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I bought an international money order from my bank to send payment to UK for a car part I needed. It started off very similar to your story, where the guy got upset when I asked for his info and then I apologized and he sent me his cell phone number and an address to send the money order. Then he claimed he was in a car accident and the short version is he ripped me off. After the money order was cashed, there wasn't anything a bank can do from what they told me. I thought about contacting the local police in his area, but by that time the money spent on international calls and my time was adding up and I just wrote the $400 dollars off and filed his info away on the off chance I might someday end up in England where I can revisit the issue in person...
anyway, my advice is to use an established escrow service for international purchases to private parties. I don't suggest money orders/bank transfers because there is not much to be done after the money leaves your account, and especially when dealing internationally.
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