Counterfeit Product - HELP!

[thamzah1986]

Hi guys, I was wondering if anyone could help me - here is the message I sent to the dispute centre:

"Hi, I ordered the Urbeats Headphones from this seller on the 10th February and received them fine. I was obviously under the impression that they were authentic, as he was a registered seller on ebay. I then tried to contact the seller through ebay but he was 'no longer a registered user' and some reviews had said they had been sold fake products. I then gave the serial number to Apple yesterday for a repair (to give the seller the benefit of the doubt) after they broke (as my warranty was still within a year of purchase), they then told me that the serial number I had given them did not exist. I have since had then looked at and been told that they were counterfeit, with incorrect spellings and grammar on the box (I had obviously not checked them before this, as I would not have assumed I would not be sold a fake product from a registered ebay user). Please organise a refund for these headphones so I can go and buy some authentic ones."

There was an automatic message saying that Paypal could not help me - i assume it's because I bought them in February 2015. However, I only had a way of finding out they were fake whilst enquiring about the warranty. This seems unfair! This person has gone off both ebay and Paypal - clearly dodgy. Does anyone know how to escalate my claim?

Thank you!!

[kernowlass]

You have up to 6 months to file a dispute on paypal, the same time most credit card companies allow you as well.

As you did not file a dispute its up to you to take private legal action against the seller if you want to.

[thamzah1986]

Thanks for the reply! Weirdly, it is 6 months to the day (yesterday) that I filed a complaint - completely by chance. However, the only reason I didn't file it before, was because I only found out it was counterfit yesterday when I spoke to the Apple Advisors online for them to ask about the warranty (as the headphones had broken). How do you suggest I go forward? The seller is no longer on eBay or PayPal so I have no way of taking legal action. 

Thank you in advance for any help!

[kernowlass]

Your posts are confusing, are you saying you HAVE opened a dispute?

If so then whats the problem??

[thamzah1986]

Sorry for the confusion, this is the first time i've ever done anything like this! I opened the dispute but it said straightaway:

"We're unable to decide this claim in my favour at this time. PayPal's Buyer Complaint Policy applies to the sending of goods but not to disputes about merchandise quality..... We encourage you to work directly with your seller to resolve this matter"

Then when I look into the resolution centre, it said no open cases, but when i change the dropdown to all cases, it shows my dispute and case closed.

Now i'm lost, as the seller is clearly fraudulent so i cannot contact him. I also cannot call anyone at paypal to tell them the details about this strange case.

[kernowlass]

Are you in the U.S??

[thamzah1986]

Nope, in the UK!

[kernowlass]

Odd you didn't post on the UK board then !!

Anyway i don't know what they are going on about, buyer complaint policy was years ago and buyer protection covers item not received AND item received but not as described.

I can't understand why you were not covered, the item was physical and not virtual was it??

I think you need to call them and find out why you were not covered and if you could come back and update that would be good >>>

Click on the words "Contact" at the bottom of your paypal account summary page and use the phone option (if there is one in the country you are in) > click on the "call us" option on the left (fees "may" apply so check the cost with your phone tariff first, as you sometimes have to wait a while to connect).

When you get through don't select any options just hang on till you get transfered to an agent or say the word "agent".



OR have you considered contacting Customer Service via Facebook or Twitter?

You can send them a personal message from their facebook or twitter pages.

It's: https://www.facebook.com/PayPalUK and @AskPayPal for Twitter.

[thamzah1986]

Thank you SO much for your reply!

Sorry I didn't realise there was a UK board - again, this is my first ever post!

They have since relpied to my email with this:

"Thank you for contacting PayPal.

If you did not open a dispute within the timeframe noted on the transaction details, you aren’t covered by PayPal Purchase Protection. However, you can still file a report online through the Internet Crime Complaint Center, or IC3.

The IC3 was established as a partnership between the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C) to serve as a means to receive Internet related criminal complaints.

The IC3 accepts online Internet crime complaints from either the actual victim or from a third party to the complainant. They will process your complaint if they receive accurate and complete information from you. When filing a complaint, provide the following information:

• Your name
• Your mailing address
• Your telephone number
• The name, address, telephone number, and Web address, if available, of the individual or organization you believe defrauded you.
• Specific details on how, why, and when you believe you were defrauded.
• Any other relevant information you believe is necessary to support your complaint.

You can file a complaint with the IC3 at www.ic3.gov.

To learn more about PayPal's Buyer Protection Policy, go to www.paypal.com and click Security at the bottom of the page.

It is my pleasure to assist you. Thank you for choosing PayPal.

Yours sincerely,
Ryan
PayPal"

So, I guess that gives me a few avenues to try... I will try calling, social media and this IC3 thing?? I will update here if i hear anything back!!

Kind Regards, 

Tania

[thamzah1986]

So i spoke to someone at Paypal and she was not helpful at all. I said that when i opened the dispute it was a day over the timeframe and there must be something they could do to accomodate my, as I was only made aware of the counterfeit product a few days ago. She just said bottom line nothing could be done.... 😞 so i'm out of pocket and have a fake broken product, because of one day 😞 very annoying. I will contact that IC3 - now it's just the princicple and not the money - the fact that I have been sold a counterfeit product that I now cannot return or get a refund for just seems crazy. Will keep you updated!