ZG TECHNOLOGY CO.,LIMITED.

Punuk
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I bought a drone on <edited>Payments done via PayPal. Inc. Then I found payment was to ZG TECHNOLOGY CO.,LIMITED. I then googled and found both are scam opererators. I emailed the seller as per the email on PayPal and returned undelivered. Will PayPal return my money? I lodged a complain with Paypal, but after reading all these complains, I find it strange that PayPal still service this seller.

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Goozombies
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How do I convince Paypal that shipping the item back isn't worth it.

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Pando-Command
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@Goozombies wrote:

How do I convince Paypal that shipping the item back isn't worth it.


I do not think you can, they will probably use that as a reason to not give you a refund. On the other hand it may be worth it (FOLLOW me here for a minute.) Let us first assume PayPal (PP) will follow through and refund your money if you follow their requests to the letter. (seems like they would have to, if they are actually making you spend money, under their direction sending it back with the added expense of Tracking.)

The Drones I received (2) are maybe worth about $30-$40 together. I paid $230. I then as per PayPals instructions, sent them back to the address PP supplied me with, USPS international Priority (this has the required tracking) This cost me $58. It includes insurance up to $200, which is what I declared. My package has been sitting at a China Post office since July 4. (I guess because the address, like the seller is a fraud.) I talked to PP and they said I will get my refund of $230 within 10 days (5 of those have passed). Paypal also says we can get reimbursed for up to $30 for return shipping. (which I activated before starting the return). Now since the package is undeliverable, after a time I will request USPS return the package to me or pay the $200 that it is insured for. If they send it back, I can at least have a Christmas gift I can give to someone I don't like that will be treasured almost as much as a Fruit Cake.

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mnix1
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Yay! I got a full refund!

It took a while, but for me $250 AU was worth it 🙂

 

What worked for me:

  1. After I ordered and found out I was dealing with ZG Tech, then googled to find this thread I knew there was a problem.  I did NOT raise a dispute immediately. I sent an email requesting the order to be cancelled to the email address listed on the transaction in paypal and used the contact form on the sellers web site to make the same request.  The email got a reply after a few days (but not the contact form on the web site).
    The reply was the expected "we'll mark it as cancelled but it might have already shipped"
  2. I waited a week, then emailed them again that I did not have a refund or a shipping notice yet.
    They immediately sent a tracking number that did turn out to be valid. I watched the tracking each day or two.
  3. Two weeks later I opened a dispute in Paypal. This was to make sure I did not run out of dispute time before the package arrived.  I messaged the seller via the dispute page pointing out they had clearly not shipped by the time they acknowledged my request to cancel, plus it had not arrived after two weeks when their web site stated 10-day shipping. I repeated that I wanted a refund.
  4. When the tracking said it had arrived at my local post office I went there before they could deliver it to me (it didn't require a signature - if it had been delivered to me things might have been more difficult). I explained the situation to them and asked if I could examine/photograph the contents and have it returned to sender. They were happy for me to do this, so we opened it right there on the counter, took photos, sealed it back up and returned it to sender.
  5.  I messaged the seller again via the dispute page telling them I had returned the package to sender and had photos. I gave them a tracking link so they could easily confirm this.
    They responded by adding tracking details to the dispute, and with a canned reply: "please wait a few more days for the package to arrive at your post office"
  6. By this time it was pretty obvious they did not even read my messages, so I replied saying so, and stated I would only be happy with a full refund.
  7. I escalated the dispute as "item not as described" about 15 days after I opened it. 
    This is the only option that will work as it was an authorised transaction, and they did send me a package eventually. If you get ANY package, even an empty box, this is the option to use.
    This is why you should hold off opening a dispute and escalating for as long as possible - you don't want to get caught out by the time limits on disputes running out before the package has time to arrive.  You can get more time by escalating it as "item not received" then changing it to "item not as described" before the 10 days runs out, but don't do that unless the package has arrived, and don't do it too soon after you return it to sender so the package has plenty of time to find its way back to china.
    In the message to Paypal box, I briefly recounted events and linked to this thread pointing out how many "me toos" and pages it had.
  8. I waited for the 10 days to expire. ZG did not respond, and paypal have processed my full refund this morning - 60 days after the initial purchase.
    It cost me nothing to return the package, which is still stuck somewhere in GUANGZHOU at the time of writing.

