scooter1

Hi all, I am dealing with what I think may be a scammer. Found a guy on the buy/sell and made a deal with him to trade an airplane for a radio. I sent my item and used delivery confirmation/insurance so I know he received. Well of course I now can't get a hold of him, not returning pm's and the phone number I talked to him on is mysteriously not working. I've sent him pm's and infinite texts to no avail. Trade was agreed on last weds 9/5, I sent Friday 9/7. I spoke with him Monday and he confirmed he had received. This is the first problem because he had agreed to send Saturday, but claimed the tracking I'd given him wasn't working and that he was afraid I was trying to pull something funny. So, he said he held off but agreed to send the next day, Tuesday 9/11, since it had arrived. It is now Friday 9/14 and I have no communication and no radio. I'm leaving his name out for now on the off chance that I receive the radio tomorrow or Monday. Just wondering if anyone can offer any advice as far as finding out more contact info, or perhaps filing mail fraud. I do have messages where he confirms he would send. Any productive advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!!

TZap

iTrader: (41)

Try getting hold of a mod and ask them to send him a message. Sounds like yet another scam to me though, sorry and hope it works out in the end for ya man

racer1812

iTrader: (31)

Can't do anything if I don't know who I'm dealing with....

scooter1

Racer1812, I sent you a pm and I really appreciate any help you're able to provide. @tzap I've contacted a mod and was told to post here, apparently there's nothing they can do. Thanks for the input guys!!

racer1812

iTrader: (31)

I sent him a PM with a link to this thread in it.


2 guys with low post count to join dates, both with 0..ZERO feedback scores do a trade..


I do trades.....for CASH

I don't who the mod is that you contacted but they are right, there is really nothing we can do for your situation. Other than sending them a PM.

scooter1

As far as having no feedback, this was my first transaction of any sort on rctech, sort of stands to reason that I wouldn't have any. Kinda getting a "too bad" sort of vibe from the mods. I was hoping to maybe get some advice from someone who had been in this situation before. I don't mean to sound like a dick but I'm just getting no where fast.

racer1812

iTrader: (31)

Trades require a huge amount of trust from both sides.......normally based on trader ratings. Which both of you have zero. You took a 100% shot in the dark in dealing with this guy and it seems he may have burned you.

I have no idea what your options, if any, are for recourse. Others may have some ideas.

Marcos.J

iTrader: (239)

Jwhitning forward me a pm reference this , I told him to pm you and tell you that there is nothing we can do, we as moderator do not really get involved in deals on rc tech we as moderators cannot tell or make someone send,anything or refund anything.

scooter1

Yes I understand that mods on this site are helpless/powerless in these situations. I didn't suspect that anyone was just lying to me and not wanting to do anything. Like I said, at this point I was hoping maybe another member who had experienced this could maybe tell me what they did in their situation to get it resolved.

LaTuFu

iTrader: (18)

There have been so many threads with similar circumstances, the experienced members will tell you never do trades with anyone you don't know, and never buy or ship first to someone with no feedback.

It's tough in your situation because you have 0 feedback, too. If it were me in your shoes, I would have looked to purchase the item outright, from a member with established feedback.

That's basically the advice you would have gotten from the beginning. Good luck, I hope you get your item.

marvinbeaverdip

iTrader: (36)

Well, I don't think there's any point to telling the OP what he "should" have done. Obviously it's a mistake he wouldn't make again.
To the OP- The one thing that you DO have is his address, and most likely his real name. If he was really smart he would have used a fake name and an address to deliver to that wasn't his own, but it seems like most scammers on here aren't that smart. They always leave some sort of trail. Try searching for his name or just the last name in his local white pages. If he's a kid, he may not be listed but you may find a parent with a matching address. There are also services where you can just look up the address and find out who lives at it. Start with a phone call there. I wouldn't contact his local PD until it's a sure thing he's actually not planning to send. We've had plenty of scammed people on here get some action by telling their parents on them.

hotrod87

iTrader: (252)

Very good and helpfully advice given here.

MR.TRAXXAS

iTrader: (31)

+1

Marcos.J

iTrader: (239)

Is not that we are helpless , is that we cannot use our powers to persuade someone to refund ,sell,or ship anything that is not our job, but what we could do is eliminate the for sale section of rc tech and that should clear up all of these problems with scams. My best advised is either buy from your local hobby store, or just do trades and sales in your area.

Kylar

iTrader: (187)

You post this response in pretty much every thread like this. Either eliminate the for sale section already(if you even have the power to do so), or if it bothers you that much to deal with these problems, maybe you should stop being involved.