Chargeback Scam Advice Needed!
On November 20 of last year (2025); I listed an iPhone for sale on FB Marketplace; thinking I had all my safety bases covered since I am a female, I met the buyer at my local police station. Buyer agreed to a cash sale before driving 1 1/2 hours to get the phone. Upon arrival; they told me they did not have cash and would need to go the ATM (🚩#1). He then asked if I had Venmo to which I reluctantly replied “yes”. Naive me was thinking; I won’t hand him the phone till I receive the money- big mistake! He immediately discovered something he didn’t like about the phone and by this point my intuition was already in overdrive and I was ready to leave the situation so I quickly refunded him the $800 (exactly 3 minutes after he sent it) and left! Naive me thought everything was ok and I didn’t think much of it till I got an email on December 20, informing me that a case had been opened due to a chargeback dispute- I thought the email was a scam 🙄! Buyer stated they “never received the item”???!!! Of course they didn’t- they also didn’t pay for said item!!???
Venmo told me to send all proof on my end and they would investigate but the chargeback could stick; as it was the buyers credit card issuer disputing the chargeback! I confidently sent the proof since it clearly shows I sent an immediate refund and waited for the case to be closed in my favor- I was shocked when on January 4, I got an email stating the buyers financial institution sided in their favor and initiated a chargeback onto my account.
I sent an email back to Venmo asking how this could be because that is absolute fraud- it was very clear the buyer did in fact already get their $800 and all it would take was Venmo looking at it for 5 seconds to see that was true! Venmo debited by account $800 and it still sits unpaid with a balance of -$645.82 (had money come through).
Fast forward to the present; is it too late for me to do something about this? I have buyers name, possible address when I searched, & the name of a business they own. Yes, I should have already taken action, but I had a lot of things happen that took priority over everything else. Also, honestly, I kind of forgot about it, as I do not use Venmo very often. I logged in the other day and was furious when I remembered I never took action on this!! I was thinking I could go file a police report just to get a case number, send them a certified letter stating my intent to take them to civil court for theft by conversion/ fraud.
Have I waited too long? I live in Georgia (if that matters). I just want my account to not be negative so I guess I’m seeking the $800 they had charged back; as well as any filing costs for court. Anyone with advice or insight? Thanks for reading!