Beware of a scam and help/information needed

[Capital10]

I was recently scammed by an extremely dishonest seller in the sales corner on timezone.com. I want to warn everyone and tell the story in hopes that someone may have info on the steps I will be taking to rectify the issue.

The sales ad is here: http://forums.timezone.com/index.php...58#msg_6348672

I sent a private message to him (he uses the name Peter Harewood and is from Canada)and he replied quickly. Saying the watch was available and had been in his safe for several years. We agreed on a price and I sent his Paypal in the amount of 2800, I know if the price seams too good it probably is. I had been saving up for my first Breitling and that's about what I had saved. After I made payment he said that Paypal was going to hold the payment for 21 days and he couldn't afford that. So I said I understood and to go ahead and refund the payment. He did and I was bummed because I got excited about getting the watch. Then he says he has an "idea" for us. If I send 1/2 the amount as gift then he will send the watch and once I receive it I could then send the rest to him. This way he doesn't have to wait the 21 days. Thankfully I was thinking clearly enough not to do that. I told him I was not comfortable with that and would have to pass on the watch. I became suspicious at this point. I looked up the Paypal policies and found out that if a hold is placed the buyer can report all is well on receipt of the item and the funds are released. He sent me another email saying he's trying to make this work to protect both of us while still making the transaction, and he offered to accept just 1/4 of the payment as gift and he would just trust that I would send the rest once I received the watch. At this point I was convinced it was a scam and stated to tell him why his reasoning was incorrect and if he accepted the original payment and all was well once I got the watch all the funds would be available to him at the same time as if we went with one of his stupid "ideas"

I wish I could tell you this is where it ended, but unfortunately not. He emailed the next evening and said he would go ahead and accept the payment for goods and wait until I receive the watch to access the funds. I wanted the watch so bad all my suspicions went out the window when he said this. So I sent the payment for goods and he said he would ship it the next day (Friday) and I would receieve it by Monday.

Over a week later the pacakge arrived and I must have set a USPS record for number of times a package was tracked while being delivered. The postman left it in the mailbox and no signature was required I thought that was strange. Who sends a watch worth 3000 dollars and doesn't require signature on delivery. I got home on Friday and found that I was in my mailbox in a box that wouldn't have been big enough for the watch I paid for with full box and papers. So when I opened the box to find an old rusty small propane canister wrapped in a disgusting tshirt, I was irraite!!

Below I am posting pictures of the box and its contents.

So before doing anything I powered up the laptop and logged onto Paypal to open a dispute, then promptly called Paypal and she then escalated the dispute to a complaint. The lady on the phone put me more at ease and said I did everything right and I should have the funds back within 10 days.

I got an email last night late saying he replied to the complaint and that Paypal would be looking into it and inform me when a decision is made.

So beware of this seller and anyone acting like this don't get duped like I did.

My question is has anyone ever been involved in a dispute like this through Paypal as a buyer and how did it turn out, how long did it take, and what information did you give if any.

Any information/help you can give would be appreciated.

Here are pictures of one of the most disappointing and frustrating days of my life:

First a picture of the watch I thought I was buying for $2800



Then the box and what I received:





And the shipping label when he insured it for $100, so clearly he was not shipping a $3000 watch, no insurance and no delivery signature:

[Gaijin]

Good Lord!

[crowncollection]

What a scammer, all the best I hope it all works out. Another PayPal nightmare it appears.

[Kringkily]

He automatically loses without shipping with signature confirmation over 250. Regardless just keep at it and you will be fine. Screw this idiot...

[toph]

Escalate to a claim if not already done so. You will be refunded . The seller will have 10 days to respond but what can he say? Happened to me recently but I got all my money back
Good luck

[Grissom]

Originally Posted by Kringkily

He automatically loses without shipping with signature confirmation over 250. Regardless just keep at it and you will be fine. Screw this idiot...

X2! Call PayPal and tell them you never received the watch! You should be fine.

[dosei]

Hope you get your complete payment back! And make sure to stay on Paypal constantly and don't let up until the refund!

[joseluu]

Well. we see that Paypal policy of "overprotecting" the buyer as we hear sometimes is not so bad when: You are the scammed buyer!

[perpetualman88]

sorry to hear of this misfortune

best to buy the seller

[T. Ferguson]

You could also report him to postal authorities for shipping a canister of propane gas through the US Mail. Pretty sure that's a big no-no, especially these days.

[Nick1959]

sorry to hear. Hope everything works out for you.

[TimeToGo]

You should prevail with this issue.

Let us know when it is settled on your end!

Welcome to the Forum!

[artschool]

i wouldnt worry. to be honest i would love to know how that fellow ever thought he would be able to keep the cash?

[Billythekid]

Sorry to hear about it ,hope you get your money back

[bayerische]

At this point I would thank god I didn't WIRE him the money.

Darn scammers!

[mjclark32]

Jeez, hopefully the posters above are right about paypal's shipping policies and you get your money back asap

[train-time]

OMG; I hope you get your money back. The Breitling for Bentley isn't a $3000 watch -- probably more than twice that amount. Shipping a propane canister over the border could be a problem for the guy also. I would let the Postal Inspectors know about this guy. It could also be postal fraud.

[TAKUYA]

you should be fine if you paid via paypal. Hope you'll get your money back quickly. if you can go online and file a police report. hate and f**k "Scammers".

[Capital10]

Yeah I'm going to file a police report and report it to the post office.

Thanks for the support, I have only been a member a short time but the information here is very helpful