What do I do if someone rips me off on the forums

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Mrwhitetailfanatic said:
So there is no legal action I can take from state to state?
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Depends on the details of the case. As the members above have suggested, you should post the facts in the GBU forum. You will likely get a great deal of advice and support there from experienced members who are used to dealing with these situations.
 
Yeah, like the others said, post something in the GBU forum and if you paid by money order.. AND saved your receipt, the post office can go after them somewhat... I have been ripped off by one person here.. He has since been banned and hopefully is paying for it somehow.

Here's the guy that ripped me and one other person off:

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/814926-Help.-DowntownDM?highlight=downtowndm

Reading through some of the responses might give some insight, gl!
 
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i know how you feel. i was ripped off also by a member on the forum a few years ago. i hope you get your issue resolved.
 
You can warn others, and try to get your money back if you used PayPal (regular, NOT gift option/money owed).
Other than that, I don't know. I'm in the middle of what seems to be a bad deal, and I don't see much I can do.
It has soured me on the whole intenet knife community now though, that's for sure. I won't be trading with anyone anymore, or buying from individuals I cannot meet with in person. I don't have the cash to throw away on bad deals.:(
 
There are definitely things you can, and cannot do in this situation.

--Regarding criminal action, it's probably unlikely. Keep in mind that most of the knives dealt with here are under the limit that sets petty crime (i.e. under $400 or $500).

--If you have delivery confirmation and receipts, you can contact the po regarding mail fraud. No reports from anyone that's tried that yet, so no track record.

--You can contact Paypal. Probably the most effective, because their pros take over.


Here on the forums, on the other hand, you have a lot more clout. Post what happened and the name of the offending party. Follow up on advice given. Pm the mods seeking help. At minumum you might get the person banned from doing business here, which is a victory unto itself. In one case, a custom knife maker's conduct was so bad, hhis name is defamed around the internet.

Just fyi, I was also ripped off, although for a fairly low cost knife. Even then, it was incredibly aggravating. For the record, I have continued trading and selling, with perfect results.

For the case mentioned above, see: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/824351-Shame-on-you-Jim-Adams. This is the grandaddy of nightmares, and you can see what happened to both parties.

Good luck.
 
Keep the pressure on any (ethical) way you can. And let this person know what actions you are taking. I had a deal go bad a number of months ago but with some forum member's help and advice I actually got the knife I paid for and a PayPal refund at the same time. It took about two months of staying on the individual I purchased from. Once receiving the knife, I had to refund the PayPal money back to the seller. With a forum member's generous help, I was able to determine where he lived, his phone number, and where his mother lived and her phone number. I placed a couple of non-threatening calls to her asking her only to forward my messages - and she did. So sometimes their immediate family might help. Just realize they are not responsible for his actions. I let him know that I was proceeding with a PayPal claim, a United States Postal Service claim, an internet fraud claim (FBI), and since I knew where he lived, a local police call. (I'm a bit anal when it comes to getting ripped off). I think the fact that he had some drug and rehab issues, the possibility of being contacted by the police, and him knowing I was very serious got me the results. Like other forum members recommended to me, stay with it. If it's worth your time and effort, explore every ethical and legal angle you can to get some leverage. I would advise you not stoop to pointless threats and derogatory language in your dealings with him. I'm sure others will or have said that for future transactions, check out a person's activities and history here on the Blade Forums. I don't do a lot of buying or selling and was a bit gun shy after that experience but have not had any problems since. The overwhelming majority of the folks here are great to do business with. If you're unsure about a situation, try asking a few more questions and see how you feel about the responses. Good luck! Mike
 
Kill Them?

Sorry, just read the Title and couldnt resist. Although a Short Drop and a sudden stop is what should happen to thieves right?
 
Post it here but make sure you got all your facts straight beforehand. If you don't you die first
 
In my experience, post as much information here about what went wrong. I had the same problem on another forum. It was an "Equal Value" trade. Only the other persons version of a BNIB knife and mine were unfortunately different and I got a POS that was definitely hard carried and dropped a few times.

A few suggestions would be to let them know that you were short changed and to hold up their end of the deal or sell their reputation for a (Probably) small dollar amount.

If you cant get in contact with them, post the details of the would be transaction if everything went smoothly, and what ended up happening. Continue trying to cantact them. If after a few days you get no response, contact them one last time pointing them to the GBU forum page and let them know that if within a reasonable amount of time, you dont hear from them, you will post any information you have of him which would probably end up being a username, address, city, potentially a personal email, and potentially a phone number in these forums. If the dollar amount is worth fighting for, get legal action. just make sure they intentionally screwed you first.

I had a guy I traded with send his knife to me. On the way to the post office to hold up my end of the deal, I got in a car accident that put me out of commission for a time. He was getting testy, but I was able to get word that I had been "Delayed" in getting him his knife before any harm was done and he was very understanding. Dont rule out a mistake before getting the facts straight with him.

That is all the rambling I have.
 
Mrwhitetailfanatic said:
Basically I didnt get what I traded for
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You should look around the subforum this thread resides in to get some examples of what you need to do. Nobody is going to spend much trying to help you if the only information you provide is "Basically I didnt get what I traded for."
 
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