Got scammed by a Facebook ad selling Golden curling 2 in 1 hair iron.

Stellaluna1970
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Contributor

Hello everyone,

I got scammed out of approximately 45.00$ from a Chinese company working (apparently) from the UK. Their name is summer_eye CO., Ltd but they go by many, many names on social media ads mainly on Facebook. They have scammed many women including myself. They state they sell the MESTAR IRON PRO - GOLD but in reality they don't send anything. The very few on Facebook that actually have been lucky to receive anything, have receive a plain black hair straightener that is worth about 10$ and some are damaged goods. 
I have discovered, unfortunately after the fact, that they NEVER respond to the email they provided on their website. Additionally, the phone number they posted on their site does not work either. The first time I called, a man speaking Chinese answered and he didn't speak English nor French.  He hung up on me.  All additionally calls went to voice mail.  

After some investigating on my part, I have discovered who owns the company, where they are located in the UK and how many company they have registered (I even have their date of birth).  
I was under the impression that PayPal kept people's funds secure for a few days and only released it after a certain amount of days but it seems PayPal redeemed my funds immediately to the fraudulent vendor.

I have since opened a case file with PayPal and await to see what on earth will come of it. 
Since this is my first time getting scammed, my question is, What should I expect from PayPal ? Will this process be an easy one considering these scammers are still up and running on Facebook.

I have opened up a file with Shopify since these scammers are powered by them and with Facebook. I have also opened up a criminal police report since I am a victim of online internet fraud.
Any other advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you  

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128 REPLIES 128

ytan1397
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Couldn’t bother anymore i have stressed enough communicating with them online. Will never use them again
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gigiradcliffe
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After trying to work with the Summer_Eyes company to send me a pre-paid return shipping label, and them advising I had to ship back at my expense, I escalated the issue to Paypal.  Paypal in turn, provided me with the same instructions as the seller, and I could not dispute or remark on the 'claim', other than the required tracking information that I was to provide, in order to get a refund.  It would have cost me more to ship the dang thing back, then I paid for it.  Finally fed up, I called Paypal, and spoke to a pleasant enough young lady by the name of Grace, but you could tell Grace was not located in the United States, and I struggled with her heavy accent.  She too, gave me the run around, said she would send a 'complimentary' email to the seller, to see if they would re-consider sending a pre-paid return label to me, but I advised, I had already asked them a couple of times.  I finally said I wanted to speak to her manager, and she put me on hold.  She came back, and advised her Supervisor was on another call, but said that he advised they would give me a $25.00 refund on the product.  I paid $27.49, so I was happy with that, and agreed.  Push Paypal, don't just do it via online, get on the phone and call them, and push...good luck to everyone, and I hope you at least get something back for all your troubles.  

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Me2_scammed
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Contributor
Same here. Paypal said for me to ship to China WITH TRACKING to get $30 of my $37.40. I looked it up online and it would have cost over $100! Also no place online to respond to Paypal, so I called. First guy also had a thick accent and when I asked him to repeat, he yelled at me "you're not listening!" and hung up on me! Lol! I called back and got another nice lady who refunded all of it and said I can pitch, sell, or donate them. It pays (literally) to be persistent.
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Jtrunner83
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I just received mine!! So mad right now I wish they would ban them! Or at least if we pay thru PayPal let us see negative feedback!! I wouldn’t of bought it!
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Nicoladp72
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I also got scammed I recieved a cheap black flat iron. Totally not what I ordered. They offered a refund but I had to send the item back to China, bearing in mind it was delivered from UK, I have opened a dispute through Paypal disgusting that they can keep getting away with this!!
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madsf
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This is my problem exactly!!!!! I ordered one straightener/curler, received some lame and cheaply made piece of garbage with no functions and the plug had doesn't even stay in socket!!!!! Now I am supposed to spend money sending it back?!?!?!?! I wrote Paypal and said I couldn't believe they were siding with these sleazebag liars. Beware of Ashy Snow!!!!!! and beware of Paypal standards slipping

