I'm wondering if I've fallen victim to a bizarre scam involving eCheck. The problem began on October 24th, when a buyer sent a eCheck payment for a $146 item. After waiting over three weeks for it to clear - which it did not - the buyer sent an instant payment instead, on November 18th to be exact. Curiously, he sent the instant payment twice, apparently by mistake, and I quickly refunded the extra payment in the interest of honesty. Communication was good, his feedback was good, and there were no red flags, so I mailed the item without a second thought. I never heard back from the buyer and assumed everything was OK, but a few days ago (Dec. 14th) I got a notice from Paypal saying that the eCheck payment sent on Oct. 24th was being disputed, that the buyers bank was reversing the payment. It says if I don't act by Dec. 24th, the money will be taken from my Paypal account. The problem is, it was never there in the first place because the eCheck payment never cleared!!
The instant payment I received on Nov. 18th has not been disputed, nor did I receive any complaints about the item from the buyer. However, my recent attempts to contact him have failed.
What kind of crock is this anyway, and what am I supposed to do about it? Having $146 taken out of my hide on Christmas Eve is not going to make this season very enjoyable!
