First of all, sorry to hear the news. You seem incredibly calm given the situation, i would go mental.
I've got to rant though... it seems too commonplace on forums that despite hearing numerable bad things about people, morons still defend their internet buddies, allowing people to keep getting conned. At the end of the day, there is no smoke without fire...
I've had to learn the lesson myself. I don't know if that fat spotty kid called Subway is on this forum with his mangled V6 but i bought suspension off him which i later found out was missing vital components. He told me it was "my problem." I thought by dealing with a CS member i'd get the benefit of some comradery, enthusiasm and at least some good manners. Turns out he was about as helpful as Heather Mills in a sack race. Despite this, people were still saying how much of a nice bloke he was because they chat to him on MSN.
For the sake of a few hundred quid, i could of got some brand new kit. I've learnt never to be such a pikey, because you end up dealing with them.
Anyway, good luck with getting a resolution. Hopefully there is a way of making incidents like this more prominent so others don't get ripped off at least.