Why is PayPal enabling fraud?

[seattlesoxfan]

I am confused and troubled by the lack of support for fraud claims. I found something online (listed in Google shopping) from a seller I didn't know. I gave them the benefit of the doubt, and used PayPal to pay as I was slightly concerned about giving my CC to this company.

The seller was "LIELIETEE" using a paypal account <removed>

It turns out they were totally fraudulent. They did not send my item, but somehow produced a real UPS tracking number for a destination in my town. There were plenty of things wrong with it though. First, and most obvious, the label was created BEFORE I PLACED THE ORDER! Additionally, it was addressed correctly to a completely different person. It was delivered to them, and was not from the seller in question. The package size, weight, and just about everything else also didn't line up. The seller did not respond to my inquiry at all.

Somwhow though, when I described this and make a dispute, PayPal quickly resolved the issue because the seller provided the exact same bogus tracking number! (OK, the tracking number was real, but it was neither from them nor to me.) I'm not sure what my next recourse is. I can't tell if this is an automated process that dishonest people can take advantage of, or humans that erroneously side with sellers. I don't know why PayPal seems to not care about it providing additional solutions. They now list the dispute as closed with no refund. How does that even make sense? If I never receive the item, why would PayPal resolve it in their favor in any possible scenario?? Even if you give the seller leeway (which they don't deserve), they still didn't send it to me, so how could PayPal think it's OK without being comlicit in this sort of fraud.

The seller is as dishonest as it comes, but PayPal is somehow enabling this and making it very hard for me -- the victim of clear and complete fraud -- to remedy it. How do I proceed? What other recourse do I have here?

[Ragnar_Lothbrok]

Hi @seattlesoxfan, I am sorry that your case was close in the your seller's favor. What you can do next, if you were provided a tracking number, kindly contact the shipping company to find the whereabouts of your parcel or to check if your street address is even on the address label. If the ship to address is not yours, get it in writing from the shipping office and appeal your dispute along with this evidence. Otherwise, PayPal will still rule against you even though you did not receive your item since seller provided proof of delivery. It is not necessary for the documents to provide the actual delivery address, rather confirmation it was not delivered to your address as intended. If you see a helpful post, please accept it as a solution or give the author kudos. 🙂 Thanks!

[seattlesoxfan]

Thanks for responding! That is helpful. I do know that it was not addressed to me (and did know that and mentioned it at the time I opened the case), but I did not have anything in writing from UPS at the time. I do not think the person either read the claim (which suggested they used a "stolen" tracking number) or it was handled automatically when the "seller" provided the same bogus number to them in response.

I'm wondering though, how do I start the appeal? The dispute site shows no further options, and it was not apparent how to get anything other than the automated status response by calling in.

[Ragnar_Lothbrok · Accepted solution]

Good day @seattlesoxfan 

You are welcome!

My sincerest apology if calling is not pushing through as our phone line is currently closed due to coronavirus (covid-19) emergency. However, you may click help / contact bottom left of Paypal pages for options available to reach Customer Service.

Or, you may consider contacting Customer Service via Facebook or Twitter. You can send them a personal message from their facebook or twitter pages. It's: https://www.facebook.com/PayPal and @AskPayPal for Twitter.

If still taking sometimes to get a response, don't worry. You can call us as soon as we're back in normal operation to file an appeal.

Thank you for your patience and I hope you are staying safe and healthy.

***If you see a post that is helpful, kindly give the author Kudos or accept it as a solution. Thanks and have a great day! ☺