posted on March 15, 2001 09:12:40 AM
It finally happened to me. I bought a Palm via "buy it now" on ebay and I payed via billpoint and have not received it or any more communication. The seller has gone underground and I can't get in touch with him. Other who have bought from him have also emailed me stating they are getting the same experience. He now has five NEG feedbacks in a row and changed his email and can't be contacted. It has been under 30 days so ebay won't let me file the fraud charge yet. The item was $300 and I think ebay states it's insurance is only up to $175. Has anyone else had to go through the ebay fraud system and also can I dispute the charge on my credit card when billpoint bills me? Thanks!
posted on March 15, 2001 09:15:29 AM
Contact your credit card company, and email [email protected] & let them know what happened.
If you are suspicious of any Billpoint transaction, contact Billpoint at
[email protected].
posted on March 15, 2001 10:23:38 AM
Have you tried calling the seller? I couldn't tell by your post that you had tried that yet. I've had to do that on two occasions, and it worked both times. If the seller has truly gone underground, then I suppose that won't help. Here is the link to get the seller's phone number and address (unfortunately no mailing address):
posted on March 15, 2001 12:18:59 PM
If you paid by credit card, you're probably safe but if you charge back, you might never be able to use Billpoint again (I dont know how they handle it.) For more info on how it works, visit What the payment services dont want you to know
posted on March 15, 2001 01:57:56 PM
I read your link and some of the information that you gave is not true.
You write on your site:
"As a buyer:
Don't be in a hurry to charge something back. Credit card companies don't like accounts that charge back too much. You may
find that when the card expires, they will not re-issue. And since your credit history is available, other companies may not want
your business. You can probably always get a card, but it might be with a company that has poor service and high interest
rates. So if you are happy with the card you have, try to keep your record clean."
According to Experian and Equifax if a company does not reissue your card there is nothing negative noted about that on your credit report and it does not affect your ability to get credit cards for any reason. According to Experian a card that isn't reissued does not show up as anything other than a credit card that has expired. As long as the holder has paid his debt in full nothing negative is in the report.
In fact having one less card can help a persons credit. The less debt potential you have the more like lenders are to approve you for car and house loans.
Several of my friends and family members work in the banking industry and the credit industry. They all said that a card that isn't reissued does not affect your ability to get credit cards of any sort.
edited cause i can't get html to work.
[ edited by shop4shoes on Mar 15, 2001 02:01 PM ]
posted on March 15, 2001 05:06:15 PM
shop4shoes: I got my information from an officer who works for one of the largest credit card banks in NY. Because of the way the laws are written, there are things that banks are not *supposed* to take into account. But that doesn't guarantee that they won't. Years ago when I got my first credit cards, I kept changing companies based on the deals they offered (get $20 back, get 1% back) and thus after a few years, I had a spotty history of having several credit cards for a year each. I was turned down for a mortgage and the broker told me that the history probably had something to do with it. This despite the fact that none of the cards had a balance due.
The point I was trying to make is that no business (and credit cards are a business) like customers who complain too much. It is the credit card company that decides whether or not to allow a charge back. If you charge back too often, the credit card company might start ruling against you. Again, they are not *supposed* to take this into account.
In general, you get more things accomplished when you act responsibly. People who are too quick to fire off nasty letters, leave negative feedback, stop payments on checks or issue charge backs tend to have more problems that those who don't.
posted on March 15, 2001 09:00:02 PM
CC Companies ALSO dislike SELLERS who have too many chargebacks...Visa and MC started keeping track last year, and if a merchant has too many charge backs, their usage will be suspended, and they could also face fines.
As far as not having any $$ on your cards, and the bank turning down a mortgage...Mortgage Lenders often look at "Potential Debt" when considering an applicant...If a person has $20,000 credit limit on several different cards, this is a red flag for POSSIBLE future problems.
Keith
I assume full responsibility for my actions, except
the ones that are someone else's fault.
posted on March 15, 2001 09:38:37 PM
Well... Here's what I'd do. By all means report it to safe harbor & billpoint.
I would ask Billpoint where the "sellers" bank account is. What bank? Call that bank.
See if that bank can get YOU (and the others ripped off) a statement showing the deposits made, dates etc. Take that along with "formal complaints" preferably written well, perhaps by an attorney for the writing challenged and send it off with a complaint form to their states attorney general, your state attorney generals, perhaps the FTC and if you can again find the information (like in what county. city, state the individual OPENED that bank account from (a branch office someplace perhaps) and send a copy of it all off to the sellers "hopeful" locale district attorneys offices.
In cases of fraud you can often get faster results via local authority than state authority.
As to issuance of a dispute of charges law states you can only be held libel for $50. However, your contract with your bank might very well have inclusion that the card (especially credit cards) are not to be used to pay ANYONE but a qualified merchant for goods. As with PayPal I presume "Billpoint" is the merchant. In other words your seller did NOT process the credit card. You cant generally go to the bank that issued the card and say "Can you perform this charge for my Palm Pilot and deposit it in some account" they wont do it.
A merchant, Walmart, restuarant, gas station, Amazon.com have merchant accounts. THey qualified for them. Since your seller was not an "authorized merchant" you bank is libel to go tough bannana's and then some. Some consider payment of third parties to be a breach of the cardholders contract and subject to fines, loss of credit, balances due called in. It really depends on the cardholders contract. They are much more serious about credit cards as thats their money, not yours. Their contract is with you, not with Billpoint or that seller.
The best thing to do is call your bank cardholders services and just ask them "is it ok for me to use my card to pay one party but the actual goods I am buying are from another".
If they say sure, then dispute the charge. If they say "No, it can only be used with qualified merchants" or something to that effect dont dispute it as odds are they wont honor the dispute, they'll deem it as a breach of the cardholders contract in which case you will loose the dispute anyway but at least you wont get whacked for the breach if thats what they consider it.
