oNeWiNgEdAnGeL
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I made a trade with someone over at another site. I sent a Nintendo GameCube The Legend of Zelda: Collector's Edition (game included), Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, Ikaruga, Pikmin, Beyond Good & Evil, and SSX Tricky. I was suppose to get $230 for all this. I checked the DC, it said he got it on July 7th and he last logged onto the site on July 9th. I e-mailed then last night. I was out of town all weekend, so I couldn't speak with him. I see now that he has a BTR (Bad Trader Report) about something else.
I spoke with the site's dispute folks, and they just said to send him a polite e-mail and be patient. Now someone else he has a trade with got an e-mail from them saying that they don't think he will complete his trades.
Being the idiot that I am, I didn't get the his phone number. Being the bigger idiot that I am, the address was to a PO Box. Last, but not least, his name is fake since someone tried looking up his address and came up with no results.
Anyone have any suggestions on how to get my money back or at least my stuff?
Update #1
I called the post office in Plains, Montana. The lady said that they're not allowed to give out information without a warrant from the police. So I called the police department in Plains, Montana (took me a couple times, no one was answering) and I told my story to a dispatch. She helped me out and said an officer will check out the report. Only a few hours later, the office called me.
I told him my story. He said that Carl Crystal is his real name. He said that he would talk to him. He then told me to take him to civil court. He said to do that first thing in the morning. I asked him if he would have to come to a court where I live or I'd have to go to Montana, he said that he would have to go to a court room here. I asked what would happen if he didn't show up, he then said that there would be a warrant for his arrest.
The officer did tell me to e-mail him once last time and tell him what's going to go down. I e-mailed him and guess what? It took him 16 minutes to respond. After the many e-mails I had sent him, he finally responded. This is what I e-mailed him saying:
I just got off the phone with a police officer. He will be heading over to your house now. Tomorrow morning I will file a civil lawsuit against you and this will go to court. If you don't want any of this to happen, just e-mail me and send either my stuff back or my money. I will be waiting tonight.
He then responded by saying:
I sent the cash to ya 5-6 days ago. If ya haven't got it yet then you should shortly. I just hope that it has not been lost in the mail. thank you for your time.
Carl
I will wait until Friday to see if I get it. If I don't by then, I'll be taking this matter to court. The awesome thing is my parents have yet to realize any of this. I just want all this to be over with and I'll be sure never to make this mistake ever again. I'll keep you guys updated on what goes down.
Update #2
I decided to send another e-mail to Carl. I sent him an e-mail asking a couple questions and asking for his house and cellphone (if he has one) number. I didn't hear from him tonight, but I did hear from someone else...
The police offer called me within this past hour. He spoke with Carl, and Carl said that our agreement was cash and that he would seal the money, but I never agreed to that. I just checked our trade page, and he even said that we would be paying by money order. The police officer said that Carl would e-mail me tomorrow morning to talk about the money and what we will do.
He then said if he doesn't do anything about it, he told me to go ahead and file the civil lawsuit. Once that's done, he will be forced to show up to court where I live. If he doesn't show up, I don't know if I heard this correctly, but there will be a warrant for his arrest. Then, if he has assets, such as a truck, that will be taken and sold. Then, $230 plus the money for filing the paperwork and what have you will be taken out of the amount that the asset was sold for. So that will cover all my expenses. I finally asked the police officer that if I'm in a win-win situation and he said that I am.
So in the end, it looks like I'm victorious. I'll continue to keep you guys updated to the point where I get either my money or my stuff. For now, I'm somewhat relieved.
I forgot to mention that I explained the whole thing to my mom. She said I shouldn't have called the police over $230, but I told her this was basically fraud. She said ok. I thought she would get really pissed. I was surprised how calm she was after I told her everything. I think she would've gotten mad if I had lost the money for good.
Update #3
After sending Carl a few more e-mails within a span of 2 days, he finally responds by saying:
The reason I didn't rerspond is because I was gone. I had sent your money. If ya don't receive it by Wednesday let me know. If ya don't I can send $130 on the 7th and then the other half of it Sept. 7th
It seems very obvious that this guy is full of shit. Now, 2 days ago he had original claimed that he sent the money out 5-6 days ago. What I'm thinking is he set out the money these past few days, and that's why he said wait until Wednesday. I will wait until Wednesday, but if I don't have it by then, there is no way I'm waiting until August 7th to see if I get half of the money. If I don't have it by Wednesday, I will finally take this to civil court.
