What to do with untrusty users..

[Monty]

I did a swap with someone, I sent them the package, about three weeks later, nothing came to my end, the recipient said that he never got my parcel. So after much discussion with him, he said that his mate 'works' at Royal Mail, and he would tell him to track it.

Many weeks after that, no contact from him, the only time he'd contact me back if I were to say 'have you found it yet?' then he'd reply the same thing over and over again; "will tell him tomorrow"

I've just given up on him, he could've stolen it, Royal Mail could've messed it up. I have no wish to contact him again, but if you were in my shoes, what would you do?

 

[TPI]

Tell Dev (Even though I'd Name and Shame as he seems to just be avoiding it) and threaten legal Preceding's and alway's send Tracked Royal Mail

 

[Richard65]

Certainly you should put the details on the feedback section with his name etc. Just say that it seemed to have got lost in the post and he is not being very helpful - no slander there but might prevent it happening again if he is pulling a fast one.

It would have been best to send it recorded delivery or at least get a `proof of posting'. How much was it worth? You can put in a claim against Royal Mail for lost items.

Might be worth telling him you are going to lodge a claim against Royal mail and need a letter from him confirming the package has not arrived. He should be quite willing to provide that.

 

[Airsoft-Ed]

Do you know the guy's real name?

'Cos you could potentially post that without giving away his forum username, a sort of name and shame, but not... If that makes sense? If I think a person seems dodgy I'll always try to get their real name before I consider going ahead with a sale. Often people offer their name and phone number without me even having to ask, which I take as the sign of an honest seller/buyer/trader.

If the above suggestions from Richard yield no results then tell him - it doesn't have to be a threat - you'll report him on the forums. This will make sales difficult for him, at least on these forums.

If he isn't willing to co-operate with you, then I don't see why you shouldn't name and shame, it'll be entirely his own fault for crossing you in the first place. Karma's a bitch and all that.

Make sure you're certain he isn't conning you first though.

To be honest, his attitude of "I'll ask tomorrow" every day, seems very suspicious to me. Is it really so hard to ask a mate for a general favour? It takes all of 30 seconds via Facebook or text message.

 

[kungfumonkey]

i know its not helping but what do people think to asking for a deposit from the person you are doing the swap with even if its say 50% of the total value of your item then when there package turns up you send them the cash back i know if i was asked to do that i wouldnt mind

 

[TPI]

Most folk do a swap because they don't have the cash for it but I know if I had the money and the other person did the same thing I wouldn't mind

 

[Suzuki Yamamoto]

Just a couple of tips when doing transactions with other forum users you may not know of....

When you have been supplied a name, address and contact number (Always try and get a landline number), you can use these details to conduct a search via 192.com or BT.com (This will obviously only work for UK residents).

If the details all match up then you have a better indication to go ahead with your transaction. If it does'nt match up, then cancel your transaction stating that you do not have confidence with this person to perform the transaction and respectfully decline.

Performing these searches is completely free of charge and are there for public use.

These are not specific rules of this forum, these are just things that I would do before transacting via any forum.

Hope you find these tips helpful.

 

[Richard65]

i know its not helping but what do people think to asking for a deposit from the person you are doing the swap with even if its say 50% of the total value of your item then when there package turns up you send them the cash back i know if i was asked to do that i wouldnt mind

Click to shrink...

I would have thought that if you agree a swap then both sides should send their bit at the same time. From the original post it looks as if one side to the deal decided not to send their bit until they had received the goods. Sounds like he is either a con merchant or at least not very trusting.

If they agreed to send each other 50% of the value as security then they either send each other £10, £20 etc which cancels out or one guy just says "sorry your money has not arrived so I will not send mine".

I read the other day about a guy who has ripped people of for thousands. He replied to wanted ads saying he had what they wanted and then took the money and failed to answer calls/emails. Probably harder to do with guns as people would want some photos first but would we ask for photos of smaller items?

It surprised me how many people register on the forum and immediately put guns up for sale. They are probably all nice, genuine airsofters but I would tend to be cautious about buying from them. I would be far more comfortable buying from someone who has been on the forum for a few months and had a number of posts offering advice.

 

[Ian_Gere]

I'd simply explain exactly what happened, without any adjectives/adverbs to indicate an opinion as to the trustworthiness of the person, on the feedback pages. So list the dates of all your emails and his replies, plus the gist of what was said, from the original deal right up to date. After that, in a new paragraph starting with "in my opinion", say how you feel/what you think his behaviour amounts to.

That then cannot be construed as libel (slander would be a false accusation made whilst talking about it f2f; it's libel when it's published). As for getting something back out of the deal, go right ahead with the claim against Royal Mail, assuming you have the receipt from when you posted the package. You should be able to get up to £46 back. If this bloke will not cooperate with you, add that to your feedback and then... sadly, your only other recourse is the police.

It may be worth trying to figure out where he skirmishes and find other forum members who may know him IRL - if he has your item at a skirmish, you'll have evidence of theft.