Scammed? What now
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Scammed? What nowUpdated

I paid a Marktplaats seller and received nothing. What now?

Do this now

Short answer

Did you pay with Buyer Protection (Kopersbescherming)? Report the problem in your Marktplaats messages within 14 days of paying, so the payment provider holds on to the money. If you made a bank transfer yourself or paid a Tikkie, report it to the police and ask your bank to request the money back from the recipient. Getting your money back is never certain: the route depends on how you paid.

What should I do now?

  1. Report it to Buyer Protection within 14 days

    Did you pay through a Marktplaats payment request with Buyer Protection (Kopersbescherming)? Open the conversation with the seller in your messages, click 'View overview' ('Bekijk overzicht') on the payment request and choose 'Report a problem' ('Probleem melden'). Online Payment Platform (OPP), the independent payment provider behind Marktplaats payment requests, then holds the payment while it investigates. That usually takes 3 to 5 working days. If you report nothing, the seller is paid 14 days after your payment, and after that OPP can no longer stop it. Is it less than 72 hours since you paid, and has the seller not yet activated shipping? Then you can also cancel the purchase in your purchase overview. Buyer Protection does not apply if you collected the item yourself or if it cost more than €2,500.

    Source: help.marktplaats.nl (opens in a new window)

  2. Tell your bank, card issuer or PayPal

    Did you make a bank transfer or pay a Tikkie? Report the fraud to your own bank. The Fraudehelpdesk lists the fraud pages of the main Dutch banks. Your bank cannot reverse a completed transfer itself, but after you report it to the police it can ask the recipient to pay the money back (see step 5). Did you pay by credit card? Dispute the payment with your card issuer. With ICS, you can do this up to 3 months after the transaction date. Did you pay with PayPal, and not as a payment to friends and family? Open a dispute in the PayPal Resolution Centre within 180 days of paying.

    Source: fraudehelpdesk.nl (opens in a new window)

  3. Keep all the evidence

    Take screenshots of the ad and its ad number, your chat with the seller, your proof of payment and any shipping details. You will need them for the police, your bank and Marktplaats. Also send the seller one more message asking what is going on, and keep it. Sometimes there is simply a delay. OPP, your card issuer and PayPal also want to see that you contacted the seller first.

    Source: help.marktplaats.nl (opens in a new window)

  4. Report it to the police

    On politie.nl, go to the page for people who bought something and received nothing. You first go through the online fraud decision aid, then fill in the report form using your DigiD. Prefer to report in person? Call 0900-8844 to make an appointment. If you have trouble with Dutch, the police will arrange an interpreter, free of charge. Taking payment while deliberately not delivering can be the crime of fraud (art. 326 Sr) or, when someone makes a business or habit of it, trade fraud (art. 326e Sr). Did you pay through a Marktplaats payment request? Then you can ask OPP for the seller's IBAN for your police report. Give the seller at least a week to respond first. OPP assesses requests within 10 working days.

    Source: politie.nl (opens in a new window)

  5. Ask your bank to claim the money back

    Did you make a transfer or pay a Tikkie to a Dutch account? Check the IBAN on the police 'Check the seller' page. If it shows a warning, take a screenshot. Give your bank a copy of your police report and the screenshot. The bank then writes to the recipient asking them to repay the full amount. They have 21 days to do so. If they do not pay, the bank can give you their name and address, so you can claim the money through the courts. This is called the PNBF procedure. It only works if you paid less than 13 months ago and both accounts have a Dutch (NL) IBAN at a bank that is a member of the Dutch Payments Association. It does not cover iDEAL, debit card or credit card payments.

    Source: betaalvereniging.nl (opens in a new window)

  6. Report the seller to Marktplaats

    Open the conversation in your messages, click the menu at the top right and choose to report the user. To report an ad, use the report button at the bottom of the ad. Marktplaats receives some of the police reports and takes action where it can. Marktplaats itself says it cannot make sure you get your money back.

    Source: help.marktplaats.nl (opens in a new window)

  7. Get free advice from the Fraudehelpdesk

    Tell the Fraudehelpdesk, the Dutch national anti-fraud hotline, what happened using its report form for individuals (age 16 and over), or call 088-786 7372; from abroad, +31 88 786 7372. The form is in Dutch. The advice is free, and they aim to reply in writing within five working days. Do not put the seller's name, phone number or account number in your description: privacy rules do not allow the Fraudehelpdesk to receive them. The Fraudehelpdesk never contacts you about banking matters. If someone calls about your bank claiming to be from the Fraudehelpdesk, hang up.

    Source: fraudehelpdesk.nl (opens in a new window)

Will I get my money back?

It depends on how you paid, and it is never guaranteed. With Buyer Protection, OPP holds the money if you report in time and decides after investigating. Shipping and service fees are not covered.

