Ripped off buying from Facebook. What can I do

[Kenny202]

Anyone had any experience with this? I know there will be naysayers saying serves you right but I have done at least 100 transactions and never had a problem. Most are super honest. I normally buy guitars, musical instruments and check how long they've been on FB, how many friends, get copies of ID card etc and send a deposit and balance when they are at the couriers and can show they are delivering it. It's not failsafe but on the whole have found Thai people generally honest. Tough times now I guess. Anyway, I don't need a lecture on my stupidity.

 

Anyway, bought a second hand phone. It wasn't a ridiculous price but a good price. Women seemed ok. Was selling other stuff and been on FB since 2014. 

3000 baht so not the end of the world, and I don't really even care about the money so much but I hate to think this #@%$^& maggot thinks she got the better of me.

Have ID card, phone number (wife spoke to her then she blocked her), bank account number, all her FB details and copies of messages and bank transfer.

She hasn't admitted not sending it, just kept saying she sent it, then her sister had the receipt tracking number, then said it was lost, then said she was going back to the office....then communication stopped. I guess she could say she sent it and her word against mine.

 

Wife seems to think you go to Police, they do a report and you take it to the bank...her bank I assume where I transferred the money. I don't know what happens then if the bank track her down or the police or what. It may be they only act over a certain value of money. 

 

I nearly feel embarrassed wasting Police time tracking down something like this, and maybe they wont anyway but I will play the game for now.

Anyone know what the chances of getting a result or what the procedure is or have had a similar experience?

[Pilotman]

You have absolutely no comeback if you buy on FB. There are plenty of good internet shopping sites that do give some level of protection to both buyer as well as the seller. FB isn't remotely one of them.  Sorry, but anyone using FB to buy stuff is asking to be ripped off. 

[teacherclaire]

Go to the coppers and make a report with all relevant documents. Then you'll get your money back in no time.

 

  In the future use a protected page like e-bay. They step in if the buyer plays stupid. Even when he closes his account e-bay will pay you. 

 

 

Edited November 8, 2020 by teacherclaire

[Kenny202]

20 minutes ago, teacherclaire said:

Go to the coppers and make a report with all relevant documents. Then you'll get your money back in no time.

 

  In the future use a protected page like e-bay. They step in if the buyer plays stupid. Even when he closes his account e-bay will pay you. 

 

 

Ebay are hopeless here. Last time I checked there wasn't anything much listed in Thailand anyway and no one wants to ship here. Their shipping got ridiculously expensive too not too mention running the gambit of customs who tax you at "up to them" prices. I even had stuff sent here where customs was supposedly pre paid / DHL. Try telling customs that lol. What Ebay? Had a nasty experience with Paypal a couple of years ago where my credit card was being drained $200 a time over 2 weeks. Only discovered it at -$1800. I wont go into the long story but took me a month to get my money back. Contacting Paypal for anything other than a robotic response is disgraceful. My account had been hacked, passwords changed so I couldn't even get in and do anything about it or contact Paypal. Paypals auto responses were contact the seller. I never bought anything! The person who hacked me was buying stuff off a jewelery seller (obviously themselves). I managed to talk to someone on the phone in the end and they immediately admitted I had been hacked from within Paypal! If you google it you will see it is apparently common. I did get my money back but the difficulty to contact them in an emergency situation I thought was disgusting.

 

Like I said using common sense never had a problem here buying online from Thais. I have seen a lot of people posting they have been scammed on FB lately though. Economic sign of the times.

[teacherclaire]

15 minutes ago, Kenny202 said:

Ebay are hopeless here. Last time I checked there wasn't anything much listed in Thailand anyway and no one wants to ship here. Their shipping got ridiculously expensive too not too mention running the gambit of customs who tax you at "up to them" prices. I even had stuff sent here where customs was supposedly pre paid / DHL. Try telling customs that lol. What Ebay? Had a nasty experience with Paypal a couple of years ago where my credit card was being drained $200 a time over 2 weeks. Only discovered it at -$1800. I wont go into the long story but took me a month to get my money back. Contacting Paypal for anything other than a robotic response is disgraceful. My account had been hacked, passwords changed so I couldn't even get in and do anything about it or contact Paypal. Paypals auto responses were contact the seller. I never bought anything! The person who hacked me was buying stuff off a jewelery seller (obviously themselves). I managed to talk to someone on the phone in the end and they immediately admitted I had been hacked from within Paypal! If you google it you will see it is apparently common. I did get my money back but the difficulty to contact them in an emergency situation I thought was disgusting.