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Me2_scammed
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Contributor
Don't let it go. CALL PAYPAL until you get a refund[Removed. Phone #s not permitted]Call, call, call UNTIL you get someone that gives you your refund without having to ship it back. Paypal online told me I was required to ship back WITH TRACKING to prove they received the return. To China would cost over $100!! I called twice and got my refund immediately. Good luck!
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madsf
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Hey. I just spent a half an hour on the phone with three different people on the food chain at Paypal and was finally hung up on because , well, I was getting mad. Not swearing but I basically said they just have men dealing with these calls because men are less likely to care or be swayed(just a generalization because I was literally at my wit's end with these inane conversations). I was and am furious. I repeatedly said that the company that they are taking the side of, by working with them and taking their "return item" stance is a fraud and are using other people's photos and videos to bait and switch the product/consumer. They all had pat responses about their return shipping cost program, ($30.00 maximum hah!) program, how they understand my frustration, how they are not allowed to discuss their relationship with this company(Huang Company). How can it be that they are basically siding with the seller by demanding that the buyer who is the victim of a bait and switch and to add insult to injury, a defective item to boot, should now have the delightful task of paying out of pocket to ship a pice of junk back to China where they spent a about a tenth of a cent to produce said item, take photos of the return label, etc.  and hope that the item arrives and is taken note of and then you get refund and perhaps you are lucky enough to have the shipping cost under the maximum coverage? Sorry for that run on sentence but my I am so mad right now, I can't be more concise. I also said that I know for a fact that analytics of some sort are generated to monitor these sorts of transactions, problems, disputes and refund requests and that I know I am not the only one calling about this situation and Paypal's infuriating handling of this problem. Of course they said they can't discuss anyone else's accounts with me, which is not what I was wanting but I do want to know if they are receiving other complaints. So, I guess I am stuck with this piece of crap because I was getting so mad and had stopped listening to their boilerplate bullish*t(sorry)--they most likely given me a demerit on my record....haha Who knows, I might call again. I am certainly no longer using them for many of my transactions and I will not be referring them to friends or anyone else. Paypal's new policy? Buyer beware....

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TexasBoyMom
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Contributor

Update: The product finally arrived AFTER I complained to PayPal. But it was the wrong product. I changed my dispute with PayPal to "product not as described". Communicated with the company via PayPal message and they offered 15% back (like $3?). I said no, I want the 2-in-1 curling iron. They said they were out of stock. https://daddyrecommend.com/products/90-off-last-day-promotion2-in-1-mestar-iron-pro?variant=19952286... They were still selling that very item on their page (which they have since taken down and moved to another page).   I called PayPal because PayPal messaged me that I'd have to ship the product back (to China) to get my $25 back. I had to explain to 2 people that they need to shut down this scam and I wanted my $ refunded. They refunded the money, They assured me they would shut down this scam. Guess what popped up on FB today https://mioob.com/products/2-in-1-twist-straightening-curling-iron?fbclid=IwAR06Shrr1RjFAvhEgcL0rhl5...

And this folks is why I won't buy through PayPal anymore. There's a reason why this China scam is not using Mastercard/Visa! Visa/Mastercard is tough on scams like this and you get your money back so fast if there's an issue. PayPal puts it onto the buyer to prove and move so slowly, that the company will just keep changing their URL and name---and put the proof onto the customer. I'm sure they've duped thousands of people, sending them a $10 cheap flat iron. Scroll down and see that they say they're selling the same item on Amazon for $190. Yeah right---it's even LESS on Amazon (and Amazon is much nicer about returns than PayPal!) https://www.amazon.com/Curling-Straightening-Adjustable-Temperature-Suitable/dp/B07M9K74C7/ref=sr_1_...

I've concluded that PayPal is for sending money to friends (actually I prefer Venmo), NOT for buying things. If the only checkout option is PayPal--it's probably shady.

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ytan1397
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Thank you for the helpful info. Yes i think this is my last time to use paypal. Time to change!
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