You paid for something specific: a car, a phone, tickets, a puppy, a rental. The seller and the item disappear.
How it tends to unfold
The listing looked ordinary. Payment was by bank transfer because the seller “could not use a card”. Tracking numbers are fake, or the address is a parcel shop.
What to write down
- A price well below the market
- Pressure to pay by transfer
- A seller who will not take a card or a protected checkout
- An address you cannot tie to the seller
How we frame the bank complaint
Purchase scams are sometimes treated as a civil dispute. The complaint has to show why this was fraud rather than a private sale gone wrong, using the listing, the chat, and the speed of the loss.
Diane’s case
Diane, in Edmonton, found a used car on Facebook listed for $4,200 under the usual price. The seller would not take a card and would not meet at a bank. He said the car was at a friend’s garage and that the transfer had to clear before the weekend. She sent $6,800 from Scotiabank. The address he gave was a mailbox shop. By Monday the listing was gone and the number did not answer.
The bank’s first letter called it a private sale that had gone wrong. The complaint showed the price, the refusal of any protected way to pay, and a chat that pushed her to pay the same day. It was not a negotiation that failed. The car was never there.
The transfer was refunded. She kept the listing screenshots, which mattered more than a long account of how reasonable the seller had sounded.
If you paid for a specific thing and it never existed, keep the listing, the chat, and the moment they refused a card. That is the difference between fraud and a disappointing sale.
Client reviews
Andrea V.
Charlottetown★★★★★
The car never arrived. The bank transfer was recovered, which the first reply had refused.
Ben K.
Red Deer★★★★☆
The seller disappeared the day I paid. That transfer was refunded.
Holly N.
Nanaimo★★★★★
The listing and the chat were enough. The bank paid the purchase money back.
If the review shows there is no realistic complaint, we will say so. You can still use the claim-yourself guide and go to your bank directly.
Hope is not lost
A first refusal is not the last page. Tell us the bank, the dates, and who you thought you were paying. The review is free.