So I bought an expensive camera off Ebay. I recently saw a facebook post online about some stolen items and the serial number matches my camera that I bought.
The camera was listed on Ebay, I made the seller a cheaper offer if he let me pay outside of Ebay to bypass the ebay fee. I met with him in person and paid £4000 directly to him via PAYPAL using my credit card. I also paid £900 via bank transfer. The seller seems legit and going by his feedback does a lot of buying and selling of cameras. He must have bought it off the thief.
Obviously I had no idea it was stolen. I'm very angry as this was the biggest investment of my career so far.
I'm going to contact the original owner of course to return the camera, but I need some advice on how to proceed.
How would I get my money back? I can contact Paypal to get a refund for my £4000, it's still within 45 days since I got it, so hopefully I won't have any issues. The £900 via bank transfer, will I ever get back?
The guy who sold it to me gave me a receipt of the Ebay transaction saying how much I paid in full. I also have the email from Paypal saying I paid £4k to him.
Or do I get the police involved straight away?
Any idea how long it will take me to get my money back? I will struggle to pay my bills without the camera.....the sooner I get my cash back the sooner I can get a replacement camera that isn't stolen!!
Advice will be appreciated. Thanks!