This is actually a work related question. Long story short - a local resident has come to our office seeking assistance with the following - bought a car online and paid $8500 AU in 3 transfers to Western Union to an address in Florida. The car never materialised. Have any of you used Bidpay? This is a tough situation as the only way I can think to get the money back is to involved the Australian Federal Police to pursue it - however, I thought that the money would’ve been held by Bidpay until the goods were received? (I’ve never even bought anything on PayPal, so admit that I am absolutely clueless here). Consumer Affairs won’t touch this.
I do have every email sent back and forth between the client and the agent, but of course the phone number for the Melbourne based agent is disconnected.
Bidpay is no longer in business. They shut down last year. Bidpay was a poor sister to Paypal, they do not hold funds till items are delivered, they were just a portal for money transfers. The thing that screams scam and that the person will never see their money or a car was using Western Union to transfer the money. I see only 2 options. The first would be to contact the local police in Florida and see if there is anything they can do. Don’t expect much. The other option if for the person to fly to Florida and sue the bad guy in court. The only bad part about this is your client is liable for all out of pocket expenses such as travel and lodging, this cannot be recovered in court. The costs to travel to Florida will likely exceed the amount he could sue for. The most likely scenario is your client will never see his money again.
Many thanks for your input. It’s really appreciated.