or apprehend the bastard.

I'm pretty sure that if he paid by paypal (likely) then he should be able to get a refund via paypal - but again, ask the experts in the ebay section.

Here is the link to request the contact info

www.ebay.co.uk/sch/ebayadvsearch/?_sofindtype=9

Thanks for the replies ladies. Can I move it myself? Or how do I ask MNhQ?

I understand that you have been informed that we cannot investigate the dispute you filed.

The complaint you filed was opened on xxxxxxx which is after our 45 day deadline and as such, regrettably, we cannot look into this claim.

It is necessary for us to cap the timeframe for opening a buyer complaint. We have found that in most cases 45 days is a sufficient timeframe for a buyer to notify PayPal that they have not received their item, or that there is a problem with the item that they have received.

Additionally we are required to specify a set timeframe in our legal agreements. This lets sellers know that they should keep their postal information and other relevant transaction details for this period. It also reassures buyers that should something happen with their purchase within a 45 day period, they can open a complaint with PayPal.

PayPal’s Buyer Protection offers an additional layer of security, however this does not affect your consumer rights and we advise that you contact the Citizens Advice Bureau or Trading Standards for further information.
If you purchased the goods on an auction site you could also contact the customer support for that auction site to find out if they have a protection policy in place. We also recommend that you stay in contact with your seller in order to reach a resolution.

If you'd like more information please have a look at our User Agreement. You can find it by clicking on the 'Legal Agreements' link at the bottom of any PayPal page.

I would phone the Police (101 I think it is) and explain to them exactly what you have said in your OP.

I would also e-mail eBay - I can't say for sure whether they will do anything now, but it cant hurt to try. I would also e-mail the Seller explaining that you are now handling this matter for your granddad & will be contacting the Police if a full refund is not forthcoming.

I am an eBay Business Seller. The Police probably will take it seriously - a few years ago, I posted an item to a buyer on the morning of going on holiday (a low value item). The day after I came home - just two weeks later - the police knocked on my door as the buyer hadn't received the item & when I hadn't answered my landline phone for a few days (as I was away) he had reported me to the police as a fraudster .

x-posts with Shia. Probably no point e-mailing eBay then .

Was the PayPal funded by his bank account or a credit card?

He could raise it as a dispute with his bank - under item not reccieved.

MrsRaegan I reported this thread to MNHQ and said that you wanted it moved. If you want to report your first post yourself as well that might hurry things up.

I've reported my first post. Thank you for all your help :)

The paypal was taken through his bank account, should I contact the bank or trading standards first?

The bank card may be verified by visa - if so ask them to do a chargeback.

Trading standards won't help unless it was a business seller. His only redress now is police and small claims court for the money. Print out all records of the purchase. Is the auction still live - if so print it out now.

The bank may cover him. I forget what it's called but it's to do with a duty of care to customers. It's under a item not delivered dispute

Whoops. Contact the bank but he would have to be there with you.

I won't see him till Wednesday but will call the bank then. I'm just so annoyed that she might get away with this!

Best of it is, her feedback was terrible but he didn't know to check, think I'll try and have a conversation about checking feedback etc.

and in the meantime print out the auction before it vanishes?

The auction finished at the end of May. Have printed all the messages between them. I contacted the seller last night, but got no response.