Mail fraud...?

Vinny

Vinny

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Ok, I heard that term (mail fraud) today when talking to my friend about a deal he recently got screwed out of.

He bought 3 Simpsons figures from someone at some forum he visits. He said that he paid using PayPal and the guy sent a few days after he paid using Priority mail (no DC or insurance). But a month later, he has still hasn't received his figures yet.. and guy he bought them from said he shipped.

My friend didn't believe him and accused the guy of lying. But when the guy said he'd file 'mail fraud' against my friend, he pretty much lost it. He didn't know what to say or do...

That brings me to my question: what the hell is mail fraud?:whistle2:? I've traded and sold and bought numerous times but I've never heard that term before.:whistle2:k

EDIT: I mean to ask how it works, I can guess what it is.
 
Well, I figured it had something to do with the USPS and fraud. I wasn't too clear. I meant how the hell does it work.. I mean, how's one person supposed to say another one is at fault without proof?
 
I'm a bit confused I thought mail fraud could only be filed against the sender, so your friend could file mail fraud but the seller couldn't.
 
file a refund claim with Paypal, if the seller truly has no DC # then he can't prove he sent it & your friend get's his $$ back due to a loophole in paypal's buyer protection policy, in which paypal request's that the seller provide proof of shipment via tracking #, when he fail's to do that they yank the money from his account..since there was no DC# there is no proof of fraud :)
 
Only your friend could file mail fraud, not the seller. Your friend paid, and has evidence. The seller received the money, but has no proof he sent it out.
 
I actually didn't bother with google; the wikipedia is an amazing resource, and I find myself using it more and more every week.
 
[quote name='gizmogc']Only your friend could file mail fraud, not the seller. Your friend paid, and has evidence. The seller received the money, but has no proof he sent it out.[/QUOTE]

Gizmo has it dead on. Unless this guy makes up stuff (which would be digging himself into a deeper hole) I don't see that the USPS would even accept his complaint. His only complaint could be he sent your buddy stuff and never got paid. Well that is easily proven a lie.

Now the seller can just claim the package must have been lost in the mail if your friend does pursue mail fraud charges, and if this guy has the guts to stick to that story I'm not sure that the USPS will be able to really prove any differently. Still worth doing if your friend feels that strongly. The guy could very well crack once someone official contacts him. (Just look at how your friend semi-freaked when this guy mentioned filing mail fraud on HIM and he did nothing wrong.) And if nothing else it will create a history on this guy that might come back to haunt him eventually if he does this repeatedly to people.

PayPal won't do anything for a sale oustide of eBay I don't think. But I guess it'd be worth a shot.
 
Is DC#, Delivery Confirmation #?

Whenever I send something to buyers from eBay, I buy a delivery confirmation.

If I keep that paper, am I protected from frauds like this guy's friend?
 
I told my friend about how mail fraud works and he got back at the guy. He contacted him (email) last night and got a reply this morning. The guy said that the packaged returned to him later that day (which would be yesterday) since the post office couldn't the send to address. He's shipping it out today with a DC# and is real sorry.:roll:

Thanks guys. And my friend thanks you to even though he declines to buy cheap videogames and would rather spend $50 on them.:lol:

[quote name='help1']Is DC#, Delivery Confirmation #?

Whenever I send something to buyers from eBay, I buy a delivery confirmation.

If I keep that paper, am I protected from frauds like this guy's friend?[/QUOTE]

From what these guys have said, yes, you should be protected. Also, keep your receipt as that might come in handy.
 
Glad it turned out to just be an honest mistake. I've found 99% of traders/eBayers are honest, but you always have to be wary of the bad apples.

Of course the whole 'returned by the PO' thing could be a story he made up to cover his ass for 'forgetting' to send it out for so long. (I'm just a distrusting bastard I guess.)

help1 - DC will cover you if they do a chargeback and claim they didn't get the item. But it won't help you if they claim the item was significantly not as described (but I've heard PP can be tough with granting those). Or if they go to their CC company and get a chargeback for whatever reason. So getting DC is a smart thing to do, but it's not a rock solid remedy against any fraud on the part of the buyer.
 
I have a feeling that it was just a story made up by the seller... but my friends just happy that he's getting his stuff.
 
[quote name='Epic Wolf']file a refund claim with Paypal, if the seller truly has no DC # then he can't prove he sent it & your friend get's his $$ back due to a loophole in paypal's buyer protection policy, in which paypal request's that the seller provide proof of shipment via tracking #, when he fail's to do that they yank the money from his account..since there was no DC# there is no proof of fraud :)[/QUOTE]

Yup, that would be exactly how it works. Even if you have proof that the guy got it (emails from him saying so, or video of him picking it up), but no online tracking showing delivery, I bet they'd still refund the buyer...

fuck paypal.
 
People are so rich now that filing mail fraud hardly ever turns out correctly unless at least $500 worth of goods was frauded from one person, or if there have been numerous complaints against one frauder.

Anything lower than $500 usually is thrown out or hardly ever taken into consideration because it's just not worth the time.
 
[quote name='CaptPete']Yup, that would be exactly how it works. Even if you have proof that the guy got it (emails from him saying so, or video of him picking it up), but no online tracking showing delivery, I bet they'd still refund the buyer...

fuck paypal.[/QUOTE]

Paypal raped my family and burned my home to the ground all because a buyer claimed he never received an item that I legitimately sent.

Sometimes I think their EULA is a little too strict. :( Then again they did give me a $5 bonus for signing up.

Thanks paypal!
 
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