sold my car on eBay, PayPal reversed payment after delivery

[eddieo45]

buyer seemed legit (of course, right?): messaged me on eBay and followed up with a text asking when we could talk on the phone. he had a Brooklyn phone number but was in Vegas, and a Google search of the number seemed to support that. we spoke several times, did a FaceTime "test drive" and exchanged dozens of texts. he paid the $1000 deposit on my eBay listing, for which I was charged the 2.9% PayPal fee, then he "friends and family" PayPal'ed me the balance. a friend who sells cars for a living advised me to move the money out of the PayPal account and into my bank as soon as possible, which I did. delivery took a week or so to coordinate, as he sent me transport company info and it took a while to coordinate, and he called me excitedly when the car arrived, thanking me and saying it was nicer than he'd hoped. the next day I got two emails from PayPal "We're reviewing a payment reversal..." for each of the payments, allowing me to enter the scantest details at Resolution Center. Oddly, the "We're reviewing a payment reversal..." emails began "We recently notified you that a payment you received was made without the account holder's permission, or was the result of a transaction error" but they were my first notification. Within hours of me entering the sale and delivery info I got more emails from PayPal, "We've completed our review....We’ve confirmed the transaction was unauthorized and have refunded $8,750.00...." My PayPal balance is now a negative $9700 or so, as the $1000 deposit is also "on hold". I called PayPal and pleaded my case and they said they'd review the sale, and that it would take 11 days (??!). Around this time I got a voicemail from the buyer (from a different phone number, only seven digits of which show up) stating that his ex-wife has hacked into his accounts. By then the title I had signed over to him had arrived by Priority Mail. I exported about 12 pages of text messages between the buyer and me and uploaded them to the PayPal Resolution Center. I tried to unlink my bank account info but was not allowed, but my bank assures me that PayPal cannot claw back the funds. Oddly enough, a good 36 hours after the "case closed" emails I received a "Case Opened" email from PayPal, this time for the amount $9,004.05, which is what the $8750 would have cost him had he not sent it friends and family.

The Brooklyn phone number is now out of service, of course. Should I be dealing with law enforcement and/or consumer protection agency?

[labs118]

@eddieo45 

Wow so horrible !!!

Paypal seller protection doesn't cover Motors 

https://www.paypal.com/us/webapps/mpp/ua/useragreement-full

Ineligible items and transactions under PayPal’s Purchase Protection program
Payments for the following are not eligible for reimbursement under PayPal Purchase Protection:
Real estate, including residential property.
Financial products or investments of any kind.
Businesses (when you buy or invest in a business).
Vehicles, including, but not limited to, motor vehicles, motorcycles, recreational vehicles, aircraft and boats.



Ebay gears the motor security center more towards helping buyers then to helping a seller who just got taken but I might try the FBI IC3 internet center
There is a Blue IC3 link in the link below and I would try the police department in the buyers city/town

http://pages.motors.ebay.com/buy/security/index.html

Wish you much luck

[ittybitnot]

Paypal seller protection doesn't cover Motors /Ineligible items and transactions under PayPal’s Purchase Protection program

Are seller protection and purchase protection two different things?   I guess PayPal can snag back "friends and family" payments after all. 

[krazzykats]

I'd try to report the car stolen. Sounds like it was to me. It was taken and not paid for.

[gopetersen]

If it isn't paid then whoever owns the title (whatever name is on there) has a stolen auto, and the law comes down very hard on auto theft.

Contact the FBI (since this is cross-border) and give them all the details. They have an Internet fraud report online.

A lawyer would probably tell you not to communicate any further with the thieves (it might be several people working together) but I am not a lawyer.

Also register a report with the police station in your "buyer's" local precinct (you can find it online).

Here is the information page and link to the fraud form for the FBI report:

https://www.ic3.gov/complaint/default.aspx

And do it quickly before they dismantle it and ship the parts to Mexico.

Also do it quickly so you can tell PayPal you have sent reports to the local police and the FBI. The police will give you a case number if you ask for it. I can't remember if the FBI assigns a case number, but I think they do. Give the case numbers to PayPal.

[escuintla]

Run, and I mean run baby!

This is a fraud case. Contact the authorities in your area. 

I would also contact the FBI. There's more than one crime here. Whoever did this is going to pay lots of days in jail. 

Good luck! 

[thenobletuckylife]

Evening,

What a horror and I am at a loss for words here.

As others mentioned, contact all the appropriate authorities asap and if it was for that 2009 Mercedes Benz it probably is already cut up by now.

Makes you sick...so sorry.

Mr C

[gramophone-georg]

Forget talking to eBay or PayPal- get this info filed with IC3 and the FBI as others have said- and your financial institution- with all your evidence and get a stop put to this. Do it immediately. Pay Pal *might* "help"... eventually... but you don't have time to wait on "eventually". 

[tjli23-61]

Contact the FBI (since this is cross-border) and give them all the details. They have an Internet fraud report online.

___

that report does nothing, it's to track trends in crime.

The op needs to start with the police where the car was delivered.

[a_c_green]

I don't think anyone's mentioned the "transport company" that picked up the car. Give the police whatever details you know of about that company. If they seem legit, they might be willing to say where they transported the car, which would be a good step towards possibly getting it back.

[cashvaluerecovery2011]

Transport company will almost definitely be the culprit or in on the theft. Finding a transport company takes minutes. They are available bidding for jobs online 24/7. This one took 11 days as the op mentions. Sounds more to me like the thief needed to find a patsy to pick it up for him.

[18704d]

Contact a good attorney.

One with knowledge is such matters.

Verify how to proceed with law enforcement, etc.

Lynn

[fab_finds4u]

SMH, you ignored a red flag-  being in Vegas but having a Brooklyn phone is suspicious.   

Sellers should get CASH in hand before they ship.  From the buyer's hand to yours. That's the only way to know for certain you won't be scammed. 

[hawkwind5454]

I know hind sight is 20/20, but you were "groomed" for this fraudulent transaction.  It is likely that at least one of the "buyer's" end  phone numbers was a temporary VoIP number. (never a good sign) Caller dictates the number that  shows up on caller ID.  I always perform due diligence; Buyer's name, numbers, addresses,  Google earth addresses, and cross-check all of the buyer's information.  Not 100% fool-proof, but it does help. The internet makes it easy to check all of this.  I feel your pain, but you have received some great advice here.  Good luck!

[valuestore]

Isn't there not an escrow service for autos and large dollar items? If seller opted out , eBay should really make it mandatory on these large dollar items.