PayPal Buyers Protection/Dispute is a joke! Got scammed for $100

[brkicz]

Hi,

I ordered cell phone from GizTop and payed the price with VAT included. They send it from
China instead of EU warehouse, and promise to refund me VAT. I lost more than $100,
because they didn't want to refund me after I payed VAT (GizTop stole $100).
After starting dispute there is no way for buyer to provide any evidence. I asked for help
but they only respond with automatic FAQ answers.

They closed dispute in seller's favour for reasons only known to themselves.

So, beware, they are not protecting you, they are not respecting you.

See here details PayPal dispute

[Whac-A-Mole]

Paypal offers buyer protection for item not received,item not as described and unauthorised transaction,your case does not fall under any of these categories.

No one can protect you from buying from some vendor who ships from overseas or a EU warehouse,next time ask question before you buy or go to a brick and mortar shop.

you can return the item at your expenses and Paypal will refund you ,but it would not be ableto get you back the 100 euro $,

[brkicz]

I did open dispute related to tax and they were resolving it. I don't agree with you that noone can protect me from buying from some vendor who ships from overseas or a EU warehouse. The same products from CN or EU warehouse have different price and I pay VAT included into that product price. I payed product more expensive and I received "item not as described". Paypal should protect me. They took my money for paying VAT and they should give it back to me since VAT was not payed.

[brkicz]

Regarding "next time ask question before you buy or go to a brick and mortar shop" - maybe you don't have experience buying from China. First of all, I was not buying a brick, I was buying a $369 phone with 2 years of warranty. Most of the shops from China allows you to choose warehouse from where the item will be sent. If you choose CN warehouse, yuo are expeted to pay VAT. If you choose EU warehouse, you (if you are in Europe like I am) don't have to pay custom tax, but price of the item is higher. People from EU prefer ordering from EU warehouse, because it is usually faster delivery and there are no customs office taxes.
 
I didn't have to ask questions, because seller advertised that item ships from EU warehouse and that VAT is included. I have previously ordered from the same seller before and they did send items from EU warehouse and I didn't have to pay taxes. I had no reason not to trust them when they said that they made mistake and that they will refund me VAT.

[Whac-A-Mole]

it is not a mistake,they just ran out of stock in their EU warehouse.

[brkicz]

After a month I finally got refunded, after giving negative seller review at Trustpilot. Partner of the seller pressed them to refund me, because thay care about their reputation:

" I have learned about the whole process from Giztop's customer service team, and known what happened. I'm very sorry for the inconvenience. It's our mistake and I hope that I can help you solve this issue. I know you paid about $105 on customs, I will ask them to refund the money to your paypal account, and also hope you can help us to delete the nagetive feedback. 

About the customs tax, it is a really misunderstand, as the shop's policy, buyer needn't pay customs tax before, but the shipping company suddently changed the policy because of some unknown reason, so we have to change the shipping option, and adjust the shop policy. Thanks for your understanding."

Regarding PayPal - the worst customer support ever. They don't respect their customers at all. They did nothing to protect me. And after I got my money back they even steal part of it because  seller made normal payment to me (it could not done otherwise becuase transaction after dispute can no longer be refunded). I regret that I used their service so long (since 2006), without taking into consideration other options. I also regret I didn't read other reviews before, their average on TrustPilot is 1.3 and they are fine with that: https://www.trustpilot.com/review/www.paypal.com

I've also written a review to help others:

https://www.trustpilot.com/reviews/5925449320b79f0aa8f814a1

[Whac-A-Mole]

And after I got my money back they even steal part of it because  seller made normal payment to me (it could not done otherwise becuase transaction after dispute can no longer be refunded). I regret that I used their service

----------------------------Paypal is a service provider,it provides a service and so it should be paid for such.

No one urges you to buy from this or that company,this VAT issue has nothing to do with Paypal,it is a service provider which facilitates trade,it is not a babysitter or law enforcement agent .

glad it is resolved,buying on internet is not like buying from a brick and mortar store,use your judgment.

[brkicz]

Sumiko, payment providers do not take provisions for partial refunds. PayPal has already took provision when I payed the item. Since you are mentioning brick and mortar stores again, they are more professional than PayPal. This VAT issue has everything to do with PayPal since it was calculated in the price of the item and PayPal took my money for that. When you order item from EU that has higher price and receive item from CN that has lower price, that is not a tax issue - that is a wrong item issue. Have you ever order anything online? Did you receive it from different continent with a different price than ordered?  You are obviously biased to PayPal and missed the whole point. But, you are right - no one urges me to use PayPal again.