PayPal's customer complaint process appears seriously flawed. Its investigations appear to lack competency and it is very difficult to communicate with PayPal during the process. Collection of support documents did not occur in my case although I advised that I had them. The process seems to favor the merchant even when there are hints fraud might be involved. Here is an example:
A few days ago, PayPal sent me notice that they had decided a complaint from me in favor of the merchant. The case involved whether the merchant had advertised one model of a kitchen appliance but shipped an older model with fewer features. After my complaint was filed the merchant changed his Website to remove all mention of the model they advertised and I had purchased, leaving only the model they shipped but with the description of the superior model. I had said in filing my complaint that I had screenshots of their original ad but Paypal never asked for them. Had PayPal simply gone to the manufacturer's Website, they easily could have verified my contention.
As Paypal's investigation dragged on the merchant sent me a sales advert, as if I would buy there again. It contained email addresses of other customers. Yesterday I emailed them and advised they should exercise caution with this merchant. Guess what? So far I have received 12 responses saying they had the same or similar experiences, three for the exact same product I purchased. Two said they had filed complaints with Paypal.
All of us received our items from Bed, Bath and Beyond, not the merchant from which we originally purchased. One respondent said he had tried to make a return and was told the purchase had been made with a private credit card and that any refund would go to that person. Another said she had been contacted by BB&B in conjunction with a fraud alert and was told the merchant in question may be using stolen credit cards to pay for purchases by its customers.
So it seems PayPal may be aiding a crook. I tried to share information that suggested the company may be a sham through PayPal's “contact us” Website link but was referred to customer service. Reaching PayPal by phone? One might have a better chance of reaching Elvis.
So I post here, hoping PayPal will take heed and act in the interests of its customers and not continue to facilitate what in all likelihood is a fraudulent company.
