Scammed through Friends & Family

[Plusjosie]

I also got scammed paying through friends and family but my bank have been brilliant and sorted it. PayPal didn’t want to know. I am trying to report the person to them but can’t see how to do that? Only three options to choose from that are not right for my problem?? Very poor service.

[kernowlass]

@Plusjosie 

Report them for what? If you used the friends/family option then you sent a 'gift' of money to someone.

You can report if you did not receive an item but you were not paying for an item were you, if you were you would have used the goods/services option.

If they were not a family member or close mate then you would not use the friends/family option surely?

[Peacefullife]

Not sure if you use debit card or credit card with bank or just bank saving . I have restricted my bank before Paypal claim to my bank . Not sure if I have to pay Paypal or bank

[PayPal_Bindu]

Hey @Peacefullife,

Thank you for your post!

I understand your concern about your funds. If a payment was paid by bank, a payment to your seller completes instantly because we fund this on customer's behalf and wait for a bank transaction to clear. If your bank declines your transfer or the transfer is reversed due to technical reasons, we will try to retrieve the money a second time. If the second attempt also fails, the Instant Transfer is charged to the backup credit or debit card used for the payment. If we're unable to receive any payment, your PayPal balance will go to negative. 

Once your account goes negative, you will be updated via email and you can make it zero by adding money to your PayPal balance.

I hope this information helps!

Bindu

[Peacefullife]

What happened if I use PayPal personal transfer to scammer with my PayPal balance(already gone) and bank savings(decline requested before posting) after disputed denying ? I have restricted my bank before Paypal claim to my bank . Do I have to pay Paypal or bank ?

[Newbie42]

Hi, yes I got my money back, it was a long process but worth it. You have to claim it through the bank.

[BRS008]

Hello, I have also just experienced a scam where I stupidly made a payment via F&F. The seller insisted on this route as they didn’t want funds withheld, which I understand can happen when Buyer Protection is used. It was not a huge amount (£30) as a deposit for a graphics card my 15yo was desperate for (from FB marketplace). We were to test it and then pay the rest. However, as soon as we paid it, they asked for another £70. We said we could pay more (including the total) using Buyer Protection, but they refused that avenue. We asked for our money back and they said ‘they don’t refund time wasters’. I said we would get our money back some way, and they replied ‘No you won’t - no Buyer Protection mate’. A very unpleasant experience. I have the message thread as proof. At this stage I would just like the person’s account checked/frozen so they can’t scam anyone else, and know they’re not completely beyond the law. I got a decline via the Dispute Resolution process. Thank you.

[kernowlass]

@BRS008 

A friends / family (or gift payment) is intended as a transfer of funds from family or friends to one another. For this reason, there is no processing fee when payment is made with bank or PayPal balance.
However as it is a gift payment, there is also no buyer protection as no goods or services should have been exchanged.

If he was not a close mate or family member you should never use that option as it enables the seller to evade paying his Paypal fees and negates your buyer protection at the same time.

You would also not be able to open a dispute (apart from one citing an unauthorised transaction), which would be automatically closed as you did authorise the initial payment.

Be careful as using that option for purchasing goods is against Paypal rules and can lead to account limitation.

So it would have been you and the seller that broke paypal rules not just the seller.

If you funded your Paypal payment via a credit card then contact your card issuer and see if they will help you but unfortunately they may decline as well as it was a gift payment.

[BRS008]

Thank you for the reply. I recognise the error and is why I mentioned that I was ‘stupid’. Also as mentioned, I’m not after my money - I just want to stop this person from using PayPal to scam others. It was my 15 yo son that got caught up in this. We were wise enough to decline further transfers w/o payment protection - only to be called ‘time wasters’. He will be busy scamming others now, and it’s sad that PayPal won’t do anything to stop him. Also as mentioned…I have the message thread as proof. In the normal world that would form a contract. But in PayPal world he’s untraceable, and he knows it.

[kernowlass]

@BRS008 

Unless you have proof he is doing that on a regular basis to lots of folks or via his website then to be honest it would be you sending him a 'gift' of money.

You can report of course via paypals acceptable use policy where there is a 'report' link.