The short and the sweet of it: over a month ago (March 17, 2011) I received payment for a 2011 Balenciaga and sent it to the address listed on the Paypal form. As the transaction was for over $250, I also chose signature confirmation and insured it. The transaction went smoothly - he received the bag on March 21 and left positive feedback.
At 2am today (over a month after this transaction), I received an email from Paypal notifying me that they are seizing that amount from my account because the buyer is claiming an unauthorized transaction. Needless to say, any thought of sleep dissipated and anger took over. I immediately provided Paypal the tracking information showing delivery to the address listed on the Paypal form (where it says "OK TO SHIP") and also requested the USPS records as to the signature confirmation they have on file. I cannot provide the PDF of the signature confirmation yet (which, by the way, clearly lists the buyers name as the signor) because the case is now "Pending Paypal Review" and the offices are closed.
This thief could not have picked a worse target: I'm a lawyer and my husband is a federal agent. Not only am I angry at suddenly having a negative balance on my Paypal account, I'm also angry that he had the balls to pull this stunt. Unsurprisingly, I took the opportunity to email him.
My emails to him are below:
I'm writing to inform you that what you have done by purchasing a new Balenciaga bag from me, receiving that bag, leaving me positive feedback on that transaction, and then filing a chargeback with your credit card company is illegal - classified as grand larceny as it is theft of over $1000 (and a class G felony in his state) - and is a state crime as well as a federal offense. As an attorney who is also married to a federal agent, I would like to inform you that YOU WILL BE PROSECUTED unless you contact your credit card company and tell them the truth. I have sufficient evidence to win this case with Paypal but if you force me to fight this, I will also make sure you go to jail. In fact, I promise you that I will not stop until I see you behind bars.
I look forward to a swift and speedy resolution to this case.
My second email to him wasn't nearly as nice:
In addition to what I've already written, not only does the USPS track where they ship packages, they also keep records of who signed for them and I have YOUR SIGNATURE on file (attached) which proves that you received the bag in question and have kept it (not to mention all of the other evidence of your active involvement in this transaction, not least of which was you leaving positive feedback on my account for this transaction).
Be advised of the following:
1) tomorrow morning, I am calling your local police station tomorrow to file a police report charging you with theft.
2) I am also going to contact your credit card company to notify them of your fraudulent claim. Unfortunately for you, this is EXACTLY the field within which I practice and I can't even begin to describe how seriously credit card fraud is viewed and pursued by these companies. Yes, this means jail time for you.
Again, as an attorney who also happens to be married to a federal agent, you could not have picked a worse person to try and steal from. I hope you can afford legal representation - you're going to need it.
This thief's eBay name is leo1329
I'll keep you updated of the developments. And I'm NOT going to stop at just getting my money back. I think it's time these scammers got what they deserved and I PROMISE that I'll do everything in my power to make sure this bastard ends up behind bars.
At 2am today (over a month after this transaction), I received an email from Paypal notifying me that they are seizing that amount from my account because the buyer is claiming an unauthorized transaction. Needless to say, any thought of sleep dissipated and anger took over. I immediately provided Paypal the tracking information showing delivery to the address listed on the Paypal form (where it says "OK TO SHIP") and also requested the USPS records as to the signature confirmation they have on file. I cannot provide the PDF of the signature confirmation yet (which, by the way, clearly lists the buyers name as the signor) because the case is now "Pending Paypal Review" and the offices are closed.
This thief could not have picked a worse target: I'm a lawyer and my husband is a federal agent. Not only am I angry at suddenly having a negative balance on my Paypal account, I'm also angry that he had the balls to pull this stunt. Unsurprisingly, I took the opportunity to email him.
My emails to him are below:
I'm writing to inform you that what you have done by purchasing a new Balenciaga bag from me, receiving that bag, leaving me positive feedback on that transaction, and then filing a chargeback with your credit card company is illegal - classified as grand larceny as it is theft of over $1000 (and a class G felony in his state) - and is a state crime as well as a federal offense. As an attorney who is also married to a federal agent, I would like to inform you that YOU WILL BE PROSECUTED unless you contact your credit card company and tell them the truth. I have sufficient evidence to win this case with Paypal but if you force me to fight this, I will also make sure you go to jail. In fact, I promise you that I will not stop until I see you behind bars.
I look forward to a swift and speedy resolution to this case.
My second email to him wasn't nearly as nice:
In addition to what I've already written, not only does the USPS track where they ship packages, they also keep records of who signed for them and I have YOUR SIGNATURE on file (attached) which proves that you received the bag in question and have kept it (not to mention all of the other evidence of your active involvement in this transaction, not least of which was you leaving positive feedback on my account for this transaction).
Be advised of the following:
1) tomorrow morning, I am calling your local police station tomorrow to file a police report charging you with theft.
2) I am also going to contact your credit card company to notify them of your fraudulent claim. Unfortunately for you, this is EXACTLY the field within which I practice and I can't even begin to describe how seriously credit card fraud is viewed and pursued by these companies. Yes, this means jail time for you.
Again, as an attorney who also happens to be married to a federal agent, you could not have picked a worse person to try and steal from. I hope you can afford legal representation - you're going to need it.
This thief's eBay name is leo1329
I'll keep you updated of the developments. And I'm NOT going to stop at just getting my money back. I think it's time these scammers got what they deserved and I PROMISE that I'll do everything in my power to make sure this bastard ends up behind bars.