 

Like I said using common sense never had a problem here buying online from Thais. I have seen a lot of people posting they have been scammed on FB lately though. Economic sign of the times.

Sorry to hear of your misfortune. Life can su_k and when it does it does it rigorously. I'm also fighing for my rights with a Chinese seller who sent me the wrong handlebar.

 

  He wants me to pay for the shipping. I tried to get in touch with e-bay, but that can take hours to figure out the right way.

 

   If he insists on it that I pay for, I'll give him a few very bad reviews that others will think twice to buy anything from him.

 

I have a good reputation, so people will believe me. 

 

I wish you better luck in the future, important is the reputation of the seller. This idiot had 100 %, even when the part is too tall. 

 

   

Edited November 8, 2020 by teacherclaire

[CharlieH]

I vaguely remember something similar on here a while back. A Police report was made, the BIB basically added the details with OTHERS that had been reported and the person was caught.

 

You may not be the only victim here, report it and it may add wait to an existing issue. You may get l7cky and get something back. By your own admission, its not a huge sum and if nothing else a good lesson learned going foward.

Do the dance, make the reports to Police and other concerned parties like the bank etc if approproiate.

 

 

As for the paypal issue, personally I always found it easy in days gone by to contact Paypal Singapore and they were quick and very helpful. Sorry your experience wasnt so good.

 

[bwpage3]

Listen to your wife and stop overthinking this.

[Mark1066]

3 hours ago, Kenny202 said:

Ebay are hopeless here. Last time I checked there wasn't anything much listed in Thailand anyway and no one wants to ship here. Their shipping got ridiculously expensive too not too mention running the gambit of customs who tax you at "up to them" prices. I even had stuff sent here where customs was supposedly pre paid / DHL. Try telling customs that lol. What Ebay? Had a nasty experience with Paypal a couple of years ago where my credit card was being drained $200 a time over 2 weeks. Only discovered it at -$1800. I wont go into the long story but took me a month to get my money back. Contacting Paypal for anything other than a robotic response is disgraceful. My account had been hacked, passwords changed so I couldn't even get in and do anything about it or contact Paypal. Paypals auto responses were contact the seller. I never bought anything! The person who hacked me was buying stuff off a jewelery seller (obviously themselves). I managed to talk to someone on the phone in the end and they immediately admitted I had been hacked from within Paypal! If you google it you will see it is apparently common. I did get my money back but the difficulty to contact them in an emergency situation I thought was disgusting.

 

Like I said using common sense never had a problem here buying online from Thais. I have seen a lot of people posting they have been scammed on FB lately though. Economic sign of the times.

I've ordered dozens of things from eBay and Amazon, all of which have been taxed at the appropriate rate of duty, sometimes less. Also ordered a guitar from USA, prepaid duty, and no problems with that either.

 

What I have noticed recently is that Amazon seem to be defrauding their customers: coming up with made-up customs fees for goods that cost less than ฿1,500, including delivery.

[mstevens]

Tall your wife to go to the police. If it's as clear-cut as you say it is, the woman who ripped you off with be given the choice by police to pay back the money to you or face prosecution.

[giddyup]

16 hours ago, Kenny202 said:

Ebay are hopeless here. Last time I checked there wasn't anything much listed in Thailand anyway and no one wants to ship here.  

Heard of Lazada?

[Kenny202]

Ever heard of second hand? 

[pacovl46]

Get a PayPal account and insist on paying with PayPal, if they agree on a PayPal transaction you will have buyer protection (don’t forget to mention in the transaction what the payment is for), if they don’t agree then don’t buy from them. 

[Kenny202]

24 minutes ago, pacovl46 said:

Get a PayPal account and insist on paying with PayPal, if they agree on a PayPal transaction you will have buyer protection (don’t forget to mention in the transaction what the payment is for), if they don’t agree then don’t buy from them. 

All of that sounds lovely, and secure and given I haven't used Ebay or Paypal for 2 years but I wouldn't count on any sort of buyer protection. Have you been through the process? I did back in Australia. Was a cut and dried case of fraud. Paypal again initially almost impossible to contact. Then there was talk of filing police reports etc. Try negotiating with the seller. Unless things have changed in a big way I have no faith in Paypal or Ebay. 

