Hi, Would be difficult to charge agaimst the original buyer as he/she is claiming fraudulent use of their account (backed up by both ebay and paypal). Although I have a POD from Royal mail to the address is Leeds the clever postman didnt get a printed name - only a scribbled signature which cannot be deciphered. Royal Mails argument is that they deliver to an address, not a person so dont care who signs for its as long as it has been signed for. So without a name, not sure who I can sue to get my money back. I have tried to find out who owns the house, but no luck through Electoral rolls etc. Anybody else have any ideas where I can find who is the owner of the house? Cheers, Andiec

Hi Everybody, Just thought i would give a quick update on my problem. I have recently spent nearly 3hrs in the local police station giving a very detailed (11 page) statement to the police about my problem. I handed in 19 pieces of evidence (mostly copies of emails between myself, ebay and paypal and the POD from Royal Mail). This will now be passed up to Leeds police which is where the item was send (leeds) as this is where the crime took place. The PC still advised me to try and pursue my money through paypal with a solicitors letter to them - cant decided yet whether to or not. Also just for your info most police forces now have a policy of not investigating anything less then £500 in value if it is ebay. Will let you know if anything happens with the leeds police - not really holding my breath though.

Sorry - just wanted to add that I hoped I had not hijacked anybody else's thread with this advice.

Hi Smokey, Having just read your problem I had something similar (see thread "trusted paypal lost £500+). I would strongly advise that you DO report it to the police with all the evidence you can i.e. email rint outs from ebay including original listing etc. I have also reported my problem to the police where fraud was commited on an ebay and paypal account. Police are very interested because money laundering appears to be happening on ebay supporting more serious crime (according to my local police station). Most police forces now have dedicated internet fraud departments investigating stuff exactly like this. OK you may not be able to get your money back - but it might help all of our cases if ebay and paypal are reguarly investigated by the police for fraudulent use. Afterall - they do advertise that they offer a safe and secure way to do internet purchasing. - a Load of B******s as far as I am concerned.

Interestingly enough I have just spent an hour down at the local police station chatting to a very sympathetic copper. I took all my email correspondence from both ebay and paypal and the POD from Royal mail. He agrees with me that Paypal sucks and had no right to A: Close the dispute without my side of story B: Take back money from account when I had already asked for a bank transfer & C: Give no explanation what so ever what had actually happened. He also agrees that because I have an ebay email AND Paypal email with the same address on it I followed all the correct procedures and should not be held responsible. He is willing to open this up as a crime BUT I need to get confirmation from ebay about the original buyers address - the one who put in the dispute saying he hadn't bid and got the chargback. If it is a different address to what is on ebay and paypal then the police are happy that it is internet fraud and will open up and investigation. If it is the same address as what is supplied by both ebay and paypal then I have proof that my item was delieverd there, therefore I should be able to get my money back through Paypal - but this would have to be through a civil action NOT a crime investigation. So I am going to try and get the original buyers details from ebay to see if the addresses match. Has anybody had to do this before? I would be interested in what the out come was. Will keep you all posted....

I now realise this, but wasn't really aware of the significance of what a verified address was - my own stupid fault. However I still feel that Paypal has to take a lot of the blame especially as they are providing a service (for which we are charged) which should include a safe and secure way to do transactions. If the shipping address does not match the credit card address (which we cannot see) then as part of their chargeable security service should they not be contacting the buyer to check for fraudulent activity before activating a completed transaction email to the seller. Surley that is the whole point is using Paypal.

I agree Managing Director. I will certainly be closing both my ebay and paypal accounts and advising anybody who is thinking of trading with them to read these threads first.

Hi, My reversal was done within 48 hours, but no explanation from paypal as to why. It was only because ebay emailed me to say that "fraudulent activity" had occured on the auction that i was aware anything was wrong. Also I am not covered under sellers protection from paypal because the address sent to me on their transaction details was not verified. I have only been a ebay and paypal member for 3 months and still do not understand what "not verified" means, even though I have asked them to explain. Of course I am now kicking myself for not double checking the address, but as far as I was concerned if paypal send me a completed transaction email with a delivery address included I presumed it was safe and verified, as paypal claim to be the safest way to deal with money on the internet. A very expensive lesson to learn - hopefully the police will be more helpful. Already chatted to them today and I am now gathering evidence to pass over to them. Apparently things like this happen quite a lot and can fund more serious organised crime.

Hi , Thanks for your replies, I already feel so much better about what I feel may be a hopeless case. I have been reading other`threads about paypal and cannot believe how much "Crap" they seem to be getting away with. Is it time that we as comsumers really tried to take a stand? Is media the right way, maybe watchdog or office of fair trading? - Anyones else?

Hi, Im new to the CAG and this forum, so im reading back on old paypal problems. Recently had the same problem when I sold something on ebay, paypal confirmed monies recieved into my account, dispatched item only for paypal to then reverse money with no explanation what so ever - ALL £525!! I am now going to take everything to my local police and try to get it investigated under "obtaining goods through deceit". I will also be closing both my ebay and paypal account.

Hi ScarletPimpernel, Thanks for your encouraging reply, I find all this kind of stuff pretty stressful and I have already decided to close both my ebay and paypal account. On one hand I just want to forget about the whole thing and get on with life (£500 poorer) but on the other I kinda think why the hell should I let this go. Once I have a signature from Royal mail I will pursue this with the police. I will keep you all posted. Cheers.

Hi everybody, I have only just joined this group - so first of all Hello! I am having some problems with paypal and could do with some advice. recently sold an item on ebay (only joined them in jan so new user) for £525. Paypal confirmed the next day after the auction that the money had been received into my account, sent by a verified paypal user. An address was included in the transaction details for the seller - so I packaged up the item and sent it royal mail special delivery immediatley. The next day I then transfered the money from paypal into my bank account. On the third day I had a message from ebay stating that the auction had fraudulent activity occuring. Then paypal messaged me to say there was a dispute with the transaction and would investigate. The next day I had a message saying that the money had been returned to the buyer(?) and the dispute closed, thats it no explanation or anything. The buyer claims their account was used fraudulently. However the item has been signed for at the address stated on the paypal and ebay pages. I am just waiting to have the signature confirmed by royal mail. Paypal will not give me sellers protection because the address was not verified - I dont know what this means??? Any advice or help would be great - Sorry for the long message....... Andiec