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  1. #1
    Join Date
    May 2006
    Posts
    261

    File a police report for fraud! How?

    Hello,

    Until recently i was with a company where i had prepaid for 9 months hosting, they decided to kick me off because i weren't satisfied with the terrible customer service they have!

    Anyways, that is a different story, but, i have requested a refund, and as far as i can see, then it does not look like they are willing or is going to provide me with that refund. In total we're talking about $500 USD for the rest of the months i have with them.

    I feel that $500 is a little bit to much to just let it go, so my question is, how do i file a police report against this company to make sure that it's looked into by the authorities? This company is a US based company.

    Thanks,

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Apr 2003
    Location
    San Jose, CA.
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    1,624
    The police are not the correct people to contact regarding this.

    Contact a lawyer and sue them.
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  3. #3
    Join Date
    May 2006
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    261
    I have no intention to sue, and i am not based in the US myself! If the police is not the correct one to contact, then who is?

    This is basicly theft, i assume there is some law against that? (Even in the US ) and there exists some kind of department that handles these kind of incidents?

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Apr 2003
    Location
    San Jose, CA.
    Posts
    1,624
    If you're not seeking damages, then you're just wasting time.

    You can report them to the BBB Better Business Bureau, but they hold no weight and most people don't even care what BBB reports say.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    May 2006
    Posts
    261
    So what your saying is that there is no place to report this kinds of incidents? And that the companies can basicly go on like they want to without answering to some kind of local authorities?

  6. #6
    Quote Originally Posted by Falecto View Post
    So what your saying is that there is no place to report this kinds of incidents? And that the companies can basicly go on like they want to without answering to some kind of local authorities?
    Pretty much...until it gets real obvious that they are screwing people over and have tons and tons of complaints built up.

    How long ago did you pay for the service? Is it within 6 months? If so, you can always issue a chargeback.

    Besides from that, an oversea lawsuit for $500 will be laughable. Not only that, but it will cost a crap load more than $500 just to be seen in court. Worth it? Probably not.
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  7. #7
    Join Date
    May 2006
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    261
    How do you do a chargeback with paypal if it is within 6 months since? I tried to find the option without luck!

  8. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by Falecto View Post
    How do you do a chargeback with paypal if it is within 6 months since? I tried to find the option without luck!
    ooooo consider yourself lucky!

    Locate the transaction in your history. On the transaction detail page, look for this at the bottom:

    Need help? If you have problems with a transaction or would like assistance settling a dispute with your seller, visit the Resolution Center. PayPal strongly recommends attempting to resolve this issue directly with the merchant or seller whenever possible.

    The text Resolution Center will be a link to where you can dispute the charge.

    Paypal is really shifty with their chargebacks though. They only go the route that suits them, and not the customer or seller.

    So if the seller doesnt have any funds in his account to cover the chargeback, your chargeback request will be declined.
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  9. #9
    Join Date
    May 2006
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    261
    Well, the link is not there! But it is def. within 6 months since, actually, the 27th august would be exactly 6months since...

  10. #10
    Falecto, what was the name of this hosting company. I'd recommend writing a review about them to warn others about their unethical way of doing business.

  11. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by Falecto View Post
    Well, the link is not there! But it is def. within 6 months since, actually, the 27th august would be exactly 6months since...
    You better hurry up and contact paypal about it ASAP. It is possible you over-ran their chargeback period
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  12. #12
    Join Date
    May 2006
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    261
    Hmm, are you 100% sure that you are supposed to be able at doing chargebacks within 6 months?

    And, paypal don't handle / resolve virtual goods or?

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Aug 2002
    Location
    United Kingdom
    Posts
    291
    I'd recommend putting a lot of time into trying to come to an agreement with the company in question.

    If you take it from a law perspective, it will cost you a lot of $$$ just to get anywhere in the region of a law suit against them and you will NEED to win any kind of case just in order to claim back your pursual costs.

    If you decide to take this kind of pursuit I can let you know it'll be a long long time before you get anywhere with it due to not being a resident in the country of the company involved. It will also be extremely difficult to organise.

    Take my advice, speak with the company who owes you the money and try to come to an agreement on compensation for premature service cancellation.
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  14. #14
    Join Date
    Feb 2006
    Location
    San Francisco, California
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    469
    Paypal probably won't do anything because of the nature of the goods.

    The only way you'll probably get your $ back if your not US based is by getting it back directly from the company.

