legal case fraud - wat's can do if buy an item on ebay and you didnt get the item ? just read on , about ebay user ukdj100 story : I have recently been scammed for a mobile phone on 4th November. Seller took the money with no intention of sending anything. Eventually I've reported it to the police and hopefully the guy will be found as he is no longer a registered user and has tried to do a runner from several people. I'm now experienced with the ebay /Paypal fraud process and am a little disappointed by some of the advice given on the message board. I think it glosses over some limitations on ebay's fraud process: 1) Getting contact details of the person. Problem I have discovered is there is nothing stopping someone from removing their address and phone number before resigning from ebay. 2) Non-performing seller alert. This involves ebay sending an email to the seller asking would they please respond. Data protection laws mean ebay cannot tell you anything about what they do. Also their messages to you are automated from a machine in Switzerland. 3) Paypal. Contrary to popular myth Paypal do not do a chargeback automatically. They only do an immediate chargeback if a seller has funds in their Paypal balance - which of course a serious scammer is going to avoid. If there are no funds there is nothing they can do. And you are not covered by the insurance of Paypal Buyer Protection unless the seller has at least 50 feedbacks, and there is some more small print about Paypal Buyer Protection. 4) Ebay Fraud Alert. This sounds great but the process is that you are not allowed to make your claim until at least 30 days after the auction closes. Gives the scammer plenty of time to make their getaway! And then the maximum possible payout (provided they do decide to give you anything at all) is £105. After all this I would offer the following advice when spending more than £50 on something: - Only buy using paypal from a seller with more than 50 feedback - Never pay with postal order - you are not covered at all even with the standard ebay protection - If spending a lot of money on an item retrieve the sellers details off ebay before handing any money over so that you have some contact details if anything goes wrong. - Be aware that ebay's maximum possible payout would be £105. - Read the ebay User Agreement carefully as there are clearly defined limits to what they are responsible for. - If you know you have been frauded go to the police. Don't hang about waiting for ebay to do anything because legally they are not obliged to. http://forums.ebay.co.uk/thread.jspa?messageID=400368721&forumID=2000#400368721