Neicey59

Last week I learned from the police investigation officer that the seller already collected another $15000 from someone else in Rhode Island prior my incident. The other victim did not get the car or his money back as well.
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This guy deserves a "beat down". That is so rididculous, what's harder to believe is that EBAY is not forking over the dough, or trying in anyway to intervene <according to previous posts> I used EBAY very often, and for very expensive perfumes, and purses. I sympathize with your plight.

PRHeloPilot

I got this info straight from Ebay so your money still might be available for recovery from Ebay's Insurance.



" Vehicle Purchase Protection is provided free of charge by eBay Motors to all passenger vehicle buyers to protect against cases of outright fraud or gross misrepresentation which results in a devaluation of at least 50% the vehicle's purchase price, with a maximum coverage of $20,000 (additional coverage restrictions, conditions, and limits apply). Coverage also includes vehicles with undisclosed engine, transmission, or body damage where the cost of repair of any one of those components exceeds $1,500 (additional coverage restrictions, conditions, and limits apply). "


This link takes you to the page :

http://pages.motors.ebay.com/service...rotection.html

Good Luck !! I'm still recovering from a $25,000 deposit I gave a company in Sarasota, Florida for a down payment for a new helicopter. My attorneys have already recovered $15,000 (and they have charged me about $10,000 so I'm still ahead, for now at least).

Carlos

alrefai

Carlos,

Thanks for your input. Unfortunately I am not covered by EBay insurance program because I have filed another claim in the 6 months prior to this incident. EBay insurance program clearly stated this condition in the general requirements for claims eligibility.

M. Alrefai

FScalfano

I know this doesn't help much at this point, but I bought my 2003 SLK 32 on EBay from a dealer in south Florida. I checked the carfax on the car before I bid, and before I sent the money I checked out the dealer on the BBB, and I even got my banker to talk to his banker. The transaction was very smooth, I got the car transported to me within a week, and it was exactly as advertised. I am rather suprised that Ebay motors has not been more helpful in this case, as they should really be sensitive to fraud with something as expensive as cars.

Frank

alrefai

I bought three cars from eBay motors in the past. The first car came as advertised and I was satisfied with that experience. I had terrible experience when I bought my second car from a dealer in NJ.
Visit this link to read the story http://www.geocities.com/hardwarecity/c280.html

Then I purchased this SLK from crook who refuses to give the car or refund. This eBay experience is the worst by far.

M. Alrefai

ultra-violence

I know it would not be the most intelligent way to handle it, but if I had this guys address and location, I would be flying down there immediately. Let's just say that he would not have a good day once I got there...

I hope you get this taken care of. I know people that have gotten scammed on Ebay for several thousand from overseas transactions, but for this to happen in the U.S. with noone helping you just plain sucks

GoldSLK320

Is the baster Jason Laing ? Just curious, since he bought sth from me on Ebay.

GoldSLK320

15K dude

yellowslk

Hope you get that guy. Keep us posted

alrefai

I will let you guys know as soon as hear something new.

SLK 230 Ltd.Ed.

That's terrible. They deserve to go to jail.

sl3204me

No reputable seller or business deals only in cash.If you are unsure,then fly up there and inspect the car first in person.If you can't,then at least use Capital One to purchase the car.When you get possession,then pay off Capital One.They will work with you if there is any problem since it is legally their car.If the seller tries to scam Capital One,then they have the resources to deal with it.

BenzVince

Ouch!! Sorry to hear about your experience. Thank god with my E320 when i purchased from Ebay, I used a lot of caution and common sense. Pretty much with online thing, it's more of a buyer beware such as said above in the posting about seller feedback. Additionally, you could have just flown down and hand him the check if the car is present. Apparently you really got scammed. Good luck on trying to recover the money or the car.

carlssonW208Rs

jeesus Christ~
what on earth...
$15k ....
You should have inspected them first...
why give cashier cheques...

silver00E320

I'm doing a search on buyers of MB through E-bay and I came across this string. Very typical of my dealings with E-bay. They are 110% behind the sellers since that's where their money comes from so if you're a buyer you're out of luck.

