Paid Web-Designer. Seller never delivered work. Paypal case closed in seller's favor. $300 USD.

[truthwins]

Hi there-

This is my first post.

I paid $300 to a web developer to customize a theme that was developed by their own company. He asked for 3 days time. We both agreed. I sent the payment via PayPal on 6th of March(Wed) on the condition that I have to be updated via a link hosted on the seller's servers. We did not want to interrupt our website's live time by having the seller work on our server alone. 

The seller said he will deliver by 11th(Monday). That would be 7th, 8th & 11th. Three days in total. If you consider the 9th & 10th, it would be 5days. The seller never responded on Thursday. So I stepped in and asked him via messenger for a link. He threw one at me and goes mute until Monday when the deadline is due and tells me google chrome's policies are affecting the task completion. I gave him another extra day until the 12th(Tuesday) to get back to me on his own by finishing this task. He never responded on Tuesday either. So I opened a case with paypal dispute.

The link seller gave me on Thursday was intermittently updated over the weekend(The link is dead now). The part of our deal to share continuous updates was to tweak any minor changes. But the seller never responded to my requests and when we spoke on Monday(deadline day) he complains about my tweaks were the ones to be blamed because they ate up time. For example: my tweaks were to adjust icon spacing near the logo. Any computer savvy guy could do this under 2minutes. But he said he has to talk to his developers to do that. Again this is a 36hr delay. Altogether by Monday(deadline day), there was only 30% of the job done. By Tuesday(extra day given by me), nothing has changed. So I opened a case with PayPal on Tuesday with dispute ID - PP-D-26041637. Reason being "Item Not Delivered."

The seller immediately writes back to me claiming that the 30% of the work he did was more than enough for the $300 USD I paid him. And in order for him to reach 100%, he asked me for another 48hours time. I said no. I have attached this entire conversation and emails and quotes and screenshots to the paypal dispute page. I call an agent to confirm and explain more about my situation. The agent Eena said since the seller gave a link to the 30% of the work, she said she must change the reason to "Item Received. Not As Described.". My confidence cheated me back then. I said whatever to myself and gave a go to the agent.

Let me tell you folks that this link has nothing but changed logo, edited footer and removing social icons. For these tasks, the seller claims they worked 5 days and they want another 48hrs to finish the remaining 70%. And one more important thing - the seller NEVER copied anything to our servers. Not even a single text file. Everything was done at his end. All I was doing was looking at the link he gave me and asking him for changes here and there.

Base on my 10years of relation with PayPal, I was so confident that Truth & Justice will be with me on the grounds of solid proof. I even delivered paypal our whatsapp messages where he clearly agrees that he was unable to deliver on time even with the extra day and that he wants another 2 days.

But my hopes were devastated this morning, when I got an email from PayPal saying case denied because -  "We have reviewed this transaction(s) and are denying your case(s). This decision was made because if an item is materially similar to the seller's description, we do not consider it to be significantly not as described. We're sorry for any problems you may have experienced with the transaction(s)."

I was so sad and disappointed that PayPal kicked my balls based on the sole reason of dispute and not based on the discussion or any of the proofs that were submitted. I called this morning and spoke with another agent and appealed against the above decision. I haven't heard anything.

Could someone here, who is more experienced, explain my next course of action? How do I get my $300 USD back? Do you think I was at fault for a a project unfinished by a sloppy, lazy web designer? What are your comments and suggestions?

Thank You

[sharpiemarker]

@truthwins 

SNADs (Not As Described) don't cover buyer's remorse (change mind, don't fit, materially as described but not to your expectations, didn't like it, etc). PayPal purchase protection is not a warranty, guarantee, or insurance and has it's limitations. You should have worked with the seller and given him 48 hours to do what he had to do or negotiated a partial refund. And digital services isn't something you can return with a tracking number even if PayPal ruled in your favor anyway. You'll have to resolve this with the seller if PayPal denies your appeal.

I say PayPal stuck with their policies in this case and you didn't tip the scales over that 1% on the first go...let's see if you can change their mind on the appeal.

[truthwins]

@sharpiemarker 

Thank you for responding. I totally agree that if the seller has delivered the order and at the end I wasn't happy, your statement would have been 200% correct. But the seller did not even deliver what he promised for at the very first place. And instead, just to reach to the completion stage, he was asking for 48hours more. Would this still be against buyers and SNADs?

[xtekkit]

If you paid by credit card, contact your provider and reverse the charges.

Never pay for anything digital with actual money in PayPal.

PayPal is a law unto itself and has been sued countless times for breaking numerous financing rules and regulations - don't ever trust them with your actual money.

[truthwins]

@xtekkit 

I still hope that PayPal backs me on this because I have a good case and solid proofs being delivered to them.

If they fail me, I will rethink about it.

But I paid via my bank and not with a credit card. I don't know what to do.

Thanks anyways.

[xtekkit]

It is very unlikely that PayPal will side with you. I would keep pestering them. Have a hunt around and you will find email addresses for PayPal managers and directors. Go straight to the top and bombard them with emails until someone starts singing your tune. As you wait for replies, contact your bank and explain the situation. If your bank reverses the payment, PayPal will be forced to reverse the payment from the seller. You win and seller loses.

[truthwins]

@xtekkit 

Thank you for that confidence boost. I am not stepping down. I am not dumb to throw $300 at someone for nothing.

[truthwins]

Hi @xtekkit 

PayPal **bleep** me on the third appeal too.

I went to the bank yesterday and they are willing to help me.

Do you recommend a good reason to defend my dispute with the bank? Like should it be unauthorized or fraudulent. Do you know how can I pass through the bank's claim center on a solid good reason?

Thanks