I'm a scam victim and the resolution will cost almost as much as the transaction amount.

lajshD
Contributor
Contributor

Long story short: I purchased an item advertised as a cat scratching post. 2 months later I receive only but 2 pieces of twine. The total amount was $33. The seller's Shopify store has been suspended, and I imagine PayPal has received many complaints about the merchant.

 

Paypal is allowing me a refund, but I must ship the item to Hong Kong, even though the item shipped to me from Los Angeles, where I also live. Sending this package to Hong Kong will cost me $21, plus my time and the risk that the seller refuses the item.  The twine I will be sending is worth probably 10 cents. The only option on my case now is to enter the tracking number. 

 

I'm leaning towards just never using PayPal as a payment method again, even though I use it 20+ times a month. If this were a credit card transaction, the original amount would have been deposited in my account after the chargeback were initiated and the seller would easily lose the case. I realize this is a small amount of money, so I'm unable to trust that PayPal would have my back on ANY transaction now. 

 

Does anyone know a way to dispute the return itself? Why can't I return it to the address is was sent from? Could a seller just require all returns to be sent to the most expensive country on earth in order to never have to refund money? 

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9 REPLIES 9

lajshD
Contributor
Contributor

Looks like I've found many others in the exact same situation with no help from PayPal: 

 

https://www.trustpilot.com/review/cocomaking.com

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kernowlass
Esteemed Advisor
Esteemed Advisor

@lajshD 


Chinese Web Sites or on Facebook easy to spot so buyer beware.

1. No return address on the returns policy............thats because the site will look as if its in your country (where they despatch goods from) BUT they will ask for returns to go back to China (returns depot) at a shipping cost nearly always more than the item is worth.
2. No contact telephone number............if you click on contact the most you will get is webmail or an email address.
3. No company address information.
4. Great looking items at bargain prices that turn out to be tat.

However in the event of a dispute you need to bear in mind possible return trackable costs before you buy from that seller / item / country.

Paypal state this >>
PayPal is not obliged to reimburse you for any costs that you incur to comply with any of PayPal’s requests for cooperation for the purpose of resolving the problem (including, without limitation, costs that you incur to return a SNAD item to the Payment Recipient or another party as PayPal requests), although sometimes it may reimburse these costs.

Although they will compensate you for some of the cost if you have activated this at some point before you made that transaction .....
https://www.paypal.com/us/selfhelp/article/what-is-return-shipping-on-us-and-how-do-i-activate-it-fa...



Advice is voluntary.
Kudos / Solution appreciated.
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Arleneduruz
Contributor
Contributor
I am going through the same thing and PayPal just closed my dispute because I refused to send the item back to China. I recieved an owl necklace instead of my scratching post. Paypal is so wrong to allow this seller to do this and get away with it. We should all file a class action lawsuit
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Dell14z
Frequent Contributor
Frequent Contributor

$21 to send two pieces of twine to Hong Kong?  An envelope with two pieces of twine should weigh less than an ounce. A few bucks for postage is all unless you plan to insure it or get a return receipt. PayPal will pay shipping fees for some packages and I’m sure someone here will advise you on that. 

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lajshD
Contributor
Contributor

It weighs 10 ounces. Not to mention that the return address is likely fake, and the package unlikely to ever be delivered, which means I'd never get my money back, even after spending more on shipping to do so. 

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MegSippel
New Community Member

This exact situation has just happened to me... two pieces of twine arrive a month later. PayPal has just closed my case favouring with the seller stating the reason as being "the seller provided adequate tracking". Not even a refund with a return. It cost $50AUD what a downer!

 

SUPER disappointed that this treatment seems to be okay. 

 

The account is deactivated and no responses via their email. 

 

Devastated... so is my cat!

 

Megs 

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Marlooshka
Contributor
Contributor

I'm really surprised at everyone saying it would only cost them about $21 to return the rope - I just got back from a UPS store where they said it would cost me over $100 to ship this little bag of rope to Hong Kong. I'm so furious at PayPal. They are deliberately encouraging a gang of scam artists posing as a legitimate business and essentially aiding and abetting them in ripping off their U.S. customers. I'm about ready to cancel my PayPal account. This is ridiculous. They just don't care about us. They made money off of it so they're happy. PayPal sucks!

 

Given that this was an obvious fraud where they advertised one product and sent another, why are we required to return anything to get a full refund??!? Nowhere did it say "rope only, wood frame not included." This was a scam pure and simple, and PayPal should be fighting for our money back.

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Dell14z
Frequent Contributor
Frequent Contributor

Try the post office. Much, much cheaper to ship. 

I agree that PayPal should protect us for cases of fraud. 

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Marlooshka
Contributor
Contributor

In case anybody's interested, it looks like they're now operating under the name "Animal Hug" on Shopify - https://animalhug.com/products/cute-cactus-cat-climbing-frame-rope

At least they're being a little more honest in the description, but you have to read all the way to the end to see that you're only getting a rope. 

 

And there doesn't seem to be any way to report them to Shopify. I guess they don't care, either.

 

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