Internet help and guidance

Online Auctions advice

Before contacting the Police please ensure that you have made every effort to resolve the issue between yourself and the vendor.

If you are having problems with a sale on an online auction company it is worth contacting the auction company as they can often mediate and resolve most disputes.

Check with the site that you have bought/sold from; it is often the case that an online form for filling complaints will be present.

Transactions should be carried out within the auction site, if taken away from the constraints of the site then you may be taking a risk. 

Cases can be fraught with danger when using money transfer (Western Union etc) as they then will be virtually untraceable.

If intent has been clearly identified that a seller is intent on depriving the purchaser then the issue may be reported in the same way that any other theft or deception will be reported.

If you believe that a crime has taken place, then you will need to retain all copies of:

* Any emails,
* Account details,
* Printouts of the item transactions,
* Photographs of the items if they are the seller.

Credit card companies may refund the purchase cost of an online fraudulent purchase, however, switch does not at this moment in time.