Help with eBay scammer

gumbyfan

My father was in the market for a large purchase at Circuit City recently and in order to save some money, he was looking to purchase gift cards on eBay. He found a seller with all of the red flags of a scammer, but took his chances anyway. The seller seemed to be saying all of the right things in the auction - "Paypal only to protect both parties" - "Will ship within 24 hours of payment" - "Will email tracking number" - etc. It was a $500 gift card that the scammer said he got for Christmas and just wanted money instead...so was selling for $430.

My father paid through Paypal with his credit card. Of course, since he had $73.xx in his account at the time, Paypal took that money first and put the rest on his card. The seller was responsive for 8 days as my father emailed him regularly looking for updates saying that he promises the item was shipped. You guessed it. Nothing.

The moment my father filed a non-receipt complaint, the seller stopped all communication. 8 days later, Paypal refunded $200 and said they would go after the seller for the difference. My father was unaware of the limited protection provided for new sellers.

Now here is my question - since Paypal has refunded the $200, does my father have any recourse with his credit card company? Would Paypal's $200 refund include the $73.xx so my father could, in theory, get his $230 back? I haven't had to deal with this type of situation before, personally, so I am hoping that some of you may have some insight as to what to do.

Thanks...
Craig

Leiascards

He should be able to file for the remainder with his Credit Card company.

storm888

Credit card company will reverse the payment to PayPal.

Under the new/pending scheme, PP would have held the
money for 21-days.

I suspect you told your father to check with you in the
future before he tries to play the EBAY lottery.

He will get his money back........this time.

BunchOBull

Most certainly. That's why I set up a PayPal Buyer's Credit account, better insurance no matter the seller's coverage. A CC would work the same way.

gumbyfan

His main concern is that Paypal will punish him in some way for this.

My main concern is that he might lose the $73.xx of cash that was in his Paypal account.

And, yes, I explained to him why this wasn't the smartest purchase he's ever made on ebay. I don't think he'll be doing this again.

Thanks for the advice...

storm888

The CC co will credit the entire amount --- less the PP coverage.

PP will not be pleased, but there is nothing they can do about it.