[hotchilli]

20 hours ago, Kenny202 said:

Anyone know what the chances of getting a result or what the procedure is or have had a similar experience?

Regardless of the financial amount it's a crime.. go to the police and make a report so you have a number.

Try to contact her one more time with a copy of the report, tell her she has one opportunity to send the goods or you will go to the next level.

Not sure if you going to the bank will help as they only have your word that it wasn't sent... really you need to get the police to act.

[gamini]

If it's  from abroad there's nothing much you can do legally. But if you pay by PayPal you can usually get a refund if you get ripped off.  

[NoshowJones]

20 hours ago, Pilotman said:

You have absolutely no comeback if you buy on FB. There are plenty of good internet shopping sites that do give some level of protection to both buyer as well as the seller. FB isn't remotely one of them.  Sorry, but anyone using FB to buy stuff is asking to be ripped off. 

Looks like FB are as bad as Lazada, the sellers just cannot be trusted.

[NoshowJones]

4 hours ago, giddyup said:

Heard of Lazada?

i'm having problems with Lazada right now, they just will not take any action against the wrongful advertisers and cheating sellers.

[giddyup]

5 minutes ago, possum1931 said:

i'm having problems with Lazada right now, they just will not take any action against the wrongful advertisers and cheating sellers.

Strange, they have always been fair with me and I've bought hundreds of items. No doubt there are a few shonky sellers though.

[DaLa]

Basically I would always look for pay on delivery terms. On large items use a credit card that gives you protection. A few years ago someone managed to enter their address into my Paypal delivery address section and were ordering Pizzas to a university 150 miles away.  Paypal said it matched my previous buying record and never accepted they  had a security breach , plod didn't want to know and it took me months to obtain a refund.

 

I now have an LBA ready for instant mailing to any provider I use. Sadly it's even more difficult to obtain compensation  here although as noted above my wife confirms the police will intervene.

 

So just remember not to buy anything from further away than 10 Km.

[Bangkok Barry]

20 hours ago, Kenny202 said:

Contacting Paypal for anything other than a robotic response is disgraceful.

 

That is your experience. Mine is different. I had to get them involved when something I bought from a FB advertiser wasn't as described and after they approached the seller I received a refund. Took a few weeks but I lost nothing. I have no idea why anyone has trouble contacting PayPal, as some have mentioned. I went to my account, found the item I had bought and I was invited to click a link if I needed to dispute the purchase.

[BritManToo]

I buy from FB marketplace all the time, no problems so far.

If you've got their ID card copy and paid by bank transfer to their account, just report the theft to the police.

Dishonest people rarely steal from just 1 victim, and the police are likely to have many complaints.

[richard_smith237]

21 hours ago, Pilotman said:

You have absolutely no comeback if you buy on FB. There are plenty of good internet shopping sites that do give some level of protection to both buyer as well as the seller. FB isn't remotely one of them.  Sorry, but anyone using FB to buy stuff is asking to be ripped off. 

 

Not really... 

 

FB market place is actually pretty handy. I’ve sold Cars, Motorcycles, Car seats, Travel Cots, helmets etc etc etc on Facebook market place...   I’ve also purchased an iPhone off Facebook market place. 

 

The key thing is to deal with the actual sale / purchase in person to avoid getting ripped off. 

 

---------

 

Op - Go to the Police with your records. 

It's unlikely to be the first time this woman has done this and there may well be additional reports / complaints of the same person perpetrating the scam. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[richard_smith237]

1 hour ago, possum1931 said:

Looks like FB are as bad as Lazada, the sellers just cannot be trusted.

 

Its so annoying that half the stuff out there online is fake....  

 

We either have to try and source items at a local Department store, which is very expensive and usually a lot more than the cost for the same item in the UK. OR, we have to purchase in the UK and run the ‘import tax rip-off gauntlet’

 

The markets in Thailand and buyer protection is particularly immature and unrefined. 

 

----------

 

I recently purchased a Dash-Cam: Front and Rear facing. The Advert clearly stated Front and Rear Cam (Xiaomi Mai 70 800a) - only the forward facing cam arrived. Neither the seller nor Lazada responded to any e-mailed complaint. 

 

 

[Kenny202]

2 hours ago, possum1931 said:

Looks like FB are as bad as Lazada, the sellers just cannot be trusted.

