And here's why I hate Craigslist, folks- names truncated to protect a registrant:
1) J. gets his bike stolen.
2) J. finds his bike listed for sale on Craigslist
3) J. pings CL, no response, but gets the cops involved. They try and set up a meeting.
4) During the meet, the seller gets spooked and takes off. Cops "decline to interview" his accomplice who also showed up.
So now J. is basically back to square one, so J. tries (again) to get in touch with CL. And here's the BS form letter reply you get from CL when you say "Hi CL, someone stole my bike and it's on your website and even though the cops got involved we didn't get it back, can you help"
Relevant sections in bold:
***********1) J. gets his bike stolen.
2) J. finds his bike listed for sale on Craigslist
3) J. pings CL, no response, but gets the cops involved. They try and set up a meeting.
4) During the meet, the seller gets spooked and takes off. Cops "decline to interview" his accomplice who also showed up.
So now J. is basically back to square one, so J. tries (again) to get in touch with CL. And here's the BS form letter reply you get from CL when you say "Hi CL, someone stole my bike and it's on your website and even though the cops got involved we didn't get it back, can you help"
Relevant sections in bold:
Thanks for contacting craigslist. See below for suggested further actions
that may be relevant to the situation you are emailing about.
** CRIME REPORT ******************************
Report suspected criminal activity to law enforcement. Flag criminally
suspicious postings using the "prohibited" link.
** HARRASSMENT ******************************
************
Provide posting ID numbers, city/state, details of harassment. Flag such
postings using the "prohibited" link.
** REQUESTS FOR RELEASE OF CRAIGSLIST POSTING DATA ******
Direct to "legal@craigslist.org". Subpoena/warrant generally required.
** SCAMS AND FRAUD ******************************
Flag as "prohibited." More info about scams and fraud:
http://www.craigslist.org/
** PHISHED? HACKED? ADS IN ACCOUNT AREN'T YOURS? ********
Change your password immediately. More info here:
http://www.craigslist.org/
** SPAM POSTING OR OVERPOSTING **************************
Please use the "spam" flag in the top right corner of spam postings.
** SPAM OR SUSPICIOUS EMAIL *****************************
Please report to the email provider, e.g. if the suspcious message comes
from a "gmail.com" address, send your report to "abuse@gmail.com".
** YOUR POSTING FLAGGED DOWN OR REMOVED BY STAFF ********
Help is available from other craigslist users here:
http://forums.craigslist.org/?
** DISPUTE WITH ANOTHER CRAIGSLIST USER *****************
Consider contacting a consumer affairs agency, or law enforcement as
appropriate, as craigslist cannot mediate disputes between users.
** The Internet Crime Complaint Center ******************
http://www.ic3.gov/
** HELP PAGES AND USER HELP FORUM ***********************
http://www.craigslist.org/
http://forums.craigslist.org/?
** END OF AUTO RESPONSE ******************************
Basically, "suck it, we're not helping unless you have a warrant or a subpoena"
And there you go folks. Get your stuff stolen, have some dude list it on CL, and CL won't raise a single finger to help you even *after* you get the cops involved.
And this is why I hate Craigslist. Even pawn shops - typically the lowest rung of the ladder - have strict rules about information retention and holding goods for a certain number of days so they can be verified as legit.
But not Craigslist. They just have an auto-responder that will tell you to get lost.
