Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Pennsylvania
Recourse for paid item not delivered
I attempted to purchase an item through an internet auction site. I mailed a money order for the item to the private party selling the item. The money order was cashed but I never received the item and the party discontinued contact with me. Do I have any recourse for either getting my money back or the item?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Recourse for paid item not delivered
The primary recourse for recovery of small amounts
is always small claims court. It's cheap, fast,
easy, no lawyers are allowed. The results aren't
guaranteed to be what you want, but hiring a lawyer
can often cost more than you're trying to recover.
In your case, however, you'd probably have to to
to the seller's state to file the action. Even if you
could file in your own state, you'd have to go to the
seller's state to enforce your judgment. If you're not
willing to go to another state to sue, you might try
complaining to the auction site, contacting the
postmaster and making a complaint of mail fraud, and
contacting the police or district attorney in the
place where your seller lives.