I have been ripped off by sellers on E-bay for several minor things and in every one of the cases E-bay refuses to help. EVEN WHEN THEY KNOW THE SELLER WAS WRONG.

The issue of them not honoring their vehicle protection program because you filed a claim within 6 months, even if it is in their requirements, would probably not hold up with a good lawyer handling it. That is unless you filed for another auto claim. If that's the case they might think you are trying to pull something over on them.

If you file a claim through a goverment law enforcement agency, such as the FBI, they should keep you informed of what is happening with the investigation. In a case that happened to me (and some others) they eventually caught the woman who was collecting money for video cameras and not shipping them. It took them a while but they found her (down here in Florida, of all places) and she ended up spending a year in prison. Maybe they can do the same with this guy.

Good luck.

newsdad

You wrote in your original post that you "mailed" the check. If you used the US Mail and kept a receipt then what he did constitutes mail fraud and is a federal offense. With no receipt your case becomes much weaker, though not impossible.

I just received an SLK320 I purchased from EBAY sight unseen. I did use the US Mail just in case. My transaction has worked out well, but the reality is I could have been scammed just as easily. Could happen to anyone because there are real low-lifes in this world. Sorry about your problem.

Dennis

Brunelleschi

I just have to say God bless escrow services. Nobody gets the money until the merchandise has exchanged hands.

MBAMGPWR

That is, unless you run across one of the many fake escrow services that are out there.

Kirill

Not always true - some of these escrow services are set-up by scamers.

NO_WUR_E

....just came across this thread. sooooo sorry about your experience. this will definitely be a lesson learned. i am a ebay seller and always hope that people buy from someone who have positive feedbacks. please keep everyone updated here as we certainly hope that justice will be served.

16falcon

I recently bought an item off ebay where the seller had like 20+ positive feedback comments, no negative. I had a problem with the item (which I am still trying to work out) and started looking at the "Items" the seller had purchased which had generated the positive feedback. Almost all were food recipies he had purchased for $.01 or $.05 each (total cost since it is emailed to the buyer). So you should dig a little deeper and make sure there is a lot of positive feedback from Buyers and check out exactly what the seller has bought and sold, especially on high $ items.

That being said, I bought a 2004 Ford Taurus off ebay from a used car place in Houston and didn't even send them any $ until I went to pick it up (it just worked out that way) and have been very happy with it. Of course it is still covered by factory warranty and I did run a carfax.

King320

Sorry to hear about your experience. I bought my CLK off of ebay this fall from a guy in Chicago. He had 100% positive feedback with numbers into the two hundreds. However, when the car arrived the paint was worse than he had related and the wheels were curbed badly. I dont know if i recommend the process but it turned out ok for me altho i did have to replace the rear axle, which was leaking. Good luck getting your money back.

hellcat

If the price is too good to be true then it is! If you see a Benz for $15-16,000 that's only a few years old its probably in crap shape or you won't ever actually get the car.

spiegela

I bid on a Kia, paid the deposit and requested a copy of the title from the seller. The seller refused to supply a copy of the title. I contacted ebay and explained the situation and they suggested that I contact the seller and if we could not come to a solution, have seller cancel the auction. I did so and seller refused to refund the deposit because it was listed as non-refundable. I later found out the seller did not have title to the vehicle at the time we were talking about the title and proof of ownership. I contacted ebay motors and they directed me to Jeff Simpson of their Auction Insurance Agency. I had to call him numerous times and emails before he responded to me. He said no refund because the deposit was listed as non-refundable. Apparently, with ebay, it doesn't matter if you own the vehicle or not - I guess you can list any vehicle for sale and list the deposit as non-refundable and you can rip off as many people as you want and neither ebay or their Auction Insurance Agency will do nothing about it. I did learn one thing, and that is, if you want to make a lot of money this way, ebay will do nothing about it. By the way, I have documented proof the sell did not have title to the vechicle!

rorf

I would never buy a vehicle through eBay, that said, eBay is a rip off at the best of times