I somehow missed this thread and have to say of course you can rant and rave on here Gerda, if you can't moan with friends then when can you......
Sorry to hear you've had a pig of a deal on the auction front and I know myself how it feels to be messed around with payments and bank charges.
Good to hear that the seller has now contacted you and hopefully something good will come of all this stress......
This type of raw deal makes you realise why some people tend to stay away from ebay selling.
Smurfy regards
Steve