So.. I think I may have gotten scammed, what are my options?

[Khoi]

Alright, here's the deal. This may be a bit pre-mature, but the guy stopped contact well over a week ago, been calling him every day, and he won't pick up. He said he shipped the guitar about 2 weeks ago... and I haven't seen it yet, no tracking number or anything. I'd just like to have my options lined up before its too late.

and I'm hoping this thread will motivate him to contact me if he reads it. I'm going to omit his name for now

The story:

I bought a guitar off a member on here, his G&L Legacy. I overnighted the USPS money order on 08/02/10, and he said he got it. He said he's be shipping the guitar out, and had to pick it up at his brother's house, and would be sending the tracking number tomorrow, which would have been on 08/05/10. He called me on 08/06/10, but I was not able to take the call because I was on an airplane going to NYC that day for the week. Now, I haven't heard of him since. Been calling since then, and he's either screening my calls (I notice the ring tone stops early sometimes), or he's just ignoring it, or out of town... I have no idea, but I know if he DID say he shipped it, it should have been here by now.

Prior, his communication was good, and would answer my calls... now I got nothing.

I have his name, number, and address. He's located in Austin, TX.

I'm going to wait another week or so before I really start acting on it to give it more time, but like I said, I wanna have my options ready.


So what can I do? Is it a possibility to file a report in Austin in the event that I never see the guitar? I still have the original USPS receipt for the money order, only one PM, but I sent him a PM yesterday, and I know he read it (it was in the sentbox, and he was last online today). Other than that, everything was over the phone.


oh, and I'm never going to do money order again, just going to stick to PayPal. More trouble than its worth

 

[cyndicate]

Alright, here's the deal. This may be a bit pre-mature, but the guy stopped contact well over a week ago, been calling him every day, and he won't pick up. He said he shipped the guitar about 2 weeks ago... and I haven't seen it yet, no tracking number or anything. I'd just like to have my options lined up before its too late.

and maybe this thread will motivate him to contact me if he reads it. I'm going to omit his name for now as well, as I'm still giving him a chance


The story:

I bought a guitar off a member on here, his G&L Legacy. I overnighted the USPS money order on 08/02/10, and he said he got it. He said he's be shipping the guitar out, and had to pick it up at his brother's house, and would be sending the tracking number tomorrow, which would have been on 08/05/10. He called me on 08/06/10, but I was not able to take the call because I was on an airplane going to NYC that day for the week. Now, I haven't heard of him since. Been calling since then, and he's either screening my calls (I notice the ring tone stops early sometimes), or he's just ignoring it, or out of town... I have no idea, but I know if he DID say he shipped it, it should have been here by now.

Prior, his communication was good, and would answer my calls... now I got nothing.

I have his name, number, and address. He's located in Austin, TX.

I'm going to wait another week or so before I really start acting on it to give it more time, but like I said, I wanna have my options ready.


So what can I do? Is it a possibility to file a report in Austin in the event that I never see the guitar? I still have the original USPS receipt for the money order, only one PM, but I sent him a PM yesterday, and I know he read it (it was in the sentbox, and he was last online today). Other than that, everything was over the phone.


oh, and I'm never going to do money order again, just going to stick to PayPal. More trouble than its worth

Something similar happened to me for a Diezel Herbert awhile back. Sent the guy payment via Money Order, then he made up all this crap about it being stolen. Here's the link to my thread.. hope this helps.

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=54216&hilit=new+york&start=100

In summary, I ended up filing a claim on IC3, contacted his local police department, contacted the Local DA office as well. If it happened to me again first thing I would do is file a claim, contact your local police to have them contact the police in the sellers town. Write to sellers D.A., and contact the police It helps when you have all their personal info as well, it makes it easier for the police to get in touch with him. Dig up anything you can about him on the internet, google works wonders when you can search his Phone #, his address, his known user names, his full name. It's unbelievable the amount of public information you can find on one guy online.

Thats if it gets this far with no communication.. I'm sure a ton of RT'ers are from Texas, is he a well known forumite? Maybe it's just a emergency/vacation or something he is on. Maybe another forumite will know whats up.

