Escrow service

[johnn]

I sold a couple of names via Escrow service (not Escrow.com).

The money has been transferred to my Paypal account. However, the buyer is a crook and used stolen credit card(s) to pay for the names. The escrow service company notified me and asked me to refund the money for them and they will try to work with the registrars to get the names back into my account.

My question would be why do I pay for the escrow service and suffered because the fraud? Should the escrow company be liable for the fraud because they did not do a good job on checking the buyer?

What's your thought? I think I'm going to hold the money and not refund to them until the names are in my account and the escrow company has 30 days to do so or they have to hold the ball.

Thanks,
John

 

[AdoptableDomains]

I'd be interested to know who the escrow service was. I'd also make a very detailed read of their TOS that you presumably agreed to, to see if they disclaim charge backs this way. Credit card fraud is generally at the liability of the credit card company or the merchant who has an agreement with them.

 

[johnn]

There is no TOS but here is what they said in FAQ:

Unlike other online exchanges, WE guarantees that the transaction will complete or you will get your property (domain name or money) returned in full. We back this guarantee in several ways. First, we have documented our gurantee in our Membership Agreement. Second, we follow a rigorous escrow process. Every escrow payment is deposited into a special account, for example. We don't even remove the sales fee until the transaction is complete. Finally, we maintain membership in the Better Business Bureau Online Reliability Program (click the seal on our home page) to substantiate our commitment to customer satisfaction.

 

[AdoptableDomains]

With the above statement, I'd tell them they definitely have to get the names back first if they want to reverse the deal. I'd recommend getting actual screen captures of the above text and transaction info.

 

[vip-ip]

I was ripped off like that (not with domain names, though) for $300. If he (the crook) would pay to you directly, PayPal would automatically take the money from your account because the transaction was not covered by Seller's Protection Plan. This sucks, that's how I got ripped off.

 

[johnn]

I was ripped off like that (not with domain names, though) for $300. If he (the crook) would pay to you directly, PayPal would automatically take the money from your account because the transaction was not covered by Seller's Protection Plan. This sucks, that's how I got ripped off.

That's why I went through the escrow service.
I will give them 30 days to get the names back to me (that is how many days you can refund the payment from Paypal) and I'll hold the funds until the names are back in my account.

 

[johnn]

The total amount that this guy used from stolen credit card(s) is estimated around $40,000!

 

[IAmAllanShore]

johnn,
What escrow service was this?
-Allan

 

[RJ]

It's the job (and sole function?) of the escrow company to ensure that you are protected from losing your property in the transfer. Its not unreasonable for you to hold the funds until the name is available to be transferred back, IMHO. I would not want to be in a position where I could be out the domain and the money. Unfortuantely, this is the risk a company takes when they decide to act as an escrow agent.

 

[JMJ]

I'm not sure about online escrows but this would be the case in the real world RJ. I don't think there is any regulation as there is as far as real estate tranactions are concerned. I would imagine most are just acting as a mediator of sorts and if you have a look into the fine print I'm sure theres alot of legal loopholes favoring them.

 

[johnn]

They keep asking me to refund the money and did not keep me up to date on the status.
I agreed with RJ that I'll have to hold the money until I get the names back to my account
The question would be what is the reasonable time frame that I will give them. This is BAD because even that I have the money but I can't spend it!

One week, two weeks or a month?

 

[IAmAllanShore]

It would (partly) depend on the price of the sales in question, IMHO.
$10,000+ enters a whole new arena.
-Allan

 

[octobus]

You used Afternic . Better stay away from their "escrow" service

 

[johnn]

You got it. The escrow service company is after nic.
This is day four since they notified me the incident and I have not received any email as what the status is.

All the money has been transferred to my Paypal account. All they sent me from the emails were asking me to refund the money to them.

I do not mind to refund the money as long as:
1. They should let me know how long the process is going to be. I can't hold several thousand dollars for a long time.
2. They should inform me the status of what's going on with the names & registrars
3. What would happen if I spent all the money? We use escrow service to avoid the risk of scammers and I am not in the position of losing both money and names.

This is really bad service.

 

[Genialnames]

what happened then?

 

[johnn]

Afternic is working with the registrars. They did not ask me to refund the money.

 

[Genialnames]

and what's about your domains?

 

[johnn]

They're working with the registrars to get the domain names back. They will own the domains unless they ask me to buy them back from them.

 

[Genialnames]

??? wait a moment.....my be I have not well understand so....
do you mean that to have back your domains you have to...... pay for them again?

 

[johnn]

You need to read the post. Afternic already paid me for the names and then they discovered the buyer used stolen credit card.
So as far as I am concerned the names are sold and I received the money.