redteg1

so it turns out that i had this one guy interested in buying my car. the only difference is that there was also a middleman involved. supposedly he is an agent who is going thru the transaction hassles for his client (the buyer). for sum odd reason he confirmed that the buyer wanted to buy the car. the buyer lives in england.
all the strange things started happening when the buyer sent a $14,000 check made out to my mom..before i declared my final price. so then i said i would let my car go for $6500. the catch is...my mom would have to send back the difference to refund $7500 minus the amount to western union transfer back to england which is about 400 dollars back to the buyer. keeping in mind that i have never talked to this guy or the buyer...all of this communication going on thru emails only.
and after all the hassles, today he sends us an email saying that the guy has medical issues lately and needs all the money back to use for medical reason and rehabilitation. my question is....he sent the money over and my mom PHYSICALLY received it and put it into her account while sending back his 7500 minus the cost to transfer. he replied in a email sayin he talked to both his lawyer and the buyers' family lawyer and they have offered to pay us 10% of the original sale price. and that they really need the funds back and decided that they are no longer going to pick up the car for shipment. meanwhile my car is sitting in the parking lot. i told my mom to tell them we are not going to send teh money back and just wil wait for them to pick up the car as originally stated. btw no written agreement was signed but the money was made out in the form of a check to my mom and all the email agreements have been made. could i be running into any legal issues if i refuse the refund?

APEX CRX

dude thats sounds like a ****'in scam to me. I'd say **** you come and get the car or see me in person. I mean wtf is that? send double the money and then send back half etc etc? I say keep the money, keep the car until its a deal and get title ready to transfer. I might be coming off rude but hey I'm the ******* tailgating you. LOL

JeffS

The whole overpayment thing sounds like an internet scam to me. I would never have deposited the original check. Now that you have though, I'm not sure how I would handle it.

xvietxkhmerxboix

I dont know much about transfering that kind of money or wat other infor was stated in the emails, but from what your telling us it does seem kinda weird that he sends a check for $14,000 when you only wanted $6,500 but hey stuff does come up but this seems kinda fishy just keep the money. And get rdy to transfer owner ship to them. And if they need the money that bad just tell them to sell the car or do watever they please. Thats my .02 cents

payyourtoll

who the hell sends $14,000 dollars based solely on email communication, and never even meeting a sales price? a S C A M M E R does, that's who.

watch your back Jack

redteg1

yes well even as fishy as it sounds...the check HAS BEEN CLEARED! now we just have the money he wants back...im thinkin UHHH NO! ...

PhatboyNYC

What you described it a common scam going around. It's not totally clear from what you wrote, but did your mom already send back the first $7500? If not, don't send ANYTHING back yet. If my guess is correct, that $14,000 check will eventually bounce. Here's why:

From how the scam normally works, someone usually from out of the country emails you claiming interest in your car (this happens a lot on Ebay). They tell you that they'll send you $xxxxx, usually way more than what you were asking and give you a bullshit reason for doing so. They then ask you to send them back or wire into an off shore account, the difference. The check that they sent you eventually bounces and you're out whatever refund you sent them. Ultimately, they don't even give a **** about your car, they just want your money.

PhatboyNYC

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by redteg1 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">yes well even as fishy as it sounds...the check HAS BEEN CLEARED! now we just have the money he wants back...im thinkin UHHH NO! ...</TD></TR></TABLE>

EDIT: I posted after I read this. You should verify with your bank that the check has indeed cleared and all the funds are ready for withdrawal. Sometimes, banks will initially clear a check only to bounce it later when they actually try to collect from the issuer.

2trix

this is a scam and you just help this ******* launder stolen money! the guy does not care about the car..this chk will bounce and you will be in a pickle with the bank...dont send any money back..you shouldnt of even cashed the chk..everything about this is fishy...

APEX CRX

exactly thats what I've heard too. obviously sending back the difference should of tipped you off but yeah call the ******* bank and check the funds are available! if not better tell your mom to stop payment asap if she wrote a check

stageup

damn u just got owned, this is a common scam, and it's to bad you already sent the "difference" back to him, because the check WILL BOUNCE. it will take about 3-4 weeks for the bank to notify you that it was no good, so you are assed out of 7500 it looks like, lesson learned, good luck next time.

iadubber

Ouch! This is a scam that's going around. It's happend to some people on streetsourcemag.com and ALOT on Ebay. Looks like you are out of luck now. You should've knew something was up tho.