A few other tips:

  • Keep all messages polite. Don't use any bad language or rave on about what Paypal should be doing about this.
  • Be patient. Very patient. Waiting longer lets Paypal see you have given the seller every opportunity to make things right and they have failed to do so.
  • It is Paypal's job to refund you eventually, not instantly. Remember you spent this money - you weren't planning on having it to spend on anything else, so any whining about how you need the money back urgently is not going to get you anywhere. We all feel for you if it was your dying child's birthday present, but Paypal have a legal responsibility to both buyer and seller to follow procedure. The fact that the seller is an **bleep** does not change that.
  • Keep copies of everything - the page you bought from, the order confirmation page (with the tracking number on it if you can), any emails you sent or received etc.  Get the wayback machine to copy the page you bought from (use the "Save Page Now" box at https://web.archive.org/web/ )
    I mean EVERYTHING - including saving a copy of the dispute page before you escalate it as some older messages to the seller may not be kept in the case notes, especially if you sent several long messages like I did.

 

I'm hoping the package ends up back here so I can get 5 minutes fun destroying their cheap plastic crap for my trouble 🙂

 

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Kiwial
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I've just reported ZG TECHNOLOGY and paypals lack of action to shut this fraud down to Action Fraud in the UK. They have asked me to submit a online report so that the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau can look into this Scam. I suggest other victims of this scam in the UK do the same. I warned paypal what I was going to do but like thousands of others I've been treated with No Respect from paypal. This on going fraud is going to come back and bite paypal in the butt. Paypal picked on the wrong person this time as being a political activist I'm like a dog with a bone and won't rest till this scam is shut down.
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dkschwan
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"3 things"

1) thank you for your patience, you must be Jobe

2) your recommendations are perfect, IF one has previous knowledge of this particular scam going on. Otherwise, all your efforts would have to be taken for EVERY transaction that you contemplate with PayPal, ie saving every website page you visit and buy from, and all the other email trail you describe. You've handled the dispute by following PP's process to a tee, but how many people, whom are using the internet, to buy products, for the "ease of use" want to go thru this many gyrations "every time" you shop, just in order to protect yourself. I mean, even just reading the process you went thru is exasperating and exhausting.

3) PP's answer and solution, and even getting you personally, your own money back, doesn't address the bigger problem of fraud. As much as one wishes that they hadn't spent their very last dime on some klitchy product, the fact of the matter is, PP is the only one whom can see the sales transactions from both sides and therefore are the only ones whom are in the position to stop these fraudsters from continuing to sell on line. Even though ZG Tech or NC Tech, or whom ever they represent they are, and even though they are changing names and giving us shoppers bad email addresses, they are using only ONE PayPal email address account to RECEIVE and COLLECT the money that us naive shoppers spend. - Us whom haven't spent the time, effort, and had the foresight to assume that every PP transaction might be with a company (probably in someone's basement) whom only wishes to bait and switch product on us unwise shoppers. Even Facebook doesn't have the knowledge from both sides of the transaction, and they are just getting paid to run the ads. Yes, now they should take the ads down, but since ZG Tech is using aliases and resubmitting new ads, Facebook doesn't know of a scammer's plan until after the fact. PayPal on the other hand, has FIRST HAND KNOWLEDGE of EVERY TRANSACTION and IS in the position to either shut them down or AT LEAST make ZG go thru as much crap as you had to, and for ZG Tech to have to change everything in their crooked business plan, just in order to start their fraud all over again.

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mnix1
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  1. No, I just got caught like everyone else but didn't see the point in ranting about it.

