posted on April 5, 2003 02:00:12 PM new
is item not as described fall into mail fraud category??
can a bidder files complaint with usps,chamber of commerce,police,state and city and county ??
if a bidder won an auction which said genuine xyz and ends up with a copy of xyz.
genuine xyz retails for 50 -100 and the copy retails for 25??
and this guy paid 15 which is like wholesale cost??
posted on April 5, 2003 02:33:26 PM new
What did you do? Mail fraud and item not as described are not one and the same. You need to explain this a bit better.
posted on April 5, 2003 02:43:14 PM new
I would personaly love to see the reaction of the police, city, county, state and post office when buyer makes complaint of having paid $15 for $50 and discovers item is worth only $25. :::scoff:::
posted on April 5, 2003 02:44:32 PM new
lets say an item is described as a genuine painting,but it turns out to be a laser painting.
bidder assumes he will be getting a painting painted by hand ,not by machine.
but the price he paid for is the wholesale cost of the laser painting.
can he file for mail fraud with usps,complained to better business bureau,state,city chamber of commerce??and what will they do??
posted on April 5, 2003 02:47:27 PM new
::can he file for mail fraud with usps,complained to better business bureau,state,city chamber of commerce??and what will they do??::
Buyer can do that if they wish but more than likely the BBB will jut send the seller a letter and tell him he is a bad boy, the state may do the sme, but unless this is a pattern of bbehaivior with dozens of complaints, they are not going to do anything.
posted on April 5, 2003 02:53:04 PM new
now what constitutes mail fraud??politicians are often nailed with mail fraud for what??bribery check is in the mail?????
posted on April 5, 2003 03:03:07 PM new
What you have is a misdiscribed lot. (Every one does that once in a while) What the seller does after notification is the key.
posted on April 6, 2003 03:37:48 AM new
::now what constitutes mail fraud?::
It's not so mucha matter of whether or not the specifics you laid out qualify as mail fraud. IIt's more a question of whether or not it is deemed worthy of prosecution. With our over burdened court system, any DA that decided to prosecute a single $15 charge of fraud would probably be fired and definately hung up by his toes by he tax paying public.
::politicians are often nailed with mail fraud for what?::
I have not heard of politician fined or charged with mail fraud. I have however heard of them being hung out to dry for misuse of public funds when caught using the office postage meter to send out solicitationd for campaign contributions of re-election literature.
posted on April 6, 2003 06:41:32 AM new
By all means file it, I did and got a refund on my money.... took over 3 months, but I did get my money back... and for the same thing... it would be a different item received not a "as described" issue.
What is nice is that seller, who still sells on eBay, is now on record...
posted on April 6, 2003 02:37:51 PM new
The buyer should be offered a full refund if he ships it back, assuming the item was incorrectly described. If it was an honest mistake, form what you say, there was no intent to commit fraud, and it is very unlikely, as others have said here, that law enforcement would pursue it over $15.00.
Sound like you made an honest mistake, the buyer flew off the handle and is making threats?
Just explain what happened, offer a full refund including shipping both ways if item is returned in the original condition, and keep a copy of your emails and documentation on any further actions you take. If they refuse to send item back for a refund, they are just a trouble maker or so freaked out that they can't listen to reason.
You are obligated to make a reasonable attempt to make it right once the mistake is discovered. A refund is that reasonable attempt and no legal entity would expect you to refund without the item being returned to you in its original condition first.
I found out long ago that the customer with some imagined or minor grievance who makes a specific threat of contacting law enforcement agencies or a lawyer seldom does. Especially when you have been reasonable in trying to correct the problem through normal channels.
The threat did exactlty what the sender intended. It scared and upset you. That was the purpose. The buyer is acting on emaotion, not reason. Send them the refund offer. That's all you are obligated to do or need to do.
If someone bought a blouse from a major retailer online and the ad said it was "silk", and the blouse turned out to be polyester, all that is required is that the retailer give the person a full refund. There was no intent to defraud. A mistake was make. Cut and dried.
I'd consider a customer quite looney if I admitted it was a mistake and I offered a full refund and they wanted to call the cops instead. A reaction way out of left field on their part. They probably think monsters still lurk in the closet as well!
