Buyer threaten file IC3.gov case against me ?

[lyl797]

Excuse my ignorance, but what is an IC3.gov case ?
This buyer bought some batteries from me and claim my batteries ruin his cellphone, I have issued full refund to this buyer thru eBay buyer dispute. And he just keeps going on asking for more, and threaten me with an IC3.gov case and small claim court ?

Should I bother dancing with him ? I just want to keep this eBay Stealth account alive .. Since I already issued full refund and the dispute case is closed, what else can a buyer do in eBay's system?

Any advices would be much appreciated.

[GreenBean]

Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) | Home


Read the above.

Depends on you...

[lyl797]

ok, thank you ... My question is , this eBay dispute is closed by a full refund to buyer. Even if buyer file IC3 claim, would this affect my eBay account ? My feeling is IC3 should be outside of eBay, correct ? anyone has inside view of this ?

[Halada]

If he were to sue, the burden of proof falls on him to provide evidence to the courts that your batteries caused his phone to malfunction. Plus, if he seeks punitive damages, he would need to prove you knew of an existing problem before you sold the battery. Which is impossible.

The cost of hiring legal experts and get the cellphone professionally attested to prove this would cost way more than to replace the cellphone, probably many times over. Not to mention small claims court can have a waiting lists going up onto years. My guess is that this buyer has no idea and is just trying to scare you.

Unless eBay received similar complaints in the past, and if you have good FB/DSR/Account standing, I find it highly unlikely that eBay will close your account for this incident. IC3 is a government entity and they will likely redirect the plaintiff to small claims court since this is not a matter of internet crime, but consumer protection laws.

You refunded him fully. He might just as well have dropped it in the mud, or left it in the washing machine, and is conveniently blaming you to cover his mistake. I certainly would not take him at his word.

[lyl797]

Thank you so much for you input, Halada ... I really appreciated your comcise info in my tough time ....

[mercurial333]

Ignore these lunatics. The more you ignore, the harder they will try to extort. Just gotta wait for the golden message, and then report to get the negative removed

[FandangoKango]

Fighting over a battery? What a lunatic! The buyer is just pissed off and wants to take you down all the way.

[KingRay]

the IC3 claim is nearly always BS. I have used that for years to get my way with international customers. It usually works if you threaten them with "ebay has their rules but the law is completely different" and mention iC3. they go look it up, see how its real and serious and they fold.

I have used this probably 30 times in the last 5yrs now and it has pretty much worked every time.

I have mentioned it on here before if I remember right.

Just ignore it and if you get something in the mail (ONLY the MAIL via registered mail) is it anything to even bother with.

ignore it for now. Just make sure you are not in the wrong though.

[rsot]

I have used this probably 30 times in the last 5yrs now and it has pretty much worked every time.

On international customers?

[jeffweico]

Nobody should be threatening anybody with filing a criminal complaint, it is unprofessional. If someone has committed a crime, just FILE the complaint.

Selling an item that turns out to be defective is NOT a criminal matter, it is a CIVIL matter. And while it is true that you CAN sue someone for $1, most people won't. It has to be worth their time. And if you are talking about attorney involvement, the claim would have to be for THOUSANDS of dollars before they would even CONSIDER taking the case.

Even if - God forbid - that battery blew up and took the guy's hand off, it STILL is not a criminal matter unless they can PROVE that you KNEW the battery was likely to explode and you sold it anyway. And that is very difficult to prove. Not to mention, I would HOPE that nobody would sell such an item in the first place.

And keep in mind that NO company or private citizen can "put you in jail". Only the GOVERNMENT can do that.

[KingRay]

When you are in the US and someone rips you off with a BS claim from Canada, UK or somewhere that is too expensive to fight it from where you are, then you have nothing but threats left as an option. Its too expensive to fight.

Filing a claim internationally will be probably $5,000USD to get it rolling. IF they take the case. If its $750USD that you are out due to someones chargeback or false claims of the product not being as described then you threaten and hope you get your way. Im not talking crybaby threats like "you better or else", I mean over their head legal jargon, that is what scares people into doing the right thing most of the time. The IC3 thing just lets them know you mean business to the average person. ic3 will help you with international fraud,etc. It just scares most people into doing whats right.

Nearly ALL initial contact from an attorney is a "Threat" so-to-speak.

I can assure you that most legal contact for any matter like this you get a "Threat" first. Then if that fails you go further. much more legal action will follow. Its just how you word it. It works

IF you contact an attorney and tell them you want to sue someone, they first sent a demand letter, etc to them. If you want to skip all that and just file the lawsuit the judge in most cases will chew your ass in front of everyone and throw it out in many cases.

Yes, I do know that,

[BiN4RY]

IC3 isn't going to do shyt, you don't have to worry abotu that part. And as for the claim court, I really doubt he can prove it.

[KingRay]

No, IC3 wont do anything as it has to be a huge case for them to mess with it. That still worries people like the OP though.

Dont worry about anything at all unless you get something via registered mail. If you dont get that or served in person then its an empty threat and so far its working.

The buyer is going to just have to deal with it. since ebay closed the case its over in their eyes so nothing is going to hurt your account. That part was taken care of.

He probably just used the wrong charger or something anyway.

Think what would be involved even if he did have the money to blow pursuing this. He would have to pay for vigorous testing of the battery, the phone and the charger separately and it would cost him tons of money. They would have to be reputable testing facilities that the court approves in most cases.

If the phone or charger were sub par to begin with there would be other issues for him to eliminate before even bothering you so blow it off.

I know thats a long drawn out reply but just trying to show you how little of a threat that really is. Nothing.

Good luck. you wont need it though.