Justice for lorry driver conned in trainer sales scam – The Crusader

But living up to the spirit of the season payments service PayPal stepped in immediately to refund Paul Brown with a goodwill credit after Crusader got in touch. 

Paul has got his £200 back and, thanks to that, even more perhaps in the years to come.

++ If you’ve been affected by this issue or feel you’ve been a victim of injustice, please contact consumer champion Maisha Frost on maisha.frost@express.co.uk ++;

The lorry driver asked for Crusader’s help after buying the new shoes last May from a private seller.

“I’ve got big feet, find it hard sometimes to find my size 12 and this seller, who was in the US, seemed to have plenty of pairs in larger sizes and lots of customers, so I thought he was all right,” Paul explained.

“The tracking information then said because of the hot weather delivery would be delayed – no date given. I kept trying to contact the seller with no reply until late August I asked eBay for help, and the seller then said he had used an eBay international shipping service.

“Tracking information – if it was true – showed the trainers were in Germany. But they never arrived.”

Even though his case had been closed Paul tried again about a refund. “This time I was told I had to put in a manual request and I tried a couple more times but with no joy,” he said.

“In November I had another go and this time an advisor directed me to PayPal but by then I was outside its 180-day time limit.”

There is no trace now of Paul’s seller on the marketplace. An eBay spokesperson said:

“We are sorry to hear of [his] recent experience but are pleased that the issue has been resolved. We offer protection to buyers under the eBay Money Back Guarantee. 

“In rare cases such as this, when the item is not delivered by the estimated delivery date, the buyer has 30 days to contact the seller and ask them to resolve the situation. If the seller does not rearrange delivery, send a new item, or provide a refund, then we will step in to make sure the buyer doesn’t lose out.”

Amid difficult times the struggle to keep on top of everything can often be too much. That makes it even easier for people to get conned. In Paul’s case that factor played a part but he was also lured into giving the seller the benefit of the doubt until they could get off scot-free. 

“My message to others is ‘never delay, act’,” he declares.

• For more information about eBay Money Back Guarantee, visit ebay.co.uk

This case has another silver lining too, because when thinking it all over Paul had come to regret spending such a lot on a pair of trainers. He is now going to put the £200 towards improving his skills and qualifying as fuel tanker driver.

(Paul’s name has been changed)