paid via credit card to a websites paypal account and been scammed help

[lindalockets]

hoping someone can help , i purchased something off a website and paid by credit card not paypal , but the payment was sent to their paypal account , the company sent a bulk email saying to reorder as funds werent cleared . checked with my card company payment was sent , because the message sent out was bulk , we have all communicated with each other and turns out nobody has recieved any items and this is obviously a scam . with the payment going to their paypal account is there anything i can do , even though i did'nt pay through paypal?. please help

[I_know_nothing]

If you are a UK resident, and the amount that you paid was £100 (or more), then you are protected by Section 75 of the 1974 Consumer Credit Act. The Act holds the credit card company and merchant jointly responsible. So, if the goods fail to arrive, arrive damaged or not as described, and the merchant is unable/unwilling to help, then your credit card provider has to reimburse you. Claims must be submitted within 180-days of the payment date.

If the amount paid was less than £100, then you're not covered by Section 75 of the Act. However, your credit card provider may still be able to recover the money on your behalf, using the Chargeback process. Further details are provided here:

http://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/sale-of-goods/your-rights-when-paying-by-credit-card/chargeba...

For information about online fraud, please visit the National Fraud Authority web-site:

http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/agencies-public-bodies/nfa/

It would help the fight against fraud if you, and the other victims, reported this scam to the UK's National Fraud Reporting Centre:

http://www.actionfraud.org.uk/about-us/who-we-are

[I_know_nothing]

I forgot to mention, your transaction must have been processed as a PayPal guest payment. Therefore, if the item purchased is eligible for Buyer Protection, it should be possible to open a PayPal dispute.

As the dispute would have to be filed manually, you need to email the transaction ID to PayPal and explain that you wish to open an Item Not Received (INR) dispute on a one time use (guest) account. Once the dispute is opened, you should be able to enter more details of the scam and escalate the INR dispute to claim - after a minimum period of 7-days from the payment date.

If your purchase is not eligible for Buyer Protection, or the dispute/claim is unsuccessful, then you still have the protection provided by your credit card, as a fall-back.

N.B. Initiating a chargeback will automatically close an open PayPal dispute/claim. So, don't attempt both at the same time.