[HELP] P2P Buyer sent less than agreed - Was I "bullied" into a trade?

[Opiate32]

I’m a bit of a newbie to P2P and I think I just made a mistake. Looking for some advice so I don't get burned again.
I was in a trade today and we were bargaining the price in the chat. We finally agreed on a rate, but the buyer sent a lower amount than we discussed and immediately clicked "Payment Completed."
I felt pressured because I didn’t want to get my account sanctioned or flagged for "holding" funds, so I just released the coins. Now I feel like I got played.
My questions for the veterans here:

• Was I actually at risk of being sanctioned if I opened a dispute?
• Is this a common tactic to bully new sellers into a lower rate?
• If this happens again, what is the best way to handle the moderator dispute without looking like the "bad guy"?

I'd appreciate any tips on how to handle these "price switch" situations. I’m trying to keep my account rating high but I don't want to keep losing money.
- Newbie trying to learn

[Charles-Tim]

Do not release the coin if the buyer does not send the complete amount of money. On the P2P platform that you are using, there is a message section that you can contact the buyer. Contact the buyer and let him know that he did not send the complete amount of the money that he supposed to send. Do not release the coin if the person did not complete the payment. The exchange will be on your side.

[OmegaStarScream]

As mentioned above, you should never release the funds unless you receive the full amount, even if that means a couple of dollars difference or if the ORDER/transaction time is coming to an end.

I'm not sure which exchange you used, but any reputable one should be in your side. The exchange have full access to the chat history, and this include screenshots. It wouldn't be different to prove that he's in the wrong.

[Floxynice]

I had a similar experience sometime last year. In my case, the buyer didn't credit my account but indicated that I, the beneficiary, had been paid, so I was prompted to release the coin. I checked my bank account balance, and there was no such transfer. I engaged him in a conversation and asked why he claimed he had sent me the money. Mind you, he even sent a fake receipt to make me release the coin. Thank God I was smart enough not to act under pressure. I reported the buyer immediately.

I made a post about this then in my Nigerian local board How Can I Stay Safe from Fraudulent Buyers on Bybit P2P? and i was given a few recommendations which I will share with you now:

• Never act under pressure; confirm receipt before releasing the coin.
• To be on the safe side, check the buyer's rating and the number of completed trades. High trades and ratings could mean that the buyer is reputable and without scam tendencies.
• Avoid buyers whose exchange rates are abnormally higher than the normal exchange rate. Scammers fix very high rates to lure their victims.
• Finally, don't forget to report these bad buyers and sellers.

[ColdLava40]

I felt pressured because I didn’t want to get my account sanctioned or flagged for "holding" funds, so I just released the coins. Now I feel like I got played.

Nope, you don't get sanctioned if you create an appeal and report of his actions.

P2p vendors these days are very cunny, so if you want to trade with them, you must be smart and don't let them pick on you. What they do is test if you are the type who doesn't understand the system so they can get away. In cases of incomplete payment, you don't release the funds and create an appeal against him.

Today kinds of p2p have very poor management. The exchanges are supposed to act as intermediary between both parties but it just seems like these scam vendors gets away more often, thus the reason they have continued their acts.

[BitMaxz]

I have a similar case, but the buyer sent me the remaining amount. The wrong thing I did was not notice that he sent the incorrect amount and released the cryptocurrency.
I'm glad the buyer is kind, but yours? I don't know if you can get the amount you agreed to, but why not try to contact the buyer? I don't think they care about newbies when P2P, and the buyer maybe accidentally sent the wrong amount. To avoid these bullies, when trading P2P on Binance or OKX, I only deal with highly reputable traders.

I think it's better to dispute the transaction; at least the exchange can review what happened, and they might be able to recover the agreed amount.

[Rashlyowl]

I once experienced this during a P2P transaction on Binance. The seller sent less than the agreed amount in my UI. However, I immediately responded in chat & informed the buyer of the funds & he then sent the remaining balance, no problem at all.

• Was I actually at risk of being sanctioned if I opened a dispute?

I don't think so, as long as you provide solid evidence.

• Is this a common tactic to bully new sellers into a lower rate?

When this happens, I always see it as a human error, I just need to contact the buyer.

[rat03gopoh]

Which p2p platform are you talking about? By normal rules, support should side with you in this dispute. But there are p2p platforms that are actually a favorite of fraudsters because they find loopholes to support their actions.
Another suggestion is that if the platform has a built-in chat feature, you should only use it in all deals.

[nc50lc]

I'd appreciate any tips on how to handle these "price switch" situations. I’m trying to keep my account rating high but I don't want to keep losing money.

Which P2P Exhange is this specifically?
Because reputable ones often show the exact amount that the buyer has to send and it's not possible to change it once the order is placed.
It may change when viewing the advertised price, but not after placing the order.

