OT: Someone is trying to scam me with Paypal...

[FlamingCarrot]

A few weeks back, I sold something on Ebay and accepted a Paypal payment. The buyer provides a military foreign post office address. I send out the item and the clerk at the PO informs me that it can take up to 5-6 weeks for a package to be sent. Now, the buyer initiates a claim against me via paypal claimign non-receipt of merchandise and he knows damn well it can take a long time for packages to get to his destination.

 

Of course, I never leave a balance in my Paypal account, so if push came to shove, I just won't use Paypal anymore.

 

The thing is, I have a tracking #, but with the foreign post office, tracking #s and signature confirmations don't work because the USPS drops off the items to the military and they take it from there. I have proof of shipment in the form of a customs declaration.

 

Paypal is asking for a confirmation number as part of the dispute process. I don't want to give them the customs declaration form # because if they enter that, it'll come back as only being "accepted at PO," rather than delivered on a certain day.

 

Any one ever have a problem like this? advice would be greatly appreciated.

[supapimp]

who is the buyer so we can put him on the blocked bidders list, BTW so for the fuss you're currently going thru.

[FlamingCarrot]

I don't want to "out" him just quite yet...I want to see what unfolds.

 

Never had a problem with someone claiming they didn't receive something. I've had a person receive something and then file a chargeback, so that's why I take all funds out of my Paypal account whenever I receive payment.

[mister_not_so_nice]

Where is he located?

 

It can take up to 30days once a package hits an FPO. I've had packages sent 2 weeks apart arrive on the same day. Or later packages arriving before ones sent before them. It is defintely risky business getting mail through a FPO.

 

I'd tell him to sit tight for a bit. He should know how f-ed up the military mail "system" can be.

 

 

Mike

[Silver Surfer]

I think Harvey Dude is stationed offshore on a Army/Naval base so you might want to ask him if he is familar with the location.

[tth2]

A few weeks back, I sold something on Ebay and accepted a Paypal payment. The buyer provides a military foreign post office address. I send out the item and the clerk at the PO informs me that it can take up to 5-6 weeks for a package to be sent. Now, the buyer initiates a claim against me via paypal claimign non-receipt of merchandise and he knows damn well it can take a long time for packages to get to his destination.

 

Of course, I never leave a balance in my Paypal account, so if push came to shove, I just won't use Paypal anymore.

 

The thing is, I have a tracking #, but with the foreign post office, tracking #s and signature confirmations don't work because the USPS drops off the items to the military and they take it from there. I have proof of shipment in the form of a customs declaration.

 

Paypal is asking for a confirmation number as part of the dispute process. I don't want to give them the customs declaration form # because if they enter that, it'll come back as only being "accepted at PO," rather than delivered on a certain day.

 

Any one ever have a problem like this? advice would be greatly appreciated.

I'm confused. When you say foreign military post office address, do you mean an APO or FPO address, or do you mean like a post office address in Italy of some guy in the Italian army, for instance?

 

Assuming you're talking about APO/FPO, I don't know why you think that the customs confirmation saying "accepted at PO" won't be sufficient. That's the way the APO/FPO system works. Think of it as you sending it to an address in CA (for FPO) and NY I think (for APO), and then once it reaches that address, your responsibility has been satisfied and it's in Uncle Sam's hands to get it correctly through the military postal system to the overseas base where your buyer is located. It's not your responsibility at that point because it's structurally impossible for you and any of the mail carriers to control delivery to the recipient, and Paypal should understand that too.

[FlamingCarrot]

It was sent to a FPO and you're right, logic should dictate that once it's in the hands lf Uncle Sam, my part as the seller should be complete, but I'm pretty certain Paypal won't care about this.

 

I already explained to the buyer a few weeks back that it could take a long time for him to get the package because of the military mail. Then he files the claim with Paypal and the ball is in my court so to speak to provide a delivery confirmation #.

[Davenport]

I've got one that's shipping to an APO address...to a zero feedback winner.

 

The Paypal payment came very quick, so I guess it's on. I'm going to do whatever I can to cover myself.

 

Here's a web site where an APO/FPO zipcode can be verified as legitimate. (Hey, it's a start.) And it names the military facility.

http://www.oconus.com/ZipCodes.asp

 

A couple of years ago I did one and the guy was thrilled. He emailed high-praise thanks, saying it was tough to get comic books where he was stationed....Greenland.

 

I hope this one goes as well.

[divad]

How much are we talkin' here?

[tth2]

It was sent to a FPO and you're right, logic should dictate that once it's in the hands lf Uncle Sam, my part as the seller should be complete, but I'm pretty certain Paypal won't care about this.

