Saturday, February 25, 2012

Do I have any recourse for international mail fraud?

I live in the U.S., and I purchased an item on eBay from a user in Canada. I paid with a U.S. Postal Service International money order because they didn't take Pay Pal. After I paid, a ton of negative feedbacks showed up on his account, eBay closed his account, and the buyer will not respond to emails. I did a money order inquiry with the USPS (by the way, don't ever use one of their international money orders, because they won't stop payment), and the money order was cashed, but I have received nothing. I was told by the Post Office that if they did not send the merchandise, it would be mail fraud because they signed for and cashed a postal money order. I've already checked and eBay won't cover it, I suppose because it is international (they will allow the seller to sell, but won't cover the buyer). Anyway, is there anything that I can do? It's not a great amount of money, so I don't want to get an attorney, but I would like this guy to get what is coming to him. ThanksDo I have any recourse for international mail fraud?
Your only option to recover the money is to sue. That is will cost more than you would get. Mail Fraud is also a crime. I suggest you at least file a police report so that the individual can be prosecuted. Speak with an attorney in your area.
Call your local post office with your concerns and they will tell you how to act.Do I have any recourse for international mail fraud?
File the fraud claim with the postal inspector, not the police. They are two different agencies.
All I can say is good luck. Your chances of getting your money back is zip to none.



As a seller on Ebay, let me advise that you should NEVER deal with anyone on that site that hasn't been on there for at least several months. You should also see close to 100% positive feedback for the seller.



One really good indicator that you should have been cautious is the sellers refusal to accept Paypal...which is the MOST common payment type on Ebay.



Like anything else, foolish shopping can cost money.



Caveat Emptor.Do I have any recourse for international mail fraud?
I would do some more checking with Ebay. You can get their phone # and call the person. But they are right that you are not protected because you did not use Paypal (not your fault of course though). Did you by chance send your money order with insurance? If you did, then you can recover that way. Do you still have the receipt for the money order? If so, do come checking around your recourse there. There has to be a way you can get this taken care of. You can also probably file a police report with your local office and maybe have them pass that information onto the police up in Canada where this person is from. It might take a little footwork on your part, but if you want to see justice served and this person pay for a wrong doing, you'll have do some work. Good luck!

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