URGENT: Need Help! The Buyer Called CBA to Stop The Payment to Me While Goods ($4K+) Were Delivered

mrhorse on 29/05/2018 - 10:55
Last edited 30/05/2018 - 12:07 by 1 other user

Thank you so much for reading this.

The buyer called CBA to stop the payment to my CBA account after the goods are delivered.

Last night I could still see this payment was pending, but this morning when I tried to check, I was shocked that my account to receive this fund disappeared.

Called CBA, they said the sender asked to stop the payment, there's nothing they can do until the sender agrees to proceed.

What I have at the moment is the payer's payment screenshot (legit cuz I was able to see this fund in my account), the copy of his driver's licence and the copy of his written agreement that he transferred this fund to my bsb xxxxxx, acct xxxxxxx and his signature and date.

I am so worried that he would deny the payment and then I have to dispute to CBA.

Can anyone please suggest what is the right way to do it?

Thank you so much!!!

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Comments

      • mrhorse on 29/06/2018 - 11:37

        Thank you for your help. hopefullyI wont need this in the end.

  • mrhorse on 29/06/2018 - 11:58

    Made another call to the fraud team, picked by the staff who was willing to hear the whole story, not just believing the one receiving fraud fund should always be blamed, she said I can set up a new account first, cuz they believe my account info is compromised and therefore not safe.

    She did not mention anything about my relationship with commbank under reviewing or something like that, but she did confirm the fund is going back to the original account. Also, she said for the ID of the payer I provided to them, they found it not even a real one (how could I know).
    Anyway, you think you were being precautious, but it is always not enough.

    For those laughing at my 'stupidity', you may very well try even after the fund is cleared, the payer can still get it back if it is either a real or a pretended fraud fund. (seems super easy to set up a fake fraud, asking anyone overseas to do the transfer while the account was often used in Australia)
    When you set up an account with most banks, they always guarantee 100% money back if there is any fraud involved, so it is really hard for someone like me to explain when you got scammed by a 'faked fraud' fraud.

    A kind notice for all, which I believe most of you might not be aware of:
    Only when it is 30 days after the fund is cleared will the bank have no authority to do a forced refund or freeze your account. I highly doubt if anyone would wait that long.

    The bad guy shall always be punished, sooner or later.

    • Agret on 29/06/2018 - 13:04
      +1

      I am very sorry to hear the outcome that you lost out on the money in the end. Have the bank offered any remittance?

  • tooblue on 29/06/2018 - 16:34

    It seems the fraudster hacked into the victims account and made the payment. The victim found out and asked the bank to stop the payment on the ground of fraud. CBA stopped the payment before it clears. You and the real account owner are both victims, except you lost both money and goods. It is like unknowingly purchasing proceedings of crime. Your bad.

    What happens if the victim find out and report the fraud after funds clear? I don't know.

    You do have the delivery address, don't you?

  • mrhorse on 01/08/2018 - 14:24
    +4

    Update:

    31/07/2018: At the end of the 45 business days maximum investigation period, I called CBA again, and they said I need to go to the police to have a case reference number and send it back to them, so the manager will decide whether to let me keep the fund. I went to the police station that night after work, and provided the materials (evidence) I gave to CBA 2 months ago. Two police officers read it thru and concluded it was a civil matter unless CBA provides the evidence showing the fund is a stolen fund, so no ref number was given. But the officer advised I should not be blamed as I am an ordinary person having no way to know whether the fund is stolen. And, the deposits in banks are insured, so if there is an incident like this, either the bank or the sender should call the police, not me. Also, the officer found it nonsense that the bank suddenly asked for the police involvement after 45 business days investigation.

    01/08/2018: Called CBA again, told them what happened last night in the police station. The bank did not comment on whether they would give me the proof of stolen fund, which I guess they won't anyway in the end, and kept saying things like 'further review'. Angry, I disputed this to FOS for CBA keep delaying the investigation outcome after the max length of period has been reached; and, the way CBA froze my account contradicts with what they say they normally do when there is a payment dispute.
    "You’re unable to stop or cancel the transaction until it is complete. It generally takes 3 to 5 business days to process a transaction, although it can take up to 10 business days or longer."
    "You need to wait until the transaction is complete and is no longer a pending transaction if you wish to dispute it."

    • affable on 01/08/2018 - 21:01
      +3

      Thanks for the update. Keep fighting, glad to hear you are dealing through the FOS as the bank takes them much more seriously due to external reporting requirements and possibly fines to the bank for not acting within guidelines.

      • mrhorse on 18/08/2018 - 00:18

        Thank you for giving me the courage to give FOS a try, and it worked!

  • mrhorse on 18/08/2018 - 00:17
    +4

    Update:

    17/08/2018: After about 2 months and 20 days dispute, I got my money back in full.

    Thanks to the folks (especially @affable) who recommended me to ask FOS for help, the bank did take them much much more seriously.
    I am a finance person myself, so I can somehow figure out why the bank was willing to make the sacrifice (yes, the same full amount of fund was credited to both me and the payer), cuz otherwise, the bank could lose more if I keep fighting.
    The way the fraud person got the payer's account access was not what you might have thought at all, definitely not something like high-end hacking, so remember to keep your personal info secure.
    Anyway, the whole thing was so frustrating that I got too tired to feel much happiness when I saw the fund was credited to my account.
    Hope you've learned something from my experience and stay alert.

    To clarify though, the account involved in this case is still frozen. The CO said the fraud team is still investigating it.
    The $4k+ fund was credited to my newly opened account with them.

    • Imhereforcomments on 18/08/2018 - 01:37
      +2

      I'm glad to here you got the funds back! Thanks for providing the updates it's been very insightful and will help us have more precautions in the future.

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