 

I already explained to the buyer a few weeks back that it could take a long time for him to get the package because of the military mail. Then he files the claim with Paypal and the ball is in my court so to speak to provide a delivery confirmation #.

That sucks. I think you should provide the confirm # to Paypal, and if they raise an issue, you can fight with them and use the arguments I outlined above. Their own records should indicate a FPO address for the guy too.

 

I guess the moral of the story is don't take Paypal from APO/FPO addresses, which is a shame because subsidized mail is one of the benefits for our boys (and girls) overseas.

[Johnny G]

Never had a problem with someone claiming they didn't receive something. I've had a person receive something and then file a chargeback, so that's why I take all funds out of my Paypal account whenever I receive payment.

 

I'm new to the eBay/PayPal scene. I've heard horror stories in the past about "account freezing" and the like! I always get a delivery confirmation on items shipped. If someone receives an item and decides they want to rip me off and try to get their money back, can they? If I have the confirmation?

 

You mention removing the funds from your account... do you transfer them to your bank account set up with PayPal? If so, can they take from that??? Should I set up an account specifically for PayPal and then transfer funds through different accounts?

 

I'm not trying to sound paranod, but I'd hate to sell a $500 book that I've had for years only to be screwed out of the money!!!

 

What's a guy to do?

 

Thanks for reading and hopefully leaving info

 

JG

[14 of spades]

i'm not an american, can anyone tell me what APO and FPO stands for?

[tth2]

i'm not an american, can anyone tell me what APO and FPO stands for?

American Post Office, Federal Post Office

 

It's basically a way for mail to U.S. military based overseas to be treated as if it's domestic mail.

[FlamingCarrot]

The cost of the item is $150. If I had funds in my Paypal account, they would've already seized it, but since I had no money in their, they put me in the negative, essentially saying if I deposit receive money via Paypal, they'll take that.

 

The guy emailed me once asking for the status of delivery. I informed him the people at the PO told me it would take a while. According to the website you linked, it can take upwards of eight weeks for APO/FPO deliveries.

 

I've never had a problem sending to a foreign address, but with Paypal, it's sort of like playing russian roulette. If you ever get a chargeback, you're really at the mercy of paypal, especially when you can't provide a tracking or signature confirmation.

[Smokinghawk]

You mention removing the funds from your account... do you transfer them to your bank account set up with PayPal? If so, can they take from that??? Should I set up an account specifically for PayPal and then transfer funds through different accounts?

 

 

|No, they can't take the funds from your bank. I wish they COULD, because I've gotten scammed TWICE when I've won the paypal claim but couldn't get a penny because the seller just abandoned their paypal account.

[Harvey Dude]

i'm not an american, can anyone tell me what APO and FPO stands for?

 

APO is the Army/Air Force Postal system, whereby the military continues delivery of mail to the Armed Forces and some Diplomatic posts. APO AE (Europe) goes through New York, APO AP (Pacific) goes through California and APO AA (Central/South America) goes through Miami (I believe). FPO is the Fleet postal system for the Navy/Marines.

 

Edited: I see tth2 answered the query. Sorry

[Harvey Dude]

Any one ever have a problem like this? advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

I would provide paypal the documentation and I would also provide the tracking information to the buyer. I do not think it is a scam. I used to get my mail via the APO. Sometimes, I would get a package in a week and other times, it would take a month. As a new ebayer, the buyer is just probably nervous about the delay. With all of the ebay fraud, I can understand his concern so you may want to alleviate his anxiety.

[Paris_Fred]

You can also provide him a link to this post, this could be useful.

[VintageComics]

I had a guy do that to me. He asked for surface shipping to save money (on a $900 book to Denmark) and I informed him it would take 4-6 weeks. After 2 weeks he opens a dispute and freezes my paypal account! Long story short, he got the book, and he sent my money back. I only lost about 5 weeks and the paypal % fee because he could no longer refund it!

[bluenote]

 

 

 

|No, they can't take the funds from your bank. I wish they COULD, because I've gotten scammed TWICE when I've won the paypal claim but couldn't get a penny because the seller just abandoned their paypal account.

 

 

 

 

1st off u are dead wrong when you say paypal cannot take funds from your account... it's right in the on that very long user agrement thats no one reads when you sign up.not on;y can they do it,but you have given them permission to do it .remember paypal is not a bank and they are not governed by the trade commision.. thyey can act like judge and juror....... just read this site and you will see why its not good to do business with paypal www.paypalsucks.com