Hi all,
About 3 weeks ago I ordered a website for my small shop to be developed from what seemed to be a college student.
I ordered it through his own website and ordered a package. Few moments later, he sent me a PayPal Money Request of the amount which we had agreed on, which I paid (the fool).
He started immediately to develop the first page of the website but not for long. He made nothing but a menu-bar and a title on a blank page and then emailed me and said he had to go and would continue on it later.
One week later the website was still in the condition he had left it at, so I decided to make a dispute on PayPal. He replied to that and said: "As stated on the website, please allow up to 30 days for completion of our projects in development". I decided not to push it further and allow him to "shoot himself in the leg" by not finishing the website within the 30 day period as promised - I thought I could use that later as proof to PayPal.
One day later, he updated the PayPal transaction with shipping information:
Shipper: *censored*, Website Company
Tracking number: 00123541649
Shipping status: In Process
Yesterday, he escalated the dispute, that I had filed, to a claim. He also commented (all lies of course):
"He has baught a website from us, he started to like it, when we just started to make it he said that he wanted something else.It does state on our website that upto 5 changes, not 2 restarts!(Website is down at the moment for repairs)Our Rules are:- 1 week, we must start- 1 month, we must finish. it does also state that the client is not allowed to set a time set, he said 'You have 48hrs to get it done or i will get a refund' In the UK that is blackmail".
Also worth noting is that there are no agreements or any documents neither of us can provide to PayPal as proof.
So here are my questions:
1. What does it practically mean when the seller escalates a buyers dispute to a claim (instead of the buyer escalating his own claim)?
If he insists that he did everything right, then why ask PayPal to decide the outcome of the money that he already owns?
2. What will PayPal ask from the buyer and what from the seller? And what happens if neither parties can provide sufficient documentation?
3. The shipping information posted above is false:
a. How do you *ship* a website?
b. The tracking number is obviously a made-up number, and cannot be used anywhere to track the shipping process.
c. Whatever he runs is not a registered company, and most definetly not a shipping company.
Can I use the information above to prove to PayPal that my product has not "arrived"?
4. The seller wanted 30 days, then suddenly escalates my dispute to a claim on the 2nd week. Could this be an effective way of sneaking out of our "deal", not delivering the product, and yet keep the money?
Since he mentioned the 30-day timeframe in the PayPal dispute, would he not be tied to deliver the website within that timeframe?
What should I do? Do I have any advantage in the situation that I can use against the seller and win the claim?
Thanks in advance.