I spoke with the site's dispute folks, and they just said to send him a polite e-mail and be patient. Now someone else he has a trade with got an e-mail from them saying that they don't think he will complete his trades.
Being the idiot that I am, I didn't get the his phone number. Being the bigger idiot that I am, the address was to a PO Box. Last, but not least, his name is fake since someone tried looking up his address and came up with no results.
Anyone have any suggestions on how to get my money back or at least my stuff?
Update #1
I called the post office in Plains, Montana. The lady said that they're not allowed to give out information without a warrant from the police. So I called the police department in Plains, Montana (took me a couple times, no one was answering) and I told my story to a dispatch. She helped me out and said an officer will check out the report. Only a few hours later, the office called me.
I told him my story. He said that Carl Crystal is his real name. He said that he would talk to him. He then told me to take him to civil court. He said to do that first thing in the morning. I asked him if he would have to come to a court where I live or I'd have to go to Montana, he said that he would have to go to a court room here. I asked what would happen if he didn't show up, he then said that there would be a warrant for his arrest.
The officer did tell me to e-mail him once last time and tell him what's going to go down. I e-mailed him and guess what? It took him 16 minutes to respond. After the many e-mails I had sent him, he finally responded. This is what I e-mailed him saying:
I just got off the phone with a police officer. He will be heading over to your house now. Tomorrow morning I will file a civil lawsuit against you and this will go to court. If you don't want any of this to happen, just e-mail me and send either my stuff back or my money. I will be waiting tonight.
He then responded by saying:
I sent the cash to ya 5-6 days ago. If ya haven't got it yet then you should shortly. I just hope that it has not been lost in the mail. thank you for your time.
Carl
I will wait until Friday to see if I get it. If I don't by then, I'll be taking this matter to court. The awesome thing is my parents have yet to realize any of this. I just want all this to be over with and I'll be sure never to make this mistake ever again. I'll keep you guys updated on what goes down.
Update #2
I decided to send another e-mail to Carl. I sent him an e-mail asking a couple questions and asking for his house and cellphone (if he has one) number. I didn't hear from him tonight, but I did hear from someone else...
The police offer called me within this past hour. He spoke with Carl, and Carl said that our agreement was cash and that he would seal the money, but I never agreed to that. I just checked our trade page, and he even said that we would be paying by money order. The police officer said that Carl would e-mail me tomorrow morning to talk about the money and what we will do.
He then said if he doesn't do anything about it, he told me to go ahead and file the civil lawsuit. Once that's done, he will be forced to show up to court where I live. If he doesn't show up, I don't know if I heard this correctly, but there will be a warrant for his arrest. Then, if he has assets, such as a truck, that will be taken and sold. Then, $230 plus the money for filing the paperwork and what have you will be taken out of the amount that the asset was sold for. So that will cover all my expenses. I finally asked the police officer that if I'm in a win-win situation and he said that I am.
So in the end, it looks like I'm victorious. I'll continue to keep you guys updated to the point where I get either my money or my stuff. For now, I'm somewhat relieved.
I forgot to mention that I explained the whole thing to my mom. She said I shouldn't have called the police over $230, but I told her this was basically fraud. She said ok. I thought she would get really pissed. I was surprised how calm she was after I told her everything. I think she would've gotten mad if I had lost the money for good.
Update #3
After sending Carl a few more e-mails within a span of 2 days, he finally responds by saying:
The reason I didn't rerspond is because I was gone. I had sent your money. If ya don't receive it by Wednesday let me know. If ya don't I can send $130 on the 7th and then the other half of it Sept. 7th
It seems very obvious that this guy is full of shit. Now, 2 days ago he had original claimed that he sent the money out 5-6 days ago. What I'm thinking is he set out the money these past few days, and that's why he said wait until Wednesday. I will wait until Wednesday, but if I don't have it by then, there is no way I'm waiting until August 7th to see if I get half of the money. If I don't have it by Wednesday, I will finally take this to civil court.