And you haven't explained the full situation, it's not too clear because you're bargaining the price in chat instead of the usual P2P trade orders with locked rate.
e.g.:
Did the seller posted an Ad or requested a trade after you agreed on a rate or that comes after?
Does the displayed amount matched the agreed amount or the amount that you've received?
Because depending on the situation, you may not be in the position to issue a dispute like if the displayed amount matched the amount sent instead of the "bargained price".

[OsaiEmma]

My questions for the veterans here:

• Was I actually at risk of being sanctioned if I opened a dispute?
• Is this a common tactic to bully new sellers into a lower rate?
• If this happens again, what is the best way to handle the moderator dispute without looking like the "bad guy"?

I'd appreciate any tips on how to handle these "price switch" situations. I’m trying to keep my account rating high but I don't want to keep losing money.
- Newbie trying to learn

1) Nope, you weren't at risk of being sanctioned if you delayed the payment a little due to unconfirmed transactions or raising dispute.
2) No it's not common, but it do happen sometimes. If the reduced amount was like in cents, alot of people don't pay cents sometimes, but if it's a large difference, then it is wrong and should be reported, and do not release anything until it's resolved.
3) If you were not payed the full amount as agreed, you will not look like the bad guy in any way. They are the once in the bad, simply do not release the coin, ask them to complete the payment first, if they do not reply or refuse, then go ahead and report immediately.

Do not be linient with any vendor, don't let them convince or manipulate you into agreeing what is not comfortable with you, if the price doesn't sit well with you, ask them to cancel the order before they send the money.

I had a similar experience, the vendor placed a price in their ad, when I clicked and placed an order, the price changed, I asked them to cancel the order because I wasn't able to from my end, they then renegotiated and gave me a better price, I checked if it was a fair price before accepting.

Another instance, one asked to remove some amount from the money he was supposed to pay to cover trade fee, I said NO, he's the only person that have asked me this, so I'm not agreeing, he said ok and paid the full amount.

Don't let any of them manipulate you into something that is unfavourable to u.

[SatsPH]

I’m a bit of a newbie to P2P and I think I just made a mistake. Looking for some advice so I don't get burned again.
I was in a trade today and we were bargaining the price in the chat. We finally agreed on a rate, but the buyer sent a lower amount than we discussed and immediately clicked "Payment Completed."
I felt pressured because I didn’t want to get my account sanctioned or flagged for "holding" funds, so I just released the coins. Now I feel like I got played.

Yes, you are already played man, why are you going to be pressured though? Your account won't get sanction because you didn't do anything. And scammers are using this kind of tactics. So I do hope that you learn your lessons.

My questions for the veterans here:

• Was I actually at risk of being sanctioned if I opened a dispute?
• Is this a common tactic to bully new sellers into a lower rate?
• If this happens again, what is the best way to handle the moderator dispute without looking like the "bad guy"?

I'd appreciate any tips on how to handle these "price switch" situations. I’m trying to keep my account rating high but I don't want to keep losing money.
- Newbie trying to learn

1. No.
2. Yes, this is very common.
3. Dispute it. File a dispute on that exchange and don't released any of your coins or money.

[Opiate32]

I'd appreciate any tips on how to handle these "price switch" situations. I’m trying to keep my account rating high but I don't want to keep losing money.

Which P2P Exhange is this specifically?... because you're bargaining the price in chat instead of the usual P2P trade orders with locked rate.

To clarify, the platform is Binance P2P.

The bargaining wasn't my doing; I opened the trade at the advertised rate, but once the order was active, the seller began negotiating in the chat and asking for a different price than what was locked by the system.

Did the seller posted an Ad or requested a trade after you agreed on a rate or that comes after?
Does the displayed amount matched the agreed amount or the amount that you've received?

To answer those points:

1. I initiated the trade on a public Ad. There was no prior agreement; the seller only started "bargaining" in the chat once the order was already open and the rate was locked.

2. The displayed amount on the Binance interface matched the original Ad price, but it did not match the new price the seller was trying to push in the chat.

I was documenting the chat logs with the intention of filing an appeal and kept the trade open as long as possible. However, the timer was running out, and because of my lack of experience in these specific P2P disputes, I felt pressured to release so I wouldn't be flagged or on the "wrong side" for holding the trade for too long.

I realize now that this was a mistake and the seller was likely taking advantage of the situation.

[Abu-Naim]

I’m a bit of a newbie to P2P and I think I just made a mistake. Looking for some advice so I don't get burned again.
I was in a trade today and we were bargaining the price in the chat. We finally agreed on a rate, but the buyer sent a lower amount than we discussed and immediately clicked "Payment Completed."
I felt pressured because I didn’t want to get my account sanctioned or flagged for "holding" funds, so I just released the coins. Now I feel like I got played.
My questions for the veterans here:

• Was I actually at risk of being sanctioned if I opened a dispute?
• Is this a common tactic to bully new sellers into a lower rate?
• If this happens again, what is the best way to handle the moderator dispute without looking like the "bad guy"?

