Word of warning (Escrow)

w_ellis · Post by **w_ellis** » Tue Jul 23, 2002 5:21 am

Having agreed a deal to buy a Pulsar II with Propack for $850, the seller requested that we use Escrow for added security. This I agreed to, as I understand that some people can be nervous about internet transactions. We then signed up to a transaction, with the Escrow fee of $50 being split equally between us and me paying the shipping costs.

Unfortunately, the seller decided he was unhappy with the transaction for various reasons, which initially seemed to stem from not wanting to wait too long for his money. He then contacted me to inform me that he wished to cancel the transaction. After refusing my offer to pay the $40 in order to have the money wired directly to his account, it became obvious that the seller was no longer interested in the transaction.

I contacted Escrow to cancel the transaction at which point I was informed that I was now responsible for all the fees for the transaction (i.e. $50). The rest of the money has been returned to my credit card today and I have lost £80 (GBP) on the transaction. This is due to fluctuations in exchange rates etc.

Anyway, my advice to anyone considering an Escrow transaction is to be very careful that the terms have been properly agreed and you are confident that both parties wish to complete the transaction. Also read the terms and conditions on Escrow's site very carefully, as they are not very clear on cancellation.

All in all I have lost £85 (135 US Dollars including extra interest charges), plus over a month of chasing a pointless transaction.

I hope this information will help other people avoid getting into a similar situation.

Cheers,
Will

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: w_ellis on 2002-07-23 06:22 ]</font>

topaz · Post by **topaz** » Wed Jul 24, 2002 3:19 pm

a real shame to hear that..

but the guy wasnt doing you any real favours anyway//. pulsar11 comes with the propack anyway in most new cases..

you can find such deals right here in the uk in loot/sos

I hope you get sorted..

topaz

On 2002-07-23 06:21, w_ellis wrote:
Having agreed a deal to buy a Pulsar II with Propack for $850, the seller requested that we use Escrow for added security. This I agreed to, as I understand that some people can be nervous about internet transactions. We then signed up to a transaction, with the Escrow fee of $50 being split equally between us and me paying the shipping costs.

Unfortunately, the seller decided he was unhappy with the transaction for various reasons, which initially seemed to stem from not wanting to wait too long for his money. He then contacted me to inform me that he wished to cancel the transaction. After refusing my offer to pay the $40 in order to have the money wired directly to his account, it became obvious that the seller was no longer interested in the transaction.

I contacted Escrow to cancel the transaction at which point I was informed that I was now responsible for all the fees for the transaction (i.e. $50). The rest of the money has been returned to my credit card today and I have lost £80 (GBP) on the transaction. This is due to fluctuations in exchange rates etc.

Anyway, my advice to anyone considering an Escrow transaction is to be very careful that the terms have been properly agreed and you are confident that both parties wish to complete the transaction. Also read the terms and conditions on Escrow's site very carefully, as they are not very clear on cancellation.

All in all I have lost £85 (135 US Dollars including extra interest charges), plus over a month of chasing a pointless transaction.

I hope this information will help other people avoid getting into a similar situation.

Cheers,
Will

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: w_ellis on 2002-07-23 06:22 ]</font>

remixme · Post by **remixme** » Wed Jul 24, 2002 5:26 pm

If this was done over ebay, I hope you gave him negative feedback, or threaten him to if he doesn't pay the full amount, he backed out, it should be his obligation to pay, also this sort of behaviour should be reported to ebay, if however it was a private sale, just feel free to ignore this.

w_ellis · Post by **w_ellis** » Wed Jul 24, 2002 5:33 pm

Yeah, private sale unfortunately! Missed out on the Creamware deal in the process as well, which was a shame. Still, we live and learn!

I'm holding out for a decent UK deal now. Seems that the international thing isn't always that reliable. Having said that I had a great buy from Australia recently, so maybe it's not all bad.