He stole 265 dollars from me, now what?

J

JFX

Weaksauce
Joined
Feb 22, 2008
Messages
118
So I paid Franz954 265 dollars via money order, over a month ago, and he said he shipped it with UPS. That was a month ago on the 5th he supposedly shipped it, now I am 265 dollars short and I never got the item, and he is not replying to my PMs.. What do I do now? I'm thinking of driving to his house 5 states away and get what I bought or my money. Can I contact the FBI about this or what? I'm not going to just say ' oh well hard lesson learned there goes my money. Next'
 
JFX said:
So I paid Franz954 265 dollars via money order, over a month ago, and he said he shipped it with UPS. That was a month ago on the 5th he supposedly shipped it, now I am 265 dollars short and I never got the item, and he is not replying to my PMs.. What do I do now? I'm thinking of driving to his house 5 states away and get what I bought or my money. Can I contact the FBI about this or what? I'm not going to just say ' oh well hard lesson learned there goes my money. Next'
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Did he ever give you the UPS tracking number the day he said he sent it via UPS? You can go to ups.com site and look up where the package is at.
 
You have contact info? You know where his house is. Look up his phone number if you don't already have it and call.
 
As a bank employee, i say go to your bank and speak to the branch manager about it. They might have their own policies that they can explain to you regarding how you can go about getting your money back. They can tell you when the check cleared and show you images of the check with his signature and such as well. You can use those documents if you file a police report or whatever you might plan on doing.

Just thought i would put in my two cents!
 
Money orders are worse than checks in that regard. I was taken for almost $400 off of EBay years ago through a money order transaction. I won't use anything other than credit cards online since. I also refuse to use EBay due to their response, but that is a wholy different gripe. Money orders are great for sellers. The money is guaranteed to be available and there is no qualifications attached to it. Some money orders you can pay extra for tracking info on... but most people don't.

If the money order was mailed through the postage service the seller may have opened themselves up to federal mail fraud charges, but that is strictly retalitory/punitive. It is unlikely that you will ever receive compensation. I know the forum rules mandate certain actions so you should check the FAQ/rules (before even posting this note).
 
he hasnt been on here since march 12th. That would explain why he hasnt replied.
 
JFX said:
What do I do now? I'm thinking of driving to his house 5 states away and get what I bought or my money.
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There are many other legal ways of getting back your money, look into taking him to court, having him sued for court fees and your original cash amount, you said it yourself, if you're willing to drive 5 states away to confront him, then you're willing to take his ass to court or file a police report for theft.

$250 and a steam head is not worth confronting an individual over and you losing your steam. My take on it is, if you don't do it the legal way, then don't do anything at all, consider him a needy individual who obviously needed the money more than you did.
 
I turned on his email notification and sent him a PM that he needs to contact JFX to resolve the issue or face being banned as a bad trader.
 
was this for the iphone in the thread that kyle closed because the guy was auctioning off the phone? If so lesson learned dont buy stuff off of threads closed by admins, for an admin to close the thread you know there is a problem behind it.
 
Ruckus said:
was this for the iphone in the thread that kyle closed because the guy was auctioning off the phone? If so lesson learned dont buy stuff off of threads closed by admins, for an admin to close the thread you know there is a problem behind it.
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QFT
 
Yes it was the thread that was closed but I bought it through PMing him and never even saw it was closed until.. now. I'd love to fry this thief. Also, I doubt he needed my money more than me, I was buying it to sell.
 
RangerSVT said:
There are many other legal ways of getting back your money, look into taking him to court, having him sued for court fees and your original cash amount, you said it yourself, if you're willing to drive 5 states away to confront him, then you're willing to take his ass to court or file a police report for theft.