  2. I didn't know anything about this scam until AFTER I got caught by it.
    - I only found this thread because I decided to look up the seller's name that was on the paypal transaction. Heck, I've never even had to use the dispute process in over ten years of using paypal, until now.
    - I didn't save any of the web pages I described until after I was certain about this transaction being a scam.
    - I tend to keep emails that are not junk mail anyway.
    - I certainly don't go through the whole process every time I shop. In fact I've only done it this once.
    - in the end, Paypal never asked for ANY of that stuff (even though I told them I had it) - the fact that I'd returned it to sender and ZG never responded was enough.
  3. You're right - the "solution" marked here isn't a solution at all, however:
    - We've already seen them use several names on one paypal account, and several email addresses.
    - I'm pretty sure they have more than one (at least three) separate paypal accounts already, and it's not like it's hard for them to create more.
    - making ZG create yet another paypal account isn't going to inconvenience them much at all. They won't have to change anything in the plan, just update the email address used for payments in their site template, which will take barely a minute.
    - Just blocking one of their accounts is simply going to cause Paypal more headaches identifying the one they make to replace it (and get just as many if not more people ripped off to boot).

 

We can only hope Paypal are working behind the scenes with the authorities to track down these criminals, who are most likely doing everything they can to hide the money trail (probably find they are converting it all to cryptocurrency then transferring it or something).

 

I just detailed what worked for me. If some people can make use of that, or the fact that someone got the Wayback Machine to keep a copy of the page when they didn't get the chance to helps someone else get their money back well and good.
For some it's too late for my info to be of use, but that shouldn't stop me helping out others.

 


@@@dkschwan wrote:

"3 things"

1) thank you for your patience, you must be Jobe

2) your recommendations are perfect, IF one has previous knowledge of this particular scam going on. Otherwise, all your efforts would have to be taken for EVERY transaction that you contemplate with PayPal, ie saving every website page you visit and buy from, and all the other email trail you describe. You've handled the dispute by following PP's process to a tee, but how many people, whom are using the internet, to buy products, for the "ease of use" want to go thru this many gyrations "every time" you shop, just in order to protect yourself. I mean, even just reading the process you went thru is exasperating and exhausting.

3) PP's answer and solution, and even getting you personally, your own money back, doesn't address the bigger problem of fraud. As much as one wishes that they hadn't spent their very last dime on some klitchy product, the fact of the matter is, PP is the only one whom can see the sales transactions from both sides and therefore are the only ones whom are in the position to stop these fraudsters from continuing to sell on line. Even though ZG Tech or NC Tech, or whom ever they represent they are, and even though they are changing names and giving us shoppers bad email addresses, they are using only ONE PayPal email address account to RECEIVE and COLLECT the money that us naive shoppers spend. - Us whom haven't spent the time, effort, and had the foresight to assume that every PP transaction might be with a company (probably in someone's basement) whom only wishes to bait and switch product on us unwise shoppers. Even Facebook doesn't have the knowledge from both sides of the transaction, and they are just getting paid to run the ads. Yes, now they should take the ads down, but since ZG Tech is using aliases and resubmitting new ads, Facebook doesn't know of a scammer's plan until after the fact. PayPal on the other hand, has FIRST HAND KNOWLEDGE of EVERY TRANSACTION and IS in the position to either shut them down or AT LEAST make ZG go thru as much crap as you had to, and for ZG Tech to have to change everything in their crooked business plan, just in order to start their fraud all over again.


 

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mario11784
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@mnix1

 

Well I just had a thought!!

ZG Technology Co limited or whatever they're calling themselves this week is skirting  around the Paypal  Shipping/Return/Dispute process which is giving so many people ulcers over getting their funds back.

 

SOO here is my thought.

Does it say ANYWHERE that when you return ship the item back to ZG Technology in China that it has to be in pristine condition?

for argument sake if ZG Technology can EXPLOIT little loopholes & cracks in PayPals policy why cant scam victims do the same thing?

