Need to cancel a purchase and get a refund, the seller has stopped responding.

[Anrakua]

I've tried to open a dispute, but apparently I can't on the type of transaction it was. 

I need to cancel a preorder, and get a refund on my down payment. I emailed the seller on Sep 20th, and he said he'd begin the refund process and keep me updated. I reached out on the 27th after not having heard from him, and he is now not responding to emails, whereas before he was quite prompt. I am worried that since this was for a preorder item, he is trying to run out the clock and I'll be left without an item and no recourse. 

Please help!

[PayPal_Martina]

Hi @Anrakua,

Thank you for your post and welcome to the Community Forum!

In general, our Buyer Protection policy covers you in case you do not receive an item if you receive something that is not as advertised or for unauthorised transactions. As you mentioned that the purchase was a preorder, is the payment completed? If the seller cannot fulfilled the order and the payment has been completed on your side, I would recommend filing a claim for an Item Not Received. 

I hope this helps!

Martina 

[Anrakua]

Thank you for your response. 

No, the entire purchase wasn't paid for, I paid the down payment, or first installment payment. I tried to open a dispute over the transaction, but it didn't work, would this be because the payment isn't completed? 

[PayPal_Randy]

@Anrakua,

Was the payment sent as personal or friends and family?  If so, it wouldn't be eligible for covered under PayPal's Buyer Protection Policy.  

- Randy  

[PayPal_Cristina]

Hi @Anrakua,

I am sorry to hear that. If you have filed an unauthorized claim, please get in touch with us directly. Please try contacting customer service by phone by clicking Contact at the bottom of the PayPal website and then Call us, or reach out by PM on Facebook or DM on Twitter.

I hope this helps.

Cristina

[TsvetPet]

Hi Martina,

I have the case of item not received. The "Seller" is a fraud and cheated me out of 25 pounds. I reported to Paypal, you're telling me that, maybe because I filed wrongly as unauthorised access, my case is closed. As I cannot reopen it, I sent messages to your service center - with screenshots of discussion, proving I didn't get what I paid for. Let's see if that gets answered.

By the way - I'm shocked at the unaccessability of Paypal:

1. No opportunity to respond to a denied claim or reopen the case.

2. The option for sending messages is very limited -  small number of characters, can only attach 5 files. So I had to send two, quoting my closed case number (PP-D-42090007) in both. Hopefully they will be connected in a meaningful way. 

3. The number provided for calls 003531436911 is possibly wrong... cannot be dialed from Bulgaria. There's an auto response that it's wrong.

You here as a moderator in the community are the first living person I've encountered.  

All in all, I cannot believe that it's so complicated to dispute a payment, when it's evident someone used your system to cheat someone else. This would never happen with a credit card. And based on this entire follow up experience... if I don't get the money back (25 quid! - it's not much for you, but it's a principle matter!) I will be closing my account and using various channels to make people aware.

As a comparison - Amazon one time told me to keep an item I purchased that came wrong and refunded the money immediately. Talk about trust.