chimpchamp
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posted on March 4, 2004 05:59:16 PM new
Had a buyer pay by check. Waited 10 working days as per my policy, checked with the bank and mailed the item. Today my bank tells me the check didn't clear. I'm out the item and $259.00 plus eBay fees etc.
I asked my bank to send the check through again. If I can't get my money, let me screw the buyer's account up with fees. What other recourse do I have other than e-mail (which I zipped off already) to recover either the money or the item?
This is the first time out of 4 years of selling I have had a buyer's personal check bounce. I don't want one bad experience to ruin it for the other buyers who prefer checks. I can't afford to eat $259.00 and the lost merchandise. I do wait 10 working days and check with my bank before shipping items. I don't know why this time it was so slow getting reported back to my bank.
What else do I need to do to recover the money or the merchandise?
Thanks
~S~
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trai
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posted on March 4, 2004 06:16:37 PM new
Ten days is not enough time for checks to clear no matter what your bank tells you. They can vary right up to 30 days or more.
After all if it goes bad they lose nothing. You get hung out to dry.
If you can not contact the person then all you can do is file a police report in the persons hometown.[send a copy of the check]
You can also turn this over to the postal system as it would be mail fraud.
Hope it goes ok the second time for the check but if not......
You can also try this collection agency that has been used by online sellers.
http://www.madagency.com/
Ed. add on
[ edited by trai on Mar 4, 2004 06:22 PM ]
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fluffythewondercat
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posted on March 4, 2004 06:34:58 PM new
Sorry, but I wouldn't have put it through the second time. I never do that until I can verify there are sufficient funds in the account. A good time to redeposit is the end of the month. Who knows, maybe your check will be paid and *his* check to his landlord will bounce. Landlords don't like that.
Anyway, if you live in California there are special laws and sanctions for bad paper writers, recently referenced in another thread.
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fluffythewondercat
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posted on March 4, 2004 06:36:17 PM new
Oh, I almost forgot: Go to eBay NOW and file a Non-Paying Bidder report on this person. Don't put it off, the clock is ticking.
Pull his contact info. Call.
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Libra63
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posted on March 4, 2004 06:41:10 PM new
Pull the contact information and call your buyer. This is totally unexceptible and your buyer should be faced with her/his problem. Good Luck.....
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chimpchamp
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posted on March 4, 2004 06:42:09 PM new
Thanks trai and fluffy for the advice and the website.
I don't live in California but the bad check writer does.
~S~
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toasted36
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posted on March 4, 2004 07:08:10 PM new
It's to late for this now but for the next time.Type the banks name in Yahoo or google whichever you prefer and look up the 1-800 number for the bank and verify funds.I haven't found a bank yet that doesn't have a 1-800 toll free number you can call.
I don't take checks but I get a non reading ebayer that sends one anyway about once every three months...I don't care if it's 5.00 or 500.00 i'm calling there bank and checking the funds.lol I know some tellers prolly think i'm wacky checking on a 5.00 check but the 25.00 bounced check fee makes it worth while
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sparkz
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posted on March 4, 2004 07:09:47 PM new
You actually have much more recourse for a bad check than you do with a Paypal reversal. Since your paperhanger lives in California, the Mad collection agency referred to above will have quite an incentive to put the squeeze on him it it comes down to that. I agree with the others, pull his info and call him. 99% of these cases are simple mistakes and can be rectified with direct dialog.
The light at the end of the tunnel will turn out to be an oncoming train.
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sanmar
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posted on March 4, 2004 07:41:35 PM new
traiu; if the bank says it has bounced, it has bounced. If You are in CA, & the chewck was issued in CA. Take it to your county attorney for collection
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trai
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posted on March 4, 2004 07:55:16 PM new
The seller is not in California only the bad paper writer.
By chimpchamp
I don't live in California but the bad check writer does.
No reason it should take any bank so long to find out if a check is good or not this day and age.
There has to be a better way.
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pclady
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posted on March 4, 2004 08:49:51 PM new
Try madagency.com - It's my understanding that they have a high success rate.
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auctionACE
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posted on March 5, 2004 02:11:38 AM new
Why waste money on a phone call or filing with a county attorney? Email the buyer and if that gets no results then use the mad collection agency. It takes a few brief minutes online to make the file.
-------------- sig file ----------- *There is no conclusive evidence that life is serious*
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stopwhining
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posted on March 5, 2004 06:29:37 AM new
it should not take 10 days for checks to clear,but then did your bank give you details on why it did not clear??
the owner of the bank account can tell his bank the check is written fraudulently by someone else and his bank will reverse it.
-sig file -------the lobster in the boiling pot of water who tries to prevent the others from climbing out.
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toolhound
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posted on March 5, 2004 02:12:45 PM new
I have had 2 checks that took over 30 days to bounce that is why I do not take checks. One for over $600.00 I have never collected on. The other one around $400.00 after trying everything to collect I sent the information to the Police in the town where he was located. The police found he was in jail there and the information was given to his Father who paid so he would not get in more trouble.
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