Complaint dismissed in favour of the merchant

[Kohiti]

As the buyer, I have just had a dispute closed in favour of the merchant. My complaint was that the merchant had not sent the goods purchased, and was not responding to any of my emails. The only email I received was the PayPal receipt. The website that I made the purchase from was closed shortly after my purchase, and google searches indicate that the merchant was/is running a scam.

In PayPal's closing of my complaint, they state that they received tracking proof from the merchant that the 'goods' were delivered. My question is, why doesn't PayPal supply me the details of the courier tracking so that I can follow up directly with the courier? In determining the outcome of a complaint, surely information supplied by either party is required to be disclosed to the other party to ensure transparency of a complaint resolution process.

Given that the merchant had no contract with me concerning my waiver of the need to receipt the delivery of goods, even if the merchant could prove that the goods were delivered to my address, they would still be liable to refund the cost of the goods not physically received by me.

I have asked for PayPal to supply me further information tended by the merchant, and depending on PayPal's response - and if received my evaluation of the tracking information proves to be erroneous - I will be referring the issue to AFCA. This will probably cause PayPal to incur costs far greater than the amount at issue. 

Regards

Kohiti.

[PayPal_Olivia]

Hi @Kohiti,

I'm sorry to hear about the outcome of the claim. If the case was closed for valid tracking, there would be tracking that was entered in the transaction details or during the course of the dispute or claim. If you cannot find it in either record, please reach out to customer service to review the decision.

To contact customer service, please click Contact at the bottom of the PayPal website for available options, or reach out by PM on Facebook or DM on Twitter.

I hope this helps!

Olivia

[Kohiti]

Hi Olivia

Thanks for the reply. I have escalated the complaint. In my case, the seller arranged to have sent a fairly worthless child's cut-out pink teddy bear (probably worth < 0.10) so that she could generate a tracking number and have proof of delivery. PayPal just accepted the fact that the seller was able to produce a valid tracking number showing successful delivery as proof that the item I had ordered had been delivered. Luckily, I kept the item that was delivered as I was surprised to receive something that I had not ordered. I needed verification of the tracking number (which PayPal supplied me, not the seller) to be able to connect the delivered item to a seller.

In my case, the item I ordered weighs between 30-36kg, and would have cost $120 to ship from China to Australia. It could not have been delivered by a regular postal delivery person on a motorbike. The sellers confirmation email for my order contained broken links and a website address to a company in Maryland, USA. I contacted this company who stated that they had no knowledge of the seller. The website that I made the purchase through was closed shortly after my transaction. The seller uses these things and the use of PayPal in an attempt to legitimise her fraud.

I have provided PayPal enough information to hopefully issue me a refund on the grounds that the item delivered was significantly different to the one that I ordered. PayPal are also going to look into my claim that this seller is operating a semi-sophisticated fraud to which PayPal is unknowingly supporting through its application of its refund policies. PayPal have advised me that they will be looking into the seller's account to ascertain if there is a pattern of similar payments to mine. There are probably other people similarly scammed who are either too embarrassed or simply willing to chalk up their situation to experience and have not bothered to pursue the issue as I have done. Like a dog with a bone!

Regards

Rod

[PayPal_Olivia]

Hi @Kohiti,

It sounds like the case is opened for Item Not received, but the problem is that it's an Iten Significantly Not As Described. Those are two different types of cases and if the Item Not Received case is the one that was selected, it would be able to be resolved with tracking. In a situation where an item is Not As Described, choosing that claim type would result in a different requirement for resolution.

I'm glad to hear that it sounds like you've successfully followed up on this and had the correct type of claim opened at this point.

Olivia

[Unbelievable6]

I have the same problem what did you do.

[Kohiti]

Hi

After quite a few emails sent toPayPal through the resolution centre - which only generated unhelpful responses - I made a phone call to PayPal. The call centre representative appeared courteous and attentive and talk all of my concerns down. When I told her that I was unable to put all of the facts to PayPal due to word limit on their electronic forms, she provides me with the email address to their Australian office who would take on the complaint. She also said that my claims that the seller was committing a fraud would be past on for investigation, which would include PayPal looking into the seller's account to see if there was a pattern of similar value transactions.

Lastly, because PayPal is deemed to be a financial institution in Australia, it is regulated by federal legislation. Similarly, we have the Australian Financial Complaints Authority which provides mediation to financial consumers having a complaint against an institution. While this provides a free service to consumers, the lodging of a complaint creates a financial cost on the respondent financial institution, irrespective of the outcome. This cost would far exceed the claim I have.

I am still waiting on PayPal's next response. I have requested a refund based on the item that I received being significantly different to the item I had ordered. The seller is still trying to push the fact that there is a tracking number showing delivery of the item. What I have requested PayPal to do is to ask the seller for additional information including: (1) proof of purchase from the distributor; and (2) proof of shipping charge from the distributor, including the item's weight. 

I believe that in most cases similar to mine, the buyer takes no action rather chalking it up to experience. This may be due to embarrassment. However, I think we all look to the fact that where sellers use PayPal as a payment gateway that we should hold a high degree of reassurance that our purchases are safeguarded by the relevant consumer protection. PayPal's reputation and continued growth in the marker is dependent on this. When you look at an unscrupulous seller like the one I have encountered and you hazard to contemplate them defrauding say 100 buyers, so those relatively small amounts create a large sum. That's the incentive for these type of people to run these scams. It is important that buyers reveal these fraudsters and seek redress and recovery of their payments to the maximum extent possible, and share their experiences with the community so that others may feel confident to pursue a similar course of action.

Regards

kohiti.

[Kohiti]

Hi All

I have received notification from PayPal today that they will refund my payment in full. Never give up the fight. 

Regards

kohiti.

[Jp112]

Congratulations!!!!!!! I have been fighting with a merchant and PayPal since May 30th and it is now July 23rd.  No resolution and similar situation.  I will not give up though.  Ridiculous.  Glad you got your funds back!!!