$250 and a steam head is not worth confronting an individual over and you losing your steam. My take on it is, if you don't do it the legal way, then don't do anything at all, consider him a needy individual who obviously needed the money more than you did.
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i think you said it best.

from experience (i've been scammed 3 or 4 times in the 5 or 6 years I've been trading) anything less than $1000 and more than a few hundred miles away is almost never worth your worries or time (if you want to know why from a legal standpoint, feel free to PM me). In fact, I have a thread open at Anandtech right now for a senior trader (had over 260 heat, thousands of posts over 7 years or something) who took my Q6600 quad core and disappeared.

The way I see it, there is only so much you can do to cover your ass. If you can say you did your best and you still came up short, then "shit happens" is the appropriate phrase. If you could've done better, then learn from your mistakes and move on. It's all material and can be replaced.

I think RangerSVT said it well, from a psycological standpoint; consider him a needy individual who needed the money more than you. If not, just have faith that these individuals get what is coming to them. Do what you can to get your money back, but don't worry about it day in and day out. You win some, you lose some.
 
The "Internet Mafia" works, but it has its downsides. A person is ok, and usually non-threatening as an individual, but put the mob mentality into it, and things go from just trying to get stuff back to death threats, and physical harm, which can land the whole lot in trouble. But its still amazing to see how much damage you can cause to someone's phsychie(sp?) when the mob is turned on them.
 
I hate to say it, but I think you are out of luck. If you kept the money order receipt you might be able to confirm that it was cashed, but that's probably as far as that line of inquiry would take you - money orders are basically the same as sending cash, so not much chance of recovering the money. You could probably prove that he never sent it, if he can't produce a tracking number or some kind of receipt from UPS you'd have him, but you'd still need to take him to court to get your money back, and even small claims court isn't free, especially if you count in the cost of your time and effort. Bottom line, for $265, take it as a life lesson and go forth believing a little less in the goodness of mankind.
 
I can't say I have anything very legally useful to offer in the way of advice, but as an individual who simply could not afford to hand over that kind of cash to someone else myself, I can offer moral support towards your unwillingness to roll over. I will put a question to you though, with gas prices as they are, how much money are you really apt to recover once you subtract the cost of getting to him and back over that kind of distance? Assume that you calculate this and determine that it's still worth your effort, what if you do make the trip, and recover nothing? That's more of your time and money that's been lost to and on account of this dishonest individual. Perhaps you could contact UPS and explain your situation, they might be able to provide some information about whether or not this guy actually shipped an item, or at least be able to point you down a path of possible resolution. Consider contacting the local police, or the police that are local to HIM to try and instigate some action.
Walking away from individuals that scam serves as little more than positive reinforcement that says "It's alright to steal from others, they won't do anything about it." Taking appropriate and systematic steps towards some type of legal action sends a message to the person about what happens when you steal from honest folk, and also provides a better likelihood for you to recover what's rightfully yours.
 
TheChaoticFlame said:
I can't say I have anything very legally useful to offer in the way of advice, but as an individual who simply could not afford to hand over that kind of cash to someone else myself, I can offer moral support towards your unwillingness to roll over. I will put a question to you though, with gas prices as they are, how much money are you really apt to recover once you subtract the cost of getting to him and back over that kind of distance? Assume that you calculate this and determine that it's still worth your effort, what if you do make the trip, and recover nothing? That's more of your time and money that's been lost to and on account of this dishonest individual. Perhaps you could contact UPS and explain your situation, they might be able to provide some information about whether or not this guy actually shipped an item, or at least be able to point you down a path of possible resolution. Consider contacting the local police, or the police that are local to HIM to try and instigate some action.
Walking away from individuals that scam serves as little more than positive reinforcement that says "It's alright to steal from others, they won't do anything about it." Taking appropriate and systematic steps towards some type of legal action sends a message to the person about what happens when you steal from honest folk, and also provides a better likelihood for you to recover what's rightfully yours.
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QFT
 
You can fill out a report on IC3.gov but sad to say as so may here have all ready. Your SOL. I lost close to $400 a couple years ago and that was to people who had earned my trust with heat/gaybay and so forth. You just never know about whom you are dealing with until you get what you paid for.
Anywho go fill that form out anyways.
 
steller2k said:
Money orders are worse than checks in that regard. I was taken for almost $400 off of EBay years ago through a money order transaction. I won't use anything other than credit cards online since.
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I'll only use my credit card too. it's like, if someone steals your credit card number and uses it, oh well, gotta take care of it, but if someone takes your bank information and steals all the money out of your checking, then you're fucked.
 
