Ok, so recently I purchased an item off of somewhat of a reputable member on eBay. It seems as if the item is never arriving despite the fact that I paid him/her over a month ago. No tracking code, no proof of being sent, no news from the guy. I'm currently considering a chargeback. I heard that the buyers get protection, so I'd like to be protected. But, I've never done a chargeback. Has someone done it before and would someone be willing to tell me where I should begin? Thanks
First off, since you purchased on eBay, you need to file a complaint through eBay. Do this no matter what. Second, if you paid via Paypal, open a dispute through them. If you paid by credit card, call your credit card company to file a dispute. Be sure you have the date of purchase, total amount paid, and other details about the purchase handy. That's about it.
Advice from another place at this forum, credit to the original poster, iamneo Here are your options. i won EVERY dispute so far. So let me give you the details. DO IT EXACTLY as I say if you want to win. 1) DO NOT CLOSE THE DISPUTE WHAT SO EVER. 2) ESCALATE the dispute to a CLAIM at paypal. You have 20 days to do it and you can do it anytime WITHIN the 20 days. DO IT RIGHT AWAY! 3) His account is frozen/limited. But he is still allowed to refund (all he needs to do is email paypal in rare cases) 4) FILE for a CHARGE BACK with your credit card AFTER step 2) , I mentioned above. ONLY AFTER. NOT BEFORE (or paypal could limit your account). This is in the user agreement you sign with paypal. Basically, you are supposed to give paypal a chance/time to resolve the issue. Paypal will say that they can't give you a refund since it is a digital item, so that is just a formality to keep your end of the bargain with paypal (Basically, you are conforming to the user agreement) Chargebacks are expensive. so paypal prefers to resolve things directly rather then go via chargeback. That is why you file the claim/dispute with them first. But since paypal has to comply with the credit card agreement (as they accept CC's), They cannot take punitive action against you for using your rights. 5) Here is the important part. After you initiate a chargeback with your credit card: FAX or MAIL all the documentation (emails, chat transcript,s, INCLUDING the emails you received from the phpfox & vbulletin). This will give evidence to the credit card company that you are being cheated/defrauded. The credit card company will immediately PULL the funds from Paypal and paypal will immediately pull the funds from his account. All the above steps take about 1hr of your time and YOU WILL GET YOUR MONEY BACK. TRUST ME. I have enough experience with paypal/creditcard documents, I can even give you the freaking sub-clauses for the terms of the user agreements! What ever you do, DO NOT WASTE your time investigating this matter on your own. YOU WILL GET NO WHERE. After the above steps, you go to the FBI internet crimes cell and OPEN case with ALL the information you have. Here is the link: http://www.ic3.gov/ They will do nothing yet, but everything will go into the database and they will be able to sub-poena and investigate this matter if need be (usually they do it only in larger cases). They will get the IP & everything from paypal, dP & emails if need be. Even the proxies he is using will have his ISP information. He is being a dumb ASS if he thinks he can fool anyone. If you do exactly as I mentioned above, YOU WILL GET EVERY PENNY back & He will get NOTHING, but will be on the FBI file. You can thank me later