    A lawsuit in Small Claims court could work but your not in the USA so it's not really feasible. A lawsuit in regular court isn't realistic and the police probably would say it's a civil issue that you need to settle yourself.
    Larry Bly
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  15. #15
    Join Date
    Jun 2007
    Location
    London, UK
    Posts
    48
    When you used paypal did the funds come from a credit card? If it did talk to them and they will take the money from paypal and then paypal will then take the money from the seller and if they dont have the funds it will show up as a minus number the they will receive letters from debt collectors. This happened to a friend of my recently and when he asked paypal how can he get away with this Paypal replied something along the lines 'Its a chargeback from the card company, we can't do anything about it'

    Good Luck!
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  16. #16
    Join Date
    May 2006
    Posts
    261
    No, it was not a credit card, but Paypal funds!

    I have looked a bit into how the lawsuits works and how it would be proceed with me in a different country. And if it come's that far, then i am pretty sure that i have a solid case, it's extremely simple, i paid for 9 months, recieved 5, they owe me for 4!

    Are you guys seriosly saying that there is no department or some kind of law enforcement in the US where this can be reported and they would look further into it? It's basicly theft, like if someone would steal your wallet. I can't believe that the only way is to actually sue them!

  17. #17
    Join Date
    Jun 2007
    Location
    London, UK
    Posts
    48
    Where are you from? I'm not sure how it works because the seller is from the USA however i found this on a UK site:

    In the UK and Wales as long as the value of the claim does not exceed £5,000 you can file a claim with the small claims court for a modest fee and without the need for a solicitor, your local Citizens Advice Bureau can advise you on how to make a claim, in Scotland in the Sheriff’s court the value of a claim can be up to and including £3,000 you do not need to appoint a solicitor but court and legal fees may apply.

    If you have purchased goods from an American company then you could contact the ‘Federal Trade Commission’ (www.ftc.gov) or the branch of the ‘Better Business Bureau’ local to the trader (http://lookup.bbb.org)

    Hope this helps.
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  18. #18
    Join Date
    Oct 2008
    Posts
    2,253
    you could just report them to the bbb..... how is it fraud though if they cant refund you? If anything you could ask to speak to a manager or ceo that works for me most of the time.
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  19. #19
    Join Date
    May 2006
    Posts
    261
    I am located in Norway and they in the US! How is it fraud? It's fraud and theft, i pre-paid 9 months and recieved 5... That's 4 months to little, and they REFUSE to refund as far as i can tell, they don't answer my emails, live chats, and if i call i get hanged up on.

    They even went so far to block my IP from their website, more immature it's not possible to get, this is suppose to be a huge respected company.

  20. #20
    Join Date
    Jun 2007
    Location
    London, UK
    Posts
    48
    What company is it?
    Pixelbite.co.uk
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  21. #21
    Join Date
    May 2006
    Posts
    261
    Hivelocity

  22. #22
    Join Date
    May 2006
    Posts
    1,426
    intangible goods, even you lose in paypal's eyes. The only thing you could do is handle it in civil court and even then it is a difficult case to prove for a computer illiterate courtroom.

  23. #23
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    Sacramento, CA
    Posts
    3,657
    I have no idea about your specific case, but the law doesn't get involved in fraud cases unless it's egregious. It has to be a pattern, big-time, and deliberate. A company having a no-refund policy is not committing fraud if you choose not to use their service. Fraud is hard to prove and because the level of it does not rise to the criminal level (if indeed it is even fraud in the first place), the only solution is a law suit and for such a small sum, the only recourse is small claims court where no lawyer is needed, but the time and effort to do it wouldn't be worth the $500 that you lost. Plus you'd have to be present which would cost you at least a plane ticket. Not worth it. If you can't work it out with the company, than you'll have to chalk it up to a loss. Kind of like buying gym equipment for $1000s of dollars and it sits unused in your basement. It's not their fault if it's past the refund time.
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  24. #24
    Join Date
    May 2006
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    261
    I didn't choose to not use the service, they chose they i were not going to use the service!

  25. #25
    Join Date
    Jul 2007
    Location
    Tech Belt
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    Don't give up PM HivelocityJJ on the forums here and try to work it out. If they don't respond then not a whole lot you can do. I can't be the judge cause I don't know the whole story, perhaps you broke something in their TOS and thus they kicked you out and kept your money.
    Nothing here right now.

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