NoBuyCart · After-purchase checklist
Bought from a suspicious store? Start here.
You do not need a NoBuyCart score before taking a concern seriously. Start with what happened—money sent, account details shared, or a message received—and use an independently verified route for help.
NoBuyCart cannot inspect your transaction, recover money, cancel an order, or determine that a particular seller is fraudulent. A late parcel or disappointing item is not, by itself, proof of a scam. This is general guidance, not legal or financial advice.
Choose the situation that matches yours
Money was sent
Contact the bank, card issuer or payment service promptly through its official app or a number you already trust. Explain the facts and ask about available reversal or dispute options. Recovery is not guaranteed; rules and time limits vary.
A password was entered
Use the genuine service to change the exposed password, including on other accounts where you reused it. Enable two-factor authentication where offered. If you cannot sign in, use that service's official account-recovery process.
You only received a message
Do not pay a new fee or install an app to release a parcel on the strength of the message. Open the carrier's official site independently and compare it with the order you actually placed.
The seller is late, but nothing else looks wrong
Compare the stated delivery window with your confirmation and contact the seller using the channel recorded when you ordered. Keep the response. Escalate through the platform or payment provider if the issue is unresolved; you do not need to publicly accuse anyone.
These payment and account steps follow the US FTC's after-scam guidance. Outside the US, use your provider's local process and the official resources below rather than assuming US rules apply.
Make a useful private record
Keep this record in your own notes or provider's secure case system. There is no upload form here. Do not send passwords, full card numbers, identity documents or one-time codes to NoBuyCart.
- What you expected: item description, order date, promised delivery window and return policy as shown when ordering.
- What happened: amount and payment method, order reference, seller address or profile, and a short dated timeline.
- What supports it: confirmation messages, screenshots of the listing and policy, tracking details, and the seller's replies. Keep originals where possible.
- What you have tried: provider case reference, contact date and the next step the provider asked you to take.
A factual note such as “ordered on Monday; confirmation promised dispatch in five working days; seller requested a second payment on Tuesday” is more useful than an unsupported verdict. Redact sensitive details before sharing a screenshot publicly.
A fictional example: the extra delivery fee
Imagine buying a lamp from an unfamiliar site. The next day, a text asks for a small fee and opens a page that wants the card details again. The original order and the new message are separate claims: one does not authenticate the other.
Check the carrier independently, preserve the message, and do not use its link to resolve the payment question. If card information was already entered, tell the card provider that specific fact. The delivery-message checklist explains that verification step in more detail.
Official help by country
- United States: FTC: what to do if you were scammed, including links for reporting and identity-related help.
- United Kingdom: GOV.UK: reporting suspicious messages and online fraud. Follow its regional directions for your location.
- Canada: Competition Bureau: purchase scams, with links to Canadian reporting resources.
- Australia: Scamwatch: protection and next-step help. A bad purchase and a scam are not automatically the same thing.
Reporting a concern is not the same as requesting a payment reversal. Keep working with the payment provider on its own process. Beware of an unexpected “recovery helper” asking for another payment; verify any offer independently.
When this guide is not enough
If you installed software, shared identity documents or lost access to an account, use the relevant official security or identity guidance. Do not troubleshoot an infected device by following another stranger's instructions.
For a future purchase, review a store's visible warning signs and use the before-payment checklist. These tools do not replace a bank, platform, carrier or public authority, and no game session is required to read them.