Dispute Denied - Has this happened to you?

[Tonykerz]

I just had a dispute denied by Paypal and I want to see how many others have had a similar experience. I think that Paypal has a Moneyback policy that is just a marketing ploy. This is not only unethical, but potentially illegal. Post if you have had a similar experience as mine.

I purchased a used iphone on Ebay that was grossly misrepresented in the listing. The phone had some cracks on the back, which I didn't care about as long as it worked. The listing stated "Working perfect. No problems at all" After paying $410.50, I received the phone and it was definitely not working perfectly! The phone would Facetime in the middle of every call. If anyone has had that experience, it is unpleasant to have speaker phone screaming in your ear in the middle of every call.

So I set up a claim through Paypal. They asked for a bunch of info and supporting materials. After spending hours with Ebay tracking down the necessary info, the claim was denied because, "because if an item is materially similar to the seller's description, we do not consider it to be significantly not as described." What is this? The item was listed as "working perfectly" and was absolutely not working perfectly! If the item isn't working perfect, than the phone has been misrepresented. There was an obvious problem with this phone from Day 1 and the seller had to know about it. On top of that, the phone wouldn't even turn on after less than 60 days. Now I am out $410.50 on a misrepresented scam listing and Paypal doesn't have their customer's back like they claim. 

I think that Paypal's Moneyback Guarantee is a marketing ploy and am betting that a lot of other legit claims are being denied. Have you had a similar experience? I want to hear other experiences.

[sharpiemarker]

@Tonykerz 

You're very mistaken. PayPal does not have a money back guarantee. eBay does. You should have filed a return request as Not As Described with eBay unless you're passed the filing date allowed with eBay.

PayPal has buyer protection but they do not claim it as a guarantee, warranty or insurance and has it's limitations. However, there may have been a misunderstanding so, call up PayPal to appeal the case.

Contact customer service for assistance:

Click HELP at the top menu, scroll down to click CONTACT US, and then scroll down to click CALL US.

Call early, during business hours, west coast time to try to get a US rep. Say "Live Agent" to the automated recording.

Or private message via social media:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/paypal

Twitter: @AskPayPal 

Man, $411 for a used, cosmetically cracked phone? Never in a million years.

[Tonykerz]

No resolution. I called and talked to someone at PayPal. They’re raised their voice with me and told me that you can clearly see the phone was cracked. Apparently, a seller can list a cracked phone as “Working perfectly” with no repercussions. That same scammer is still selling on EBay and I’m sure PayPal is still sending them money. I don’t care about cosmetic cracks on the back of a phone, I just put a case on it. As long as the screen is fine and the phone works. This phone absolutely did not work right and was falsely advertised. @sharpiemarker I guess you have $800 for a new phone, but some cosmetic cracks are worth saving $400 IMO.

[sharpiemarker]

@Tonykerz 

Seems to me you were focusing on the cosmetic damage and not whether the phone worked or not to PayPal by their response. Call back and speak to another rep. Just say you bought this phone and it don't work. If don't want to deal with PayPal any longer and you paid with credit card, open a dispute with card issuer.

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The crack on the phone is beyond the point here for me. And no one is suggesting you to drop $800 on one. If I had 400 bones to drop on a phone, man, there are plenty of places I would drop it (3 cell phone places in walking distance from me) and be assured that I'll have a working phone and in better condition and with customer service, not a dispute. eBay is not one of them, sorry, too many scams and certainly not from some random seller if that is the case in your situation. Cracked phone is a hint that the phone was mistreated and for 400 bucks, 400 bucks!, I have to consider a number of factors.

What if the phone don't work though, do I just take the word of some stranger that it does? Am I 'ok' with losing this money?

What if I have to file and deal with a dispute? Do I want to deal with a dispute?

So I would ask myself all these questions and then some and never let myself get into such situation. There would have to be some special circumstance where I had to buy it off eBay (maybe last store on earth) but then again this is the internet, plenty of places I can buy a phone from and not have to deal with the hassle.