Why can't you compress the drone, smartwatch, light saber, ironman gloves or whatever item so it fits into an envelope?

I'm sorta serious, why couldn't a person run it over with your car to flatten it or put it in the oven to melt it into a flat piece of plastic so you can send it back in a AIRMAIL ENVELOPE??

SERIOUSLY!!

No one is actually receiving/collecting these packages anyway SO WHY THROW GOOD MONEY AFTER BAD??

So instead of it costing people $60 to ship it back to China it costs maybe $2-$3 cause its a 3-4 once envelope.

in all seriousness the drones are soooo damn cheap they only weight a few ounces.

 

Maybe its a bad idea, but maybe its not.. Can anyone report that the package has been actually delivered & accepted by any representative of ZG technology??

There has been more people posting that the package that was returned is sitting in a Chinese Post Office for a month or was returned back to them cause the address was bogus OR that the courier wouldn't even accept the package cause the address is wacky so they don't want to take possession of a package with an undeliverable shipping address. 

 

 JUST SAYIN  Man Tongue

 

.

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mnix1
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Well if you want to take that to the extreme, take the junk out of the box and compress that.
It's not like anybody from ZG is ever going to receive it to notice anyway.

 


@mario11784 wrote:

Why can't you compress the drone, smartwatch, light saber, ironman gloves or whatever item so it fits into an envelope?

I'm sorta serious, why couldn't a person run it over with your car to flatten it or put it in the oven to melt it into a flat piece of plastic so you can send it back in a AIRMAIL ENVELOPE??

SERIOUSLY!!

No one is actually receiving/collecting these packages anyway SO WHY THROW GOOD MONEY AFTER BAD??

So instead of it costing people $60 to ship it back to China it costs maybe $2-$3 cause its a 3-4 once envelope.

in all seriousness the drones are soooo damn cheap they only weight a few ounces.

 

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mnix1
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One other thing I should have added:

When telling paypal the item is different, don't just say it's a cheap piece of crap...
describe HOW it is different - materials, specifications, capabilities etc.
If there is a model number on the item they sent, include it.
If possible, briefly explain why what they sent can not do the tasks you intended to do (in my case the cheap drone's less than 100m maximum range makes it impossible to use in the way the item advertised could be).

 
God I hate the way this forum sticks new messages in all over the place and doesn't even have message numbers on the pages 😞

 https://www.paypal-community.com/t5/Disputes-and-Limitations/ZG-TECHNOLOGY-CO-LIMITED/m-p/1559220/hi...


@mnix1 wrote:

Yay! I got a full refund!

It took a while, but for me $250 AU was worth it 🙂

 

What worked for me:

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MiguelS
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 I am at a loss here as to what I can do to recover my $116 for a drone that they're now selling for $40!

Paypal have been no help, here's the response I got when I asked why they've ruled against me:

 

Thank you for contacting PayPal.

I realise that you're not satisfied with the outcome of this dispute. Our claims process is an arbitration service we offer to help resolve disagreements between buyers and sellers, but as you can imagine, it's extremely difficult for us to reach a decision that satisfies all parties.

We deal with all cases objectively and with the intention of making a fair decision based on verifiable information which is available at the time.

Ultimately this isn't an adequate substitute for a constructive dialogue between you and the other party involved. I would suggest this remains your best option for a satisfactory outcome.

Please let me know if you need further assistance.

Sincerely,
Kethuvarni
Protection Services Department
PayPal

 

and when I asked again, pointing out that they've provided no explanation or justification as to why my case went differntly to others who actually got a refund, they replied with this:

 

Thank you for contacting PayPal.

I realise that this isn't the outcome you'd have wished for, but I hope you understand why we made this decision. While I cannot change this, I will make sure your objection is duly recorded.

It is my pleasure to assist you. Thank you for choosing PayPal.

Sincerely,
K, Sangamithra

PayPal

 

Seriously???? What kind of a response is that??? They are just completely dodging the issue!

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