I'd appreciate any tips on how to handle these "price switch" situations. I’m trying to keep my account rating high but I don't want to keep losing money.
- Newbie trying to learn

Yes, this is a tactic these p2p users are using; they mostly do it thinking no one will notice the incomplete amount as agreed, but they only get away with it if people like you let it go, releasing your coin to them, they will continue to do the same to people if we aren't reporting them to the approperate authorithies in the exchchange.

P2p trading has some rules we need to be taken care of, we should let fear out of our minds because it's our money; let's only trade by abiding by the rules.
If the buyer is not paying the exact amount as agreed according his rate, dont relese your coin to them, dont give room for any furthrt negotiation in your dm because thats where they lied to you with emotions. Always stick to the rules.

[7juju]

When next this happens, politely ask the buyer in the chat section to complete the payment by sending the balance to you else you won’t release the asset. You are under no obligation to release an asset when you are being short paid and nobody will flag your account for not releasing the asset because you haven’t released the asset. Your defense will be that your payment wasn’t complete.

Next time don’t be in a hurry to release asset if you don’t receive your full payment, let the buyer time the take case to the dispute panel and they will compel him to send the complete payment and he will be the one that will be sanctioned and not you. All you have to do is provide evidence of your agreement with the buyer and you are good to go.

[nc50lc]

Which P2P Exhange is this specifically?... because you're bargaining the price in chat instead of the usual P2P trade orders with locked rate.

To clarify, the platform is Binance P2P.

The bargaining wasn't my doing; I opened the trade at the advertised rate, but once the order was active, the seller began negotiating in the chat and asking for a different price than what was locked by the system.

Okay, this painted a bigger picture of the situation.

As far as Binance is concerned, they are bound to follow the "locked price" that you've agreed upon when you started the order.
Under normal circumstances, there shouldn't be any negotiation on the price once you initialized the order since you already agreed on that price.
Maybe the buyer is up to something (it's hard to tell without the chat but you should keep it private)

2. The displayed amount on the Binance interface matched the original Ad price, but it did not match the new price the seller was trying to push in the chat.

The important thing is the advertised price's calculated amount (fiat/crypto, displayed in the order) should match the actual sent amount.
Now, if you agreed a different price in the chat but the amount in the order matched the sent amount, the support may brush it off since the order's amount is fulfilled.

But you may review their "Appeal Handling" article and "P2P ToS" to check if you have the advantage on this or if it's worth your time:

• binance.com/en/support/faq/detail/360041839052
• binance.com/en/terms-p2p

One thing to keep in mind: do not negotiate the price in chat. Stick to the price displayed in your selected Ad.

[NotATether]

Use a platform where the rate cannot be changed once the trade starts.

I don't know where you traded on, but all P2P platforms will list the exchange rate for BTC <-> whatever that you will use for the trade.

[Chibit01]

Use a platform where the rate cannot be changed once the trade starts.

I don't know where you traded on, but all P2P platforms will list the exchange rate for BTC <-> whatever that you will use for the trade.

According to the op reply above the platform used was Binance, and this attitude of buyers trying to start barging price in DM is now common on platforms like bybit, binance, etc. The price rate don’t change but onces the buyer notice the seller is inexperienced they send below the supposed amount and then pressured the seller to release fund if the seller did not fall for that trick and filed for appeal complete payment could have been made or the trade could have been canceled.

[Opiate32]

.
I made a post about this then in my Nigerian local board How Can I Stay Safe from Fraudulent Buyers on Bybit P2P? and i was given a few recommendations which I will share with you now:

• Never act under pressure; confirm receipt before releasing the coin.
• To be on the safe side, check the buyer's rating and the number of completed trades. High trades and ratings could mean that the buyer is reputable and without scam tendencies.
• Avoid buyers whose exchange rates are abnormally higher than the normal exchange rate. Scammers fix very high rates to lure their victims.
• Finally, don't forget to report these bad buyers and sellers.

These recommendations are definitely things I wish I knew earlier, but now I've learnt my lesson. I'll choose reputable buyers wisely now with better ratings. I appreciate 💯🙌

[uchegod-21]

Use a platform where the rate cannot be changed once the trade starts.

I don't know where you traded on, but all P2P platforms will list the exchange rate for BTC <-> whatever that you will use for the trade.

This is not enough. People like OP just need to be smart when dealing  P2P on any exchange at all. Countless times, I have encountered buyers who try to negotiate rates with me; rate that is lower than the actual exchange rate. They will try to make you pity them by bringing up stories like the exchange or banks usually deducts a certain percentage from their money. With this, they plead with you to allow them to pay less. Newbies fall victim to this tactic out of compassion.

Newbies should understand that no one is their friend in that space. If the buyer or seller will not agree to the rate already stated on the exchange order, they should never release coins. There should be no room for bargaining rates.

[Ronsbit]

Every exchange p2p platform clearly states their terms for any trader or vendor to see before engaging, and among them is: do not release your coin if you have not received your full payment. In this case, you have every right to initiate a complaint for further action. Do not be pressured in case you are dealing with it next time. Just be calm and request your full payment, and if the other party refuses, open a complaint ticket and report them, and do not release your coin to them.