Thanks for backing me up UltraVioletDream. Let us know how this plays out JFX, I'd really like to hear a happy ending, but I'm happy to provide any consolation that you need if things don't work out.
 
Wow, thanks for all the advice comments, etc. I have a few people in Florida right now who would go to his house just to question him for me, so I wouldn't make the trip. I'd like to see if he answers or what happens, I don't know how he could say no, and he obviously wouldn't move away if he turned the door to my face. This is a last resort. I have learned one lesson though, I will not be using money orders EVER again online, on a forum. This was the first and last of over 80 online transactions that I will be sending free money out in an envelope.
 
i live in florida whats his address or phone number ??? PM some info

i lost $500 years ago on fleebay it is a hard lesson to learn . i do hate somthings about paypal but they have been good to me so i like useing them .

i wouldn't go driveing states away but i also wouldn't just give up either . if you got his address i would look up the local police dept. and file charges . you will need proof you paid him . your PM's to him might be enough to get started . i bet if the pigs showed up at his door he might change his mind and give you back your cheese .

did someone PM him a link to this thread ???
 
JFX said:
Wow, thanks for all the advice comments, etc. I have a few people in Florida right now who would go to his house just to question him for me, so I wouldn't make the trip. I'd like to see if he answers or what happens, I don't know how he could say no, and he obviously wouldn't move away if he turned the door to my face. This is a last resort. I have learned one lesson though, I will not be using money orders EVER again online, on a forum. This was the first and last of over 80 online transactions that I will be sending free money out in an envelope.
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I've sent out about 12 Money Orders to formers these past 2 weeks and I haven't gotten scammed once. I sent out a $190 MO, a $90 MO, a $100 MO and some smaller ones and I've received every item. It's just a matter of who you send it to (gotta check heat, how long they've been int he forums, etc.)
 
Only money order i would ever send is a USPS money order with tracking/delivery confirm/etc...like someone else said, if they stiff you, they open themselves up to mail fraud which i believe is a federal crime. That being said, a USPS money order is also all i would except.
 
Similar thing happend to me a couple of years back with a video card.. I paid via USPS MO, the package 'gets lost in the mail' and then for about 2 weeks the guy jerks me around saying he can't find his receipt, oh he found it then lost it in his car, etc etc. I finally got fed up with him not answering my calls, searched around a while until I found his parent's address. I had also sent the MO with signature confirmation so I had his John Hancock on the return receipt.

I filed a police report, got in contact with the officers in that area, and then called his dad and told him I was going to have to press charges if this couldn't be straightened out.

Once I talked to his, dad, within 6 hours, he had straightened him out and promised me that his kid would send me my money back within 2 weeks. (this was a 20 year old kid btw)

I highly recommend FILING A POLICE REPORT if you have not already. I don't care whose jurisdiction they say it is in, you need to annoy the heck out of them until you get someone to take a report. Then you need to find people that can put pressure on this kid and let them know that you're pursuing this with the police. DOesn't hurt to have a secondary contact of family or something... a lot of times that helps someone "develop" some remorse over screwing you faster than anything.
 
I only use Paypal and that's probably all I'll ever use. If you get screwed at least you can take it to Paypal and they can resolve it. I got screwed over by some "muffler" ebay shop that sent out the wrong product, needless to say 12 emails and hundreds of calls later they never answered emails or picked up the phone. They sent me exhaust clamps which were a lot cheaper than a cat back system, took it to paypal and a couple of weeks later I got all my money back.

Hopefully you can find more information on him and call his local police department.
 
My brother got dicked by paypal twice. Once as a buyer, once as a seller. That dispute crap is worthless.

