Scammed

So against my better judgment my wife and I fell victim to a craigslist scam.

We purchased some Disneyland park hopper tickets from a Sacramento posting. Met the guy in Elk Grove and when we got there of course the tickets were no good. Before driving away we jotted down the license plate number of the vehicle. A friend of mine was able to run the plate and acquire the address of the registered owner. The vehicle is registered to a woman and we met with a man.

My question is what would be the best way to go about getting my money back LEGALLY? We are already in the process of filing a police report. I had thought about small claims court but do I go after the vehicles owner or what?

Opinions

If the seller had taken a city bus would you sue the city? Based on the facts you've provided it doesn't sound like there's a claim against the registered owner of the vehicle...

Are the tickets counterfeit or just not valid? Good luck with criminal report because I doubt anything will result from it..do you have the guys number? Have you tried to make contact to get your money back?

You may just need to chalk it up as a lesson learned and post some craigslist warnings about the guy

I have always wondered about those who sell tickets like that, or gift cards on CL. I would bring a couple of friends to the house and knock on the door and ask for the man of the house. if it is the same guy, just ask him to get your money back. if he denies you, just chalk it up to a lesson learned. (the friends are just to make sure you dont get your arse kicked by a guy and his friends)

I'd have more faith in getting him prosecuted than getting your money back. What did the police say about the chances of them doing anything?

Knowing the legal system, I would bet it goes nowhere with the cops. The cops first need to identify the suspect, then gather enough evidence showing he knowingly sold you counterfeit tickets (all he needs to say is that he thought the tickets were valid). Then file it in court and be willing to go to trial. All this because you took the risk to save a few bucks on a few tickets valued at a few hundred bucks. The legal system is being downsized by the republics and unless you live in sleepy town USA, cops don't have the manpower to follow up. This is the risk you take on craigslist & it sounds like you got bit.

Wow. That sucks.

The timing is crazy. My wife and I bought tickets for DL last night, and we had considered the folks selling/leasing tickets on craigslist and ebay.

Despite all of the stories and testimonials about this going well and saving hundreds, we couldn't do it. I'm feeling good about our decision to pay full pop. Sorry this happened to you though. Hopefully it was an honest mistake and the guy is willing to give you your dough back.

I've bought some tickets via craigslist in the past....I go thru paypal for insurance and use my CC. I'll pay their paypal fees. Gives me peace of mind. Disputing thru paypal is fairly easy IMO. And I can dispute thru my CC.

'' The legal system is being downsized by the republics ''

You don't think it has anything to do with the currant administration spending us into oblivion? Not much difference between Dems and Rep spending any more but don't blame them for finally saying STOP!

'' The legal system is being downsized by the republics ''

I didn't say it was necessarily a good or a bad thing and I don't want to get into the politics. I think it funny how some want to cut, but don't want to see a reduction in service. Jails cant afford to house inmates, Parole cant afford to supervise those released inmates and street cops cant afford to put them back in jail. Crime skyrockets and the little things like this get unnoticed. Safety and education is the only thing I want my government to supply for my family, yet the working "unions" are the bad guys while 1 in 6 get a free lunch.

Cory, sorry for the hijack and if I came off rude on my last post. The guy who scammed you is obviously a dirtbag that has probably scammed many others. You were smart to get a plate and it sounds like you have a cop friend since you were able to get the registered owner information. I hope the cops help you out, but you may just need to take Train's advice and take care of business yourself. I would even help if I lived near Sac!

Thanks guys I appreciate the input. I guess you guys have just confirmed what I was already realizing. But hey, we hold on to the hope that something could come of it.

As for contacting him I will probably end up doing that. At least it will sit right with me if I make the 1.5 hr drive to at least confront him. My doubts are that the person doesn't even live there anymore. Zillow states the house was sold May 2010. Guessing they fell on hard times, lost the house and now are scamming to stay afloat. Again wont know until I try.

As for an honest mistake I think not. There were 5 tickets that Disney informed us were gift cards good for park entry but all had 0 value. 1 maybe, not all 5.

At this point I don't even think we will waste the time of filing a police report as I'm not seeing the value. My wife had her purse stolen several years ago and a bunch of charges racked up. We didn't have to pay for anything but my wife ended up doing a bunch of research based on the purchases and came up with the name and address of a guy that happen to live a few blocks from where the purse was stolen. After handing all that over to the cops nothing ever happened. Just chalk it up to a bad experience, cut my losses and move on.

I agree with you shooter that basically ***** rolls down hill. Its a constant snowball effect. Sad but true.