Storm Media Limited, Fraud?

[Jean54]

As I was going through my receipts for taxes I noticed an entry on my PayPal for Storm Media Limited for last July. I order art instructional videos often, but I could not find any other info for this. I was charged $24.92.

Has anyone else had problems with Storm Media Limited? I didn't get whatever this company said I ordered. I don't know what it is.

I would like to warn others that this could be a fraud.

[kernowlass]

@Sandyguidroz423 

Paypal is secure in transfering your payment for you, but who you buy from is up to you.

You need to read up on paypal buyer protection which can never be a 100% coverall and then risk assess your transactions.

How do I open a dispute with a seller when a purchase goes wrong?

You can open a dispute in the Resolution Centre of your PayPal account within 180 days of payment if:
•You don’t receive the item
•You receive an item but it’s significantly different than the description on eBay or on the seller’s website

By opening a dispute, you can communicate directly with your seller to work out a problem transaction.

If you reach an agreement with the seller you can close the dispute. If you're still not happy with the result, you can escalate the dispute into a claim. We'll review the claim and decide on reimbursement.

These steps apply to Personal accounts. If you have a Business account, please log in to see the steps that apply to you.

To open a dispute:
1.Log in to your PayPal account.
2.Near the bottom of the page, under 'More about your account', click Resolve a problem in our Resolution Centre.
3.Click Dispute a Transaction.
4.Select the button beside the transaction you want to dispute, then click Continue.
5.Select ‘Item dispute’, click Continue and follow the on-screen instructions.

Note:
•Generally buyers must wait at least 7 days from the date of payment to escalate a dispute for an item not received
•Where an item has not been received, please ensure you have given the seller enough time before opening a dispute

https://www.paypal.com/webapps/mpp/first-dispute

DO NOT CLOSE THE DISPUTE UNTIL YOU HAVE A CLEARED REFUND OR YOUR ITEM WHATEVER THE SELLER SAYS. ALSO DON'T FORGET TO ESCALATE THE DISPUTE TO A CLAIM WITHIN 20 DAYS IF THE SELLER DOES NOT REFUND.

If that does not work then if you funded your paypal payment via a card then contact your card issuer and see if they will do a chargeback for you.

[r-clack]

On April 8, 2019 I saw on Facebook a backpack that I thought would be goof for me and my wife. I proceeded to purchase 2 at the price of $39.99 each plus the cost for shipping. Their invoice reflects that I purchased 13 backpacks for a total of $389.75 plus $39.00 for shipping. Because of this gross error, I have tried to communicate with Strom Media to no avail. I tried calling only to get a busy signal and email but no response. By way of this communication I am respectfully requesting that Paypay does not pay anything to Strom Media Limited. I received a communication from PayPal with a receipt # 3621-1916-8870-8346 and was told to retain this number when communicating with Strom Media or PayPal. When I go to my account on PayPal it says no action pending, but I want to stop this before it goes any further. Please help, thanks

[sharpiemarker]

@r-clack 

Oh man, this company is based in HK/China somewhere and they're quite notorious on PayPal forums for communicating well...at least the non-chinese speaking ones or notify their customers regarding their shipments when queried or takes very long for customers to receive which is as expected if item is shipped from China.

Since you have a Receipt ID number which means you paid through PayPal Guest Checkout, you can call PayPal to open a dispute for you:

Click HELP at the top menu, scroll down to click CONTACT US, and then scroll down to click CALL US.

Call early, during business hours, west coast time to try to get a US rep. Say "Live Agent" to the automated recording.

[joes_myth]

volunteer advisors and moderators on this thread are muddying the waters. storm media ltd is not the seller for any of these reported problems. they are just the clearing house. they collect the money and give the sellers their cut. nice system huh? this is organized crime. nobody has gotten a refund from paypal against this account. a criminal investigation has to happen.

[8978199]

---

@joes_myth wrote:
volunteer advisors and moderators on this thread are muddying the waters. storm media ltd is not the seller for any of these reported problems. they are just the clearing house. they collect the money and give the sellers their cut. nice system huh? this is organized crime. nobody has gotten a refund from paypal against this account. a criminal investigation has to happen.

---

Oh, yeah !

Now it makes sense ... CIA or FBI should go for an investigation regarding this one.

[LFNJ68]

I ordered door mats from them on 2/24 and was charged $37.97, but never received a shipment.

[Nicholas98]

Bought two items from this website ( Storm Media Limited ) nothing arrived . Send an email and they never answered.what can I do ? Can you help me please ? Thanks in advance

[kernowlass]

@Nicholas98 

How do I open a dispute with a seller when a purchase goes wrong?

You can open a dispute in the Resolution Centre of your PayPal account within 180 days of payment if:
•You don’t receive the item
•You receive an item but it’s significantly different than the description on eBay or on the seller’s website

By opening a dispute, you can communicate directly with your seller to work out a problem transaction.

If you reach an agreement with the seller you can close the dispute. If you're still not happy with the result, you can escalate the dispute into a claim. We'll review the claim and decide on reimbursement.

These steps apply to Personal accounts. If you have a Business account, please log in to see the steps that apply to you.

To open a dispute:
1.Log in to your PayPal account.
2.Near the bottom of the page, under 'More about your account', click Resolve a problem in our Resolution Centre.
3.Click Dispute a Transaction.
4.Select the button beside the transaction you want to dispute, then click Continue.
5.Select ‘Item dispute’, click Continue and follow the on-screen instructions.

Note:
•Generally buyers must wait at least 7 days from the date of payment to escalate a dispute for an item not received
•Where an item has not been received, please ensure you have given the seller enough time before opening a dispute

https://www.paypal.com/webapps/mpp/first-dispute

DO NOT CLOSE THE DISPUTE UNTIL YOU HAVE A CLEARED REFUND OR YOUR ITEM WHATEVER THE SELLER SAYS. ALSO DON'T FORGET TO ESCALATE THE DISPUTE TO A CLAIM WITHIN 20 DAYS IF THE SELLER DOES NOT REFUND.

If that does not work then if you funded your paypal payment via a card then contact your card issuer and see if they will do a chargeback for you.

[suzijor]

I am having the same issue with them.  I opened a dispute with PayPal and it is just sitting there.  Since January, Storm says they are getting ready to ship the merchandise I ordered, but it never arrives, nor are they sending it!  I  don't understand why PayPal is taking so long to refund my money.

[PayPal_Cristina]

Hi @suzijor,

Thank you for your post and welcome to our Community Help Forum!

I am sorry about your issue. The dispute is an initial phase where the buyer and the seller try to find a friendly solution and during this time, PayPal does not intervene and does not have the option to take action on the case. The seller has 20 days to reply and you may have the opportunity to escalate the dispute to a claim. If you do not escalate the dispute to a PayPal claim within 20 days, the situation would be considered resolved and due to this, the case would be automatically ruled in seller's favour. 

Here’s how to escalate a dispute to a claim.

1. Go to the Resolution Centre.
2. Click View next to the dispute you want to escalate.
3. Click Escalate to PayPal at the bottom of the page.
4. Add any relevant information for escalating the dispute.
5. Click Submit.

What Happens Next?

We'll email you to let you know we received your claim and we'll continue to email you with updates and any action or information needed by you. We can usually decide cases in 30 days or less but sometimes it can take longer. You can always check the status of your claim by visiting the Resolution Centre.

I hope this helps.

Cristina