With a bank transfer or Tikkie, you gave the instruction yourself, so the payment counts as authorised (art. 7:522 BW). The bank's duty to refund straight away, by the end of the next working day at the latest, applies only to payments made without your consent (art. 7:528 BW). Only the recipient can reverse a completed transfer. Your bank can still ask for the money back on your behalf through the PNBF procedure. If the recipient does not pay, you may get their name and address so you can go to the subdistrict court. The banks usually do reimburse bank help desk fraud, where someone pretends to be your bank, as a goodwill gesture. That is a different situation from this one.

An iDEAL | Wero payment, including a Marktplaats payment request without Buyer Protection, cannot be reversed: only the recipient can pay it back.

If you paid by credit card, your payment was protected and you can dispute it with your card issuer. With ICS, you do this within 3 months of the transaction date. PayPal can refund an item you never received under its Buyer Protection, but not for payments to friends and family or for items you collected yourself.

If there is a suspect, you can often claim compensation in the criminal case; the public prosecutor or the judge decides.

ACM ConsuWijzer warns that when you have been scammed, it is very hard to get your money back. Even if the subdistrict court rules in your favour, there is no guarantee the recipient will pay.

Make your letter

Fill in your details and you get a letter or summary that you check and send yourself. FFCheck sends nothing and files no police report or notification for you.

Read in the Is Dit Veilig? guide how this scam works and how to recognise it next time.

Read the guide

Problem by problem, which organisation to call or e-mail: FFCheck’s Bij Wie? (Who do I contact?).

Open Bij Wie?

Living in another European country? The ffcheck.eu contact finder names the right organisation for each country.

Official help

  • Marktplaats (Buyer Protection)

    Where you report within 14 days of paying that nothing arrived, and where you report the seller. Staff answer the chat between 8 a.m. and 10 p.m., except on public holidays.

    help.marktplaats.nl

  • Online Payment Platform (OPP)

    The payment provider behind Marktplaats payment requests. It handles Buyer Protection claims and, if fraud is suspected, can give you the seller's IBAN for your police report.

    onlinepaymentplatform.com

  • Police (Politie)

    Takes your report online with DigiD or by appointment. On politie.nl you can also check whether the seller's IBAN has been reported.

    0900-8844 politie.nl

  • Your own bank

    After your police report, asks the recipient for the money through the PNBF procedure and, if needed, gives you their name and address. The Fraudehelpdesk lists the fraud pages of the main banks.

    fraudehelpdesk.nl

  • Fraudehelpdesk

    The Dutch national anti-fraud hotline gives free advice on your next steps. Phone lines: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday 9 a.m.–12 noon and 1–3.30 p.m., Wednesday 1–3.30 p.m.

    088-786 7372 fraudehelpdesk.nl

  • Slachtofferhulp Nederland (Victim Support Netherlands)

    Free help, advice and information for victims of crime, including legal and practical support.

    0900-0101 slachtofferhulp.nl

Frequently asked questions

Can't my bank just reverse the transfer?

No. Only the recipient can reverse a transfer that was carried out correctly. The same goes for iDEAL payments. After you report it to the police, your bank can ask the recipient to repay the amount through the PNBF procedure. A Tikkie counts as a transfer for this. iDEAL, debit card and credit card payments do not.

The police check shows nothing for the seller's IBAN. What now?

Then your bank cannot yet start the PNBF procedure for an online purchase. According to Rabobank, an IBAN is added to the register after three police reports against the account holder. Check again later. If it is still not listed, talk to a legal adviser about your remaining options.

I received the recipient's name and address. What can I do with them?

You may only use them for civil proceedings. A lawyer or bailiff can hold the recipient liable and go to the subdistrict court if needed. The subdistrict court handles claims up to €25,000, and you do not need a lawyer there. Also check whether your legal expenses insurance covers fraud. The recipient is sometimes a money mule who was used by the scammer, but according to the Dutch Payments Association they usually still have to repay if the court orders it. It is not certain: payment can fail to arrive even after a ruling.

The seller was a business. Do I have more rights?

Yes. If you buy from a business through an online marketplace, you have a cooling-off period, even before the item is delivered. If you use it, the business must refund you within 14 days. You can also give the business a final deadline in writing and then cancel the purchase. ACM ConsuWijzer has template letters for this. If you buy from a private seller, there is no cooling-off period and no statutory delivery time: what you agreed is what counts.

I entered my bank details through a payment link the seller sent. Is that the same thing?

No, that is payment request fraud. Tell your bank as soon as possible and report payment request fraud via a trading site to the police. Did the scammer take money from your account without your consent? Then your bank must refund it, by the end of the next working day after you report it at the latest (art. 7:528 BW). That does not apply if you acted fraudulently, intentionally or with gross negligence (art. 7:529 BW).

Will a criminal case get my money back?

Possibly. If there is a suspect, you can often claim compensation from the offender. The public prosecutor or the judge decides whether the offender has to pay for the damage. Slachtofferhulp Nederland (Victim Support Netherlands) can help you with this for free: call 0900-0101.

Official sources

Last checked: 27 October 2026

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