I think I just got robbed..

[Amigamia]

Hello guys,

I spotted an Amiga 500 on craigslist about a month ago in Greensboro NC which is about 2 ½ hours away from where I live (Chesapeake VA). I used to own one when I was a teenager, but had to sell it. I have always loved the 500 out of all the other Amigas so when I saw it, I want to own one again to have those memories back.

I asked the seller if he was willing to ship it if I paid for the S&H. He agreed and we decided on a price of $50 for the unit and $20 for the shipping and handling. I asked for a form of payment but the fastest one was via MoneyGram. I sent him the payment but since then he has not sent the unit, nor is he returning my calls. It has been almost a month but he is not returning my calls. I have his address and all the e-mail exchange log. Now my question is (maybe someone here is a lawyer). Do I start legal action? Is it worth it? I mean this is so sad that he steals $70, when I have his phone number, email address, home address and facebook page. What do you guys think?

I guess I learned my lesson about sending money like this to un-trusted people and I decided to buy an eMac 1.25Ghz on eBay for $29.94, which I plan on using with MorphOS, but that is story for another post.

[Amigamia]

LOL good one TJ but I don't know any ninjutsu or any other utsu form of martial arts. I am Italian so I guess I could give him an offer he can't refuse right? I could drive there and drop a horse's head in his bed.

It is actually 4 1/2 hours not 2 like I thought it was, but that would cost me more money to drive there. I know his location and places on the net so I'll just keep squeaking and hopefully this wheel gets some oil.

[Amigamia]

Hmmmm good ones guys. Thanks! I thought I was out of luck since the money was sent via Moneygram and have literally no receipt. I do however have all the email correspondence from him giving me the price, his home address, his phone number etc. I am going to wait till the end of the month and leave him a message telling him my plan of action.

[Amigamia]

All  this discussion is pointless.
You lost the money.
Driving there and confronting him or doing something to him would not make up the loss to you, would cost you to get there, and might lead to more trouble than you already have.
You don't really have a criminal case. Even though he took advantage of you, all you have is a civil case. Filing a lawsuit for that and traveling to the court proceedings would cost you more than you would recover.
Plus you might no even win the case. Can he claim the unit was shipped via USPS and that you didn't receive it? If so, you might not have a case.

$50.00 for a functional Amiga? You probably should have looked at that with a grain of salt. The funny thing is you can get an Emac on Ebay for about that. And if you're defrauded you can get your money back.

Swallow your  pride, Admit that you didn't make a good decision and buy the Mac.

I did! Didn't you read my initial post saying: I guess I learned my lesson from sending money to untrusted people and bought an eMac for $29 on eBay?

I understand perfectly your points and trust me, I am not going to waste more money around this moron. However, I am not going to be silent. I am going to make noise, and so loud that he'll have to change his phone number. I may not have a case as you say but fact is that he has my money and I don't have my unit. He is not replying to me anymore and that is suspicious. If I want to build a case I think I have enough evidence to show that I got robbed but I am on the same page as you, it would require more money which I don't want to spend right now. I took the risk because it was $70 and I lost them but there is got to be a way to make him payback and that's what I am after. So for now I am just going to make noise and we'll see where it goes...

[Amigamia]

You now have a name and address to use on all those spam sites!:lol:

and email address!

Exactly!!!! Great minds think alike ;-)

[Amigamia]

I just contacted an old friend of mine who lives about 1hr south of Greensboro. I am considering to have him drive there (I'll give him the gas money) and pickup my Amiga 500 + the $20 that I paid for shipping and have my friend send it to me. That is all if he is willing to do it... this is getting interesting. I just can't swallow the fact that this moron took the $70 especially when I told him that I was buying as a collectible because it had a sentimental value. Unbelievable!!!

[Amigamia]

Seriously, the correct thing to do is to contact *your* local police with all the info first.  They will call the appropriate police dept. in his/her area and will likely open a case.

Cool! I will do that, but for now I am going to try pick the item up (I'll ask a friend who lives closer) and if things go sour from there then I'll contact the local police.

[Amigamia]

Seriously, nobody's going to rob you and risk a fraud conviction and a criminal record for $50.  They could make that working a couple of hours in McDonalds.  It's risk vs reward.

It's probably just lost or delayed in the mail and the guy can't be bothered chasing it up for such a small amount of money.

True! That's a possibility. Believe me, I have thought of several reasons for it but what does it take to say it? He never replied saying: I sent it, It's in the mail, or whatever. I paid him and it all stopped. How can I assume that it is in the mail when he never confirmed it nor I have received the unit. Come on!! I must be smarter than that and not be so naive either.

I haven't done anything yet. I am trying to send a trusted friend who lives closer so I can secure the item first. If my friend goes there, knocks on the door and then I still get denied what is mine, then it will be the confirmation that I got robbed and proceed accordingly.

[Amigamia]

Wow this gets even more interesting. Now a friend of mine who lives about 60 miles from Greensboro is not answering to my question about going physically there to pick it up. On the other hand I actually found this guy on Facebook. Thinking that he wouldn't reply on Facebook either, I contacted two of the people who had his last name. I got a hold of his sister in law and his own brother and these are the responses:

Sister-in-law:

"i do not know how to contact him. sorry."

Brother:

"Vince,

He has a Facebook page as well. I don't really talk to him all that much and don't want to be involved in this. If you feel he has scammed you or has acted in an illegal manner, I suggest you take it up with the police.

Good luck in resolving this."

What an amazing family scam!!  All for $70 and an old Amiga 500.

Who's up for a reward? Who wants to be a bounty hunter?

[Amigamia]

I would not view this as a family scam.  How many dudes would readily suggest you call the police on their own brother?  It sounds more likely to me that these folks know he is a bit shady and don't want to be involved.  Would you want to call your brother about this if he was the type that probably steals from your wife's jewelry box when he is over for Thanksgiving dinner every year?

HUH? What are you talking about? I didn't call the police on his own brother. I figured I would find another way to relay the message to him since he is not acknowledging my calls/emails. I kindly asked the brother to relay the message that I want my Amiga 500. Sounds like this person has a bit of a shady background if his own brother doesn't want to deal with it and is suggesting to call the police. I didn't know this until today which confirms that this guy is a scammer but a poor one because he left info about him all over internet.

[Amigamia]

@Amigamia

Did you contact the police in his town yet?  If it is a small town they might actually bother to take a ride over to his house to inquire.  Even if they don't do anything it might help the next guy he rips off.

Do you really believe that the police is going to knock on his door? Come on! Get real!

[Amigamia]

Did you file a complaint with eBay? Start the dispute process?

Unfortunately it was done via eBay. It was a purchase from craigslist via MoneyGram. Was only $70 but a double robbery because it was an Amiga computer.