Repair service provider holding my property hostage in a PayPal dispute

[Redboucanier]

I am in a PayPal dispute with a service retailer.  I own a $3000 drone and camera system and the retailer is a factory authorized repair center.  I crashed my drone, it happens.  The crash cracked some of the landing gear but also affected communications and flight controls on the drone so I contacted the authorized repair center on the builders website with a description of the problem.  They said I should ship them the drone and they would determine the issues and get back to me.  I shipped the drone and the repair center said it would cost $650 to fix the drone.  I agreed and the repair center said they had to be paid in advance, so I authorized PayPal to do so.  The repair center said they repaired the drone, test flew the drone and sent me video from the flying drone as proof.  I accepted and they shipped my drone back to me.  Upon receipt, the drone would not connect properly and showed lots of fault status lights on the camera, drone, and controller.  I used my manufacturer's manual to redo the startup procedures to no avail.  I also looked for and could find no electronic evidence of the supposed test flight.  The drone system makes a record of every flight so I got suspicious.  I opened a dispute with PayPal citing the above claiming "not as described" and fraud.

Initially the vendor would not respond to me.  After PayPal suspended the payment, then the repair facility contacted me. I communicated my concerns to the vendor along with the nonfunctional state of the drone and they had no explanation other than to insist it worked for them and they would send me a shipping label to ship it back for further checkout.  The process repeated, this time when the vendor claimed the drone was fine, I drove 5 hours to the brick and mortar location to see the facility and my drone in person and to test it myself all communicated in advance with the repair facility and agreed to by them. 

Observing the repair facility, there was a help wanted sign in the mall storefront for a drone repair person (no qualifications stated on the ad) and a teenager on the desk.  The owner was in the back.  The store was full of used drones for sale.  A huge space in the back for racks of drone parts and repairs.  The owner had no answers for my questions about what they had done to repair the drone other than replace the landing gear and test fly the drone.  They originally charged $200 to replace landing gear parts worth $25 and an additional $450 to fix my camera.  Seeing no bill for camera parts, the owner had no answer for what parts were used to repair the camera and why no charges for those camera parts when that was their business practice for the landing gear.  No answer.  Where were the flight logs from the test flights? No answer.  I told him I would not accept the drone until I personally saw it fly. 

He flew it in a test cage.  I agreed if I could get my gear to connect to the drone I would accept it.  I was able to do this and agreed to accept the drone.  The owner would not release it to me until I released the PayPal claim he also wanted to extort more money in exchange he for the drone.  I said no way and that perhaps I call the police to charge him with fraud and grand larceny to recover my drone.  The money was being held by PayPal and that until he responded to PayPal they would not release it to him. 

He said no, that I had to release the dispute with PayPay before he would release the drone and he took my drone away.  I left and escalated the claim thru PayPal where it sits today.  The most PayPay will do is refund my money.  The repair facility still holds my $3000 drone and has not responded to PayPal in the dispute.  I wonder how the shop got full of used drones for sale?  PayPay appears unconcerned about my property and apparently has no process for recovery of my property.  The vendor has invested some landing gear parts and gotten control of a $3000 drone.  I guess it's time for Small Claims Court.  

Does anybody have any suggestions?

RedBoucanier LLC

Ariel Photography