Question regarding craiglist? police question?

Question

Hi i recently purcahsed an xbox 360 off of craiglist. The xbox 360 became defective however right after i plugged it in. Due to this ir eached him once and he said he would pick it up. But he didnt come. I've been attempting to contact him the whole day, and i've even caught hiim on the phone once when the line was busy, and i tried calling right after, but he still didnt pick up. Due to this, i know its his house number.

Can i call the cops and ask for some help? Will they help? Can someone provide me with some solutions? thanks!

Answer 1

This falls under buyer beware.  In fact, there is a disclaimer in Craigslist about scammers and buying from potentially bad sources, and advises against it.  I assume that this is a private person you bought it from, and thus there was no guaruntee that it worked in the first place.  Also, how would you prove to the cops that it didnt work when you got it home?  Supplimental to that, assuming the cops would go talk to this guy, he could say that it worked just fine when he sold it to you and that you broke it.  Now the burden of proof lies on you to prove otherwise.  If there was no written promise that it worked or a warranty or anything like that, and you didnt check it before you bought it, then its one of those "live and learn" situations and you need to investigate every piece of merchandise you buy on Craigslist or any other classified ad.  Just because people sell something in the paper or online, doesnt make them a good person selling legitimate stuff.  Always look into something before you buy, and if the deal sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Answer 2

The least you can do is contact your local police department and attempt have them assist you.  Good luck.

Answer 3

did he say it was in working condition? if not its sold as is and you just lost your money.

Answer 4

Police will not help you in this matter.

you can take the seller to small claims court but its probably not worth the time energy, effort and $$ involved.

Answer 5

It's worth a try. But I'm assuming you paid him in cash and there is no paper trail? Do you at least have an e-mail correspondence record that you can show them? Without at least that, there's really nothing for them to go on.