A TEENAGER was
left without help after becoming a victim of internet fraud. Daniel Baldwin sold his iPad on eBay but did not get the money for it after posting to an address provided by the so-called buyer.
And, in a separate incident, reader John Appleby bought a phone later found to have been stolen.
Both said they felt abandoned by eBay and its online payment system PayPal. Daniel, 19, of Darlington, told me how things went wrong after he sent the iPad to an eBay user.
He said: "I was contacted by the buyer and he asked for the iPad to be sent by special delivery that night so he could get it the following day.
"He sent the address by email and I sent it to that address on my way home from work."
Daniel's dad Andrew said: "The following day my son checked his PayPal account as he had transferred pounds 395 into his bank account. He discovered his PayPal account was -pounds 395 as PayPal had taken taken the payment back. After contacting...." PayPal we discovered the buyer's account had been hacked into.
"Someone had purchased the iPad fraudulently and, because Daniel had sent the machine to an address other than the shipping address, PayPal protection would not cover him for the loss of the iPad or the loss of the money which he had to pay back.
"We have had numerous conversations with PayPal who just repeat the script in front of them and refuse to help in any way. Even though the mistake was Daniel's he was only being helpful to the 'buyer' in dispatching the iPad quickly."
Andrew said police agreed a crime had taken place but there was insufficient evidence to proceed with a court case.
A spokeswoman for PayPal admitted fraud could happen on accounts.
Some protection for innocent users of the system was in place, she said, but rules had to be followed.
She said: "Mr Baldwin received a PayPal payment for an iPad he sold on eBay. Shortly after the payment was made it was flagged by PayPal as potentially unauthorised and Mr Baldwin was sent an email advising him not to post the item until the case had been investigated. "Unfortunately Mr Baldwin had already sent the item to the buyer.
"The payment was later found to have been made by an unauthorised third party and was therefore reversed from Mr Baldwin's account for being fraudulent.
"His transaction was covered by PayPal's Seller Protection programme provided he followed the terms for protection which include only posting to the address specified by PayPal.
"Mr Baldwin sent the iPad to a different address and as such the payment is not covered by the Seller Protection policy and PayPal is unable to issue a refund for the payment."
to She said that as long as the criteria for protection were met, PayPal customers would always be covered regardless of whether the payment made to them had been made by an unauthorised person.
a Meanwhile John Appleby, 32, of Wallsend, North Tyneside, said a phone he bought from a seller on eBay was stolen.
He said: "When I first received the phone it was in full working order and I was very happy with my purchase.
a "I used it as an everyday phone for a month until it failed to register on my network. I was told the phone may have been stolen and was now blacklisted.
as "I reported it to Northumbria Police who said it was a civil matter and they could not get involved.
"Ebay and PayPal said it was out of a 45-day time period and rejected my claim. Now all I have is an eBay receipt for a phone that does not work."
to A spokesman for PayPal said they were investigating but, at the time of writing, have not come back with a statement on John's case.
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