 

[Khoi]

oof, sounds like a headache and a half

thanks for all the info though, will definitely keep it in mind. Though it wasn't close to the price tag of a VH4, it's still a significant amount of money for a poor college student like myself

I mean overall, the guy seemed to have a good rep on TGP and here, though he posts a lot more frequently at TGP. His communication was good, but then he suddenly stopped, and I've been trying to call him since... he said from the beginning that his internet access is limited, but he was last on Rig-Talk today, and last on TGP on the 10th... not super well known by any means though.

 

[Capulin Overdrive]

the USPS ain't nobody to screw around with if you can get them to act for you.


mail fraud is serious shit!

 

[Gitfiddler]

 

[steve_k]

I would say go to Austin and kick his ass and get your new guitar. You've given him plenty of time already. Then go down to 6th Street and head over to Maggie Mae's for some good Texas blues, a BBQ sandwich and some cold beer.

Steve

 

[MYLILSS]

that sucks man .... hopefully everything is a misunderstanding and the guitar is on its way, but i would start getting info together and making calls just in case. it never hurts to have your ducks in a row ....

if he does browse here at all he will probably see this thread ... so hopefully he will get in contact with you once he does, if he hasnt done so beforehand

 

[roodboy]

Call the usps, they have postal police that deal with this kind of thing.
Its disturbing that the guy has been on RT and not contacted you.
Good Luck

 

[Khoi]

Call the usps, they have postal police that deal with this kind of thing.
Its disturbing that the guy has been on RT and not contacted you.
Good Luck

Really, I didn't know that, thanks for the tip!

I'll definitely look into it

and still no contact or guitar...

 

[Mailman1971]

the USPS ain't nobody to screw around with if you can get them to act for you.


mail fraud is serious shit!

This!!

Postal Inspectors will arrest the guy.
No fucking around with them.
Federal crime to do what he did.
Mail FRAUD!
Good luck and Keep us posted.

 

[Khoi]

Okay, he finally contacted me and said he'd be shipping he guitar out tonight/tomorrow. He said he was going through a lot of personal issues and all that, the usual... I'll still keep this updated to make sure he holds true to it, I'm sure this thread got him really motivated to ship it out after two weeks

but it's looking a bit better

 

[cyndicate]

Okay, he finally contacted me and said he'd be shipping he guitar out tonight/tomorrow. He said he was going through a lot of personal issues and all that, the usual... I'll still keep this updated to make sure he holds true to it, I'm sure this thread got him really motivated to ship it out after two weeks

but it's looking a bit better

Hope it works out for you! I personally know how it feels and it sucks

 

[steve_k]

Okay, he finally contacted me and said he'd be shipping he guitar out tonight/tomorrow. He said he was going through a lot of personal issues and all that, the usual... I'll still keep this updated to make sure he holds true to it, I'm sure this thread got him really motivated to ship it out after two weeks

but it's looking a bit better

Was his name Mark?

Steve

 

[Khoi]

haha no, not Mr. Cameron.

But I think all is well, he shipped it tonight and I got a tracking number!

thanks for the help guys

 

[Mailman1971]

Okay, he finally contacted me and said he'd be shipping he guitar out tonight/tomorrow. He said he was going through a lot of personal issues and all that, the usual... I'll still keep this updated to make sure he holds true to it, I'm sure this thread got him really motivated to ship it out after two weeks

but it's looking a bit better

Was his name Mark?

Steve

 

[GuitarGuyLP]

three letters to prevent this C....O.....D

I use it all the time (with Canada Post) everyone is protected, and much cheaper then Paypal. You can even use it on greyhound for shipping big items like cabs, but they take almost a month to get you the cheque after you ship. Canada post is usually same week. i am not sure about USPS.

 

[OldSkoolNJ]

Sounds Like a bunch of Bull Shit...

I bet who ever it was had and purposely made the time to go cash the money order as soon as they got it...

 

[Motorpud]

Sounds Like a bunch of Bull Shit...

I bet who ever it was had and purposely made the time to go cash the money order as soon as they got it...

Yeah I'm sure there was no personal problem there, only when it came to actually making sure the guitar was sent out. Funny how that works

 

[smdb]

Why did it take you posting this to get it done? What a tool!

 

[MYLILSS]

Why did it take you posting this to get it done? What a tool!

yeah thats pretty shitty ... at least it is being shipped now though