Facebook and Lazada 2 different things really. I am talking about used goods on FB but I do use Lazada too. Lazada have gotten a lot better last couple of years but don't expect them to police anything their online sellers do. As most of us know, 98% of the stuff on there is fake, but at a fake price too. I only have an issue when I pay top dollar for a supposed genuine item and its a fake. 

[Kenny202]

1 hour ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

Not really... 

 

FB market place is actually pretty handy. I’ve sold Cars, Motorcycles, Car seats, Travel Cots, helmets etc etc etc on Facebook market place...   I’ve also purchased an iPhone off Facebook market place. 

 

The key thing is to deal with the actual sale / purchase in person to avoid getting ripped off. 

 

---------

 

Op - Go to the Police with your records. 

It's unlikely to be the first time this woman has done this and there may well be additional reports / complaints of the same person perpetrating the scam. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yeah it was really unusual as she has an established FB account, many friends, many followers. Had about 20 different items listed for sale including a lot of low price stuff. You can usually spot the scammers pretty quickly. She even sent me a pick of the item in a box at Kerry express. Her phone number and ID real. I think maybe she had a last minute brain melt and though farang easy target. I am up country so most of the time I am sourcing from another province. I must say in the past I have found the Thais to be extremely honest and a lot less hassle than dealing with many farangs here.

 

Mrs going to police tomorrow. I have already written it off but I hope there is some come back on her. I am seeing at least 5 or 6 posts a day now in the various buy sell groups I am in reporting / exposing scammers. For all the good it will do they just delete the account and make another one. That will be the next economic fallout from Covid. Crime. In any case I wont be buying or selling anything off FB for the time being. 

Edited November 9, 2020 by Kenny202

[Kenny202]

1 hour ago, Bangkok Barry said:

 

That is your experience. Mine is different. I had to get them involved when something I bought from a FB advertiser wasn't as described and after they approached the seller I received a refund. Took a few weeks but I lost nothing. I have no idea why anyone has trouble contacting PayPal, as some have mentioned. I went to my account, found the item I had bought and I was invited to click a link if I needed to dispute the purchase.

Contacting them lol? Well for a start the hacker changed my passwords and locked me out of my account. Try contacting them or finding a case number when you can't even get into your account. In the end I was only lucky I found a Sydney phone number on about the 8th page of a google search. This is going back some time so if things are better great. But for me once bitten twice shy

[Lacessit]

It baffles me why anyone would buy a secondhand phone off the internet, there is no knowing how many cycles the battery has done or whether the screen has full functionality.

The only thing one can do is write a bad review. A supplier gets enough of them, they just do a name change.

[Kenny202]

Just now, Lacessit said:

It baffles me why anyone would buy a secondhand phone off the internet, there is no knowing how many cycles the battery has done or whether the screen has full functionality.

The only thing one can do is write a bad review. A supplier gets enough of them, they just do a name change.

Model only released 4 months ago. Yes its a gamble. Unfortunately this time I lost

[NoshowJones]

14 minutes ago, Kenny202 said:

Facebook and Lazada 2 different things really. I am talking about used goods on FB but I do use Lazada too. Lazada have gotten a lot better last couple of years but don't expect them to police anything their online sellers do. As most of us know, 98% of the stuff on there is fake, but at a fake price too. I only have an issue when I pay top dollar for a supposed genuine item and its a fake. 

I have dealt with Lazada for years and always been happy with the service, but in recent months I bought two articles, not expensive, one did not do as advertised, and the other was only about 25% of the size it was advertised at, you cannot even get to their chatline any more.

[Andrew Dwyer]

1 hour ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

Its so annoying that half the stuff out there online is fake....  

 

We either have to try and source items at a local Department store, which is very expensive and usually a lot more than the cost for the same item in the UK. OR, we have to purchase in the UK and run the ‘import tax rip-off gauntlet’

 

The markets in Thailand and buyer protection is particularly immature and unrefined. 

 

----------

 

I recently purchased a Dash-Cam: Front and Rear facing. The Advert clearly stated Front and Rear Cam (Xiaomi Mai 70 800a) - only the forward facing cam arrived. Neither the seller nor Lazada responded to any e-mailed complaint. 

 

 

Some of the adverts on Lazada are vague at best and deceptive at worst.

With the 70MAI A800, if you paid 3k/3.2k then that is for the front facing only, add on the rear camera and it goes up to 3.6k.

Edited November 9, 2020 by Andrew Dwyer