I could use some advice on a recent dispute with Ali Express and Paypal.
Over the course of two weeks in July, I ordered approximately 1000+ items from 60 different sellers on AliExpress to supplement inventory for my online store. The sum spent on these orders was nearly USD 4000.
I initially received the first five orders in August, but I noticed that none of the packages I ordered appeared in my USPS informed delivery alerts after about three weeks.
Upon checking the Ali Express website, I noticed that they changed ALL my order addresses to the wrong zip code, even though my order receipt shows that I clearly entered my address correctly during the checkout process.
Despite my best efforts reaching out, the sellers failed to understand the situation due to the language barrier, and, deservedly, they did not see this as their issue. My next step was to contact Ali Express. After my repeated attempts at reaching out to them, including emailing, chatting with their bot Eva, and sending evidence, they refused to acknowledge a glitch in their logistic system.
At this point, I had spent about 30+ hours on this issue. As a last resort, I went through PayPal. I had been using Paypal as a business for 20+ years. Because I have all my documentation, I was sure my purchases would be protected.
I spent countless hours collecting extensive paperwork and created 60, 4-page PDF files for each order.
For each document, I included:
1.) My initial order receipt with the correct address
2.) Ali Express logistics shipping page showing an incorrect address
3.) a screenshot of the Ali Express alert page with a message saying "delivery failed" and the package was "returned to sender."
4.) A screenshot of USPS with the tracking number and status saying "package returned to sender."
I provided Paypal with ample evidence for all these charges to be reversed. As expected PayPal, refunded my first 10 claims but denied all the others. Their denials were highly confusing because the evidence and circumstances for every single order were identical. If they had ruled in favor of ten claims, I assumed I would indeed have won since the evidence is precisely the same in each case.
As soon as PayPal started denying my claims, I called their customer service department and they transferred me to their limitations department. In my call with the limitations department, they informed me that if I pursue any more claims, my Paypal account would be terminated.
Also, they told me that my claims would automatically deny due to the number of claims I submitted. As legal protection, I recorded this call 1-hour call.
Fast forward to now. I am distressed and out of 4k.
This situation has caused extreme hardship on my business and finances, and PayPal has failed me. My PayPal payments are supposed to be protected; however, there are limits on their protection - even if I have evidence showing I did everything right. What legal options or recourse do I have?
I am a small, women-owned, minority business, and I don't have many funds or legal options to pursue this. Is there anything I can do? Has anyone been in the situation? How did you manage to resolve this?
