I called the police today and they said that ebay with have their own fraud team to investigate and help me with the tracking no. (not sure what she is talking about, i assume the royal mail tracking no.). She also said that if I report it, they will not do anything. Ebay will contact them to do something after ebay finish investigation.
This really make sense...
No it doesn't make any sense. If you got ripped off by Tesco, would the police tell you to go back there and ask them nicely to investigate? It's certainly true that ebay have their own fraud investigation department (and boy do they ever need it) but they have no legal power in themselves and no duty, other than the broad duty of care implied in any civil contract, to resolve any matter. The police, on the other hand do.
This is a case where, if the details are as simple as you have described, you paid money directly into a bank account. The seller may or may not have good reason to ask for that payment method, but one thing is absolutely sure - the seller, who-ever it is, must have had access to that account in order to retrieve your funds. At the least, he/she has committed theft if the intent was to separate you from your money with no property to give you in exchange, and in reality, is more likely to have committed fraud, which is a serious crime.
My advice to you is to go back to the police - in person and not by phone - and make sure you do not represent the case in the same way you have here in this thread. If you describe it the way you have to us, they have little reason to be bothered. Instead, document every aspect of the case so you can present them with an abundance of paperwork demonstrating that a person or persons unknown to you have deliberately set out to defraud you, and probably others, of significant sums of money. Provide them with exact details of the auction, the sellers identity as far as you know it, the bank account details into which the funds were transfered from your own, and all communication between you and the seller, including all attempts you made to communicate which resulted in no reply. Additionally, provide them any evidence you have that the seller is continuing to defraud others. Use the word 'fraud' not the word 'scam', and describe the seller as the perpetrator and yourself as the victim.
If you provide them with enough coherent evidence that you are the victim of criminal activity, and of a trail to the perpetrator, along with a clear indicator of the intent of the seller to defraud others in addition to yourself, and the possibility that there have been others before you too, and the police will act. Much depends on the manner you approach them and the manner in which you describe and document the case.
If they still refuse to act, ask to see the officer in charge in order to discuss with him or her the reasons the police are not prepared to act. Bear in mind that as a member of the public you have a right to file a complain with the Police Complaints Commission if the police fail to act on a criminal matter on your behalf after you have demonstrated a wish to file a complaint against another, and have been able to provide evidence of criminal wrong doing.
If it is suggested to you that ebay should be the primary route for investigation you should follow, one of the arguments to make is that time is of the essence is other victims are also being defrauded and that ebay have no power to act rapidly, indeed, they require a minimum of 10 days delay before they will even begin, and that they have no power to examine bank accounts - at least in a timely fashion, while the police can.
All in all, the police will only take your case seriously if it is clear you do. If I were a police officer judging the situation on the basis of what you have contributed here, I would have severe doubts about that. In terms of getting them to act, you therefore may be your own worst enemy.
