Received a package where my payment was reversed by PayPal

dFhimz
Contributor
Contributor

This isn't a morality thread - I obviously know the moral decision to make here, but I am curious about legality and what to expect out of this strange situation:

 

The other day, due to a system glitch on the PayPal payment website, a payment was authorized to shop.ca for a gaming console that I wasn't actually going to buy. I got PayPal to reverse the payment and I got my money back, but this morning I got the item anyways. Obviously the right thing to do is return it, but I'm just curious: should I expect them to contact me asking me to pay for it? And if so, when? I hope there are people here who've experienced this before.

 

Thanks!

 

 

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TsufakTuna
Frequent Contributor
Frequent Contributor

Hi dFhimz,

you should contact the merchant from which you purchased the item and do one ot the following :

 

  • Offer to return the item at the merchant's expense. You must validize the error and provide proof that it was a PayPal error that caused the order to process and complete.
  • Offer to repay for the item and applicable shipping costs that were on the original invoice.

The key in any situation is communication.

 

If you choose not to do or say anything (doing so would be considered theft), the company has the legal right to attempt to collect funds from you - including a court case should it get that far. 

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kkootenay
Frequent Contributor
Frequent Contributor

The legal question is actually irrelevant.  A small seller would go after you, and a large company would write it off as they do shoplifting.

 

The moral question is the only one here. If you keep the game, you will have stolen it. Doesn't matter if you stole it from Best Buy,  Comic Book Guy or a student selling his bar mitzvah presents to pay for university. Still not your item and you don't get to keep it.

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dFhimz
Contributor
Contributor

I feel like I'm being accused of theft right now... I explicitly said I know what I have to do here, my question was about legality, simply out of curiosity. I sent an e-mail to the merchant as soon as I found the package on my doorstep. I didn't even hesitate to get this thing back to them.

 

I appreciate the help, but not the accusatory connotations in the replies!

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TsufakTuna
Frequent Contributor
Frequent Contributor

Your answer was given. If you don't return an item that doesn't belong to you, thats theft. Thats the LEGAL answer. If you feel otherwise - go and ask a lawyer and he'll tell you the same thing.

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smjjgs8
Contributor
Contributor

@dFhimz wrote:

This isn't a morality thread - I obviously know the moral decision to make here, but I am curious about legality and what to expect out of this strange situation:

 

The other day, due to a system glitch on the PayPal payment website, gaming console that I wasn't actually going to ... I got my money back, but this morning I got the item anyways. Obviously the right thing to do is return it, but I'm just curious: should I expect them to contact me asking me to pay for it? And if so, when? I hope there are people here who've experienced this before.       {emphasis mine}

Thanks!

 

Hi dFhimz, 

Thanks for asking this! So far this has not happened to me; but you never know with PayPal/eBay! 🙂  

 

As for your later post, about the conotations of censure (i.e. telling you that you would be a theif) I agree. You had made it clear that you knew what you had to, and, would do it post haste!  

I too have been on ther receiving end of information with a heavy sprinkling of pedantic, critical and frankly, blow-hard-like responses. So thanks again for asking the question. I hope it does not happen to me; however should it do so, I now am empowered to act, and avoid accusations of larceny!!  😉

 

 


 

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