Paypal sucks.
 
nissanztt90 said:
My brother got dicked by paypal twice. Once as a buyer, once as a seller. That dispute crap is worthless.

Paypal sucks.
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The Dispute Center thing has worked for me so far.

Anyways, my advice is to put on your Punisher t-shirt, drive down to Florida, ring his door bell, and cap him square in the mouth. I guarantee you it'll be worth the trip down and the $265.
 
RangerSVT said:
My take on it is, if you don't do it the legal way, then don't do anything at all, consider him a needy individual who obviously needed the money more than you did.
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I'm sorry, but last time I checked, [H] isn't running a welfare program through it's for sale forums. The OP worked hard for that money and decided to spend it here. The seller (or troll in this case) has no right to just "take it" and not ship the item because according to you, he needs the money more. That is a ridiculous assumption and even if it were true, does not give the seller the right to screw someone for $265 like it's nothing. I'm a poor college student, does that give me the right to collect donations via FS threads and screw the buyers? Sorry, but that last sentence in your post absolutely shocked and perturbed me.
 
thunderstruck! said:
I'm sorry, but last time I checked, [H] isn't running a welfare program through it's for sale forums. The OP worked hard for that money and decided to spend it here. The seller (or troll in this case) has no right to just "take it" and not ship the item because according to you, he needs the money more. That is a ridiculous assumption and even if it were true, does not give the seller the right to screw someone for $265 like it's nothing. I'm a poor college student, does that give me the right to collect donations via FS threads and screw the buyers? Sorry, but that last sentence in your post absolutely shocked and perturbed me.
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What RangerSVT said bothered me too. No one is ever going to steal my 265 dollars. I need money, but I work for mine, in an ethical manner. No matter how bad things get I would never resort to stealing. It was just low of him and he needs to be reprimanded.

As far as advice, I think most of these guys covered it. Best of luck to you.
 
rsgunter said:
What RangerSVT said bothered me too. No one is ever going to steal my 265 dollars. I need money, but I work for mine, in an ethical manner. No matter how bad things get I would never resort to stealing. It was just low of him and he needs to be reprimanded.

As far as advice, I think most of these guys covered it. Best of luck to you.
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RangerSVT would do well to take a break from handing out crap advice in the TTT forums.
 
lucky777 said:
Anyways, my advice is to put on your Punisher t-shirt, drive down to Florida, ring his door bell, and cap him square in the mouth. I guarantee you it'll be worth the trip down and the $265.
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Barring him taking any legal action, I'd say this is probably true, and would probably discourage him from trying to do it to anyone else. :p
 
lucky777 said:
The Dispute Center thing has worked for me so far.

Anyways, my advice is to put on your Punisher t-shirt, drive down to Florida, ring his door bell, and cap him square in the mouth. I guarantee you it'll be worth the trip down and the $265.
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I don't know how people could say stuff like this... you have no idea who the person actually is or what they're capable of. I'm sure i read an article how someone got scammed on Craigslist by a nigerian and flew to Nigeria just to die. Of course Nigeria is a much more dangerous place than the Florida but who knows what could happen plus the money wasted to travel is another expense you can add onto what you already lost.
 
The only way you get your cash back with PayPal is if they still have cash in their PP account, other than that tehy really don't seem to care about customer service.
 
asuka10456 said:
I don't know how people could say stuff like this... you have no idea who the person actually is or what they're capable of. I'm sure i read an article how someone got scammed on Craigslist by a nigerian and flew to Nigeria just to die. Of course Nigeria is a much more dangerous place than the Florida but who knows what could happen plus the money wasted to travel is another expense you can add onto what you already lost.
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It was a joke. You might've figured it when I told him to put on his Punisher t-shirt;). Anyone with common sense isn't going to do this anyways. But yeah,
real advice:
Call the police in his city and see what they could do.
 
I can also help with checking around in FL, depending on the location. I'm located in Gainesville. PM Me if you need any help on checking on him around this area.
 
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