I was scammed and now I’m liable and not the scammer

[ochs99]

I purchased a item through I trusted site. After winning the item I contacted the seller and payment was arranged through PayPal, the payment went as F&F. Good communication with the seller afterwards and I received the tracking info. About 24 hrs later I received a email from the site that the seller/sale was a scam and not to send funds ( a little late ). I made several attempts to communicate with the seller only to tell me it was already mailed, even though the carrier never received the package and there has been no further communication with the seller. I was able to contact my bank and stop payment. Now my PayPal account shows a negative balance for the amount on a item I never received because the seller was doing a fraudulent sale. I have the sellers PayPal info along with all the emails from the auction site indicating fraud. Why this against me and not the individual committing the crime? I’ve been using PayPal for 15 years and this is what I get? I have chatted with customer service, logged a grievance against the scammer with no avail other I’m on the hook for being the victim of a fraudulent seller. Could someone please straighten this out.

[sharpiemarker]

@ochs99 

The problem is you paid as f&f where you shouldn’t have so you’ve negated your buyer protection.

F&F is essentially a ‘gift’ payment. Never pay like that for goods and services. Only use it to actually pay friends and family. Not stranger sellers.

Your account went negative because it was an instant bank payment backed by card; PayPal paid ahead for you and awaited for your bank payment to clear otherwise, it would have gone as an eCheck if you didn’t have card linked so now you owe PayPal. If PayPal is not able get paid by your bank, they “might” tap your credit card as the card is your back up funding on instant bank payments.

Once you pay PayPal back, you may do a chargeback with your financial institution for the money back but no guarantees.

Alternatively, you could leave the account negative but account will be suspended and the debt would be sold to collections eventually.

[ochs99]

Will PayPal do anything about the fraudulent user who attempted the sale? So I made the mistake of using F&F and the seller gets away with it and I’m on the hook for almost $500. Are they pursuing them for the attempted fraud? Obviously PayPal has their user information and I have the sellers contact info, email and indication of attempted fraud from the host site, just trying to understand how they get away with it and I’m the one paying for being a legit customer.