Don't be fooled! Paypal doesn't protect claims of "Significantly Not as Described".

[ferrari296]

I checked a game at cdkeys.com and it said that the game can be registered in my country.

So I bought it, but when I try to redeem the game in Steam client, it says the code cannot be redeemed in my county.

So I raised a claim of "Significantly Not as Described", which means I selected the reason of claim as 'Not as described'.

But Paypal closed the case in seller's favor because I received the item as below.

Can you believe it? It is like this.

me: I recieved the item but it was not what it says to be.

Paypal: you recieved it? then the seller did nothing wrong.

I don't understand this and I wanted to protest about this but couldn't find any way to do it.

So I tried to get some help from Paypal's messege center but the guy from Paypal said that it only protects when I haven't recieved the item.

Really? I got very strange feeling about this and found from Paypal's terms that it also protects claims not only about "Item Not Received" but also "Significantly Not as Described". as below.

I think if Paypal insists that it doesn't protect "Significantly Not as Described" claims, Paypal provides services "Significantly Not as Described".

Anybody knows how to teach Paypal its terms?

I think I would report to an authority about Paypal's this fraud.

https://www.paypal.com/kr/webapps/mpp/ua/buyer-protection

PayPal's Buyer Protection program may apply when you encounter these specific problems with a transaction:
* You didn't receive your item from a seller (referred to as an "Item Not Received" claim), or
* You received an item, but the item isn't what you ordered (referred to as a "Significantly Not as Described" claim).
Significantly Not As Described claims
An item may be considered Significantly Not as Described if:
* The item is materially different from the seller's description of it.
* You received a completely different item.
* The condition of the item was misrepresented. For example, the item was described as "new" but the item was used.
* The item is missing major parts or features and those facts were not disclosed in the description of the item when you bought it.
* The item is unusable in its received state and was not disclosed as such.

[kernowlass]

@ferrari296 

Paypal does not cover digital / virtual items for 'not as described' only 'non receipt'.

Paypal certain does cover not as described items as long as they are physical items sent in the post.

[ferrari296]

Can I find in a Paypal's term that it doesn't protect digital items?
I carefully checked 'Buyer's protection program' above and there are certanly terms about ineligible items for protection following below sentences.

Ineligible Items and Transactions
The following items or transactions are not eligible for PayPal’s Buyer Protection program:

But I don't find anything about digital items.
Besides, you can see that the case type selection item Paypal presented which I selected reads 'I can't access or use the digital download or content.'

Considering these, I think digital item are also eligible for protection.

[barkley18]

Me too!

[ferrari296]

After 2 months of Paypal's neglect, I finally got my refund!

Paypal kept telling me that "In case of digital item, if the item got delivered, it is as described."

I appealed 2 times, but Paypal kept pretending they doesn't care about their 'Buyer protection policy'.

So I claimed to my credit card company. They also agreed with me, and they fought for me.

Paypal kept saying the same, but once the time has come for Paypal to bet their money on the fact that they doesn't care about their own policy, they just admitted they were wrong.

So, for those who to be fooled by paypal, just follow these steps.

1. claim to paypal that the item is not as described, and you should be protected by 'buyer's protection program'

2. Paypal should say "In case of digital item, if the item got delivered, it is as described."

3. Don't waste your time and just claim to your credit card company explaining above.

4. get your money back

[alm245]

I had absolutely horrible experience related to the same issue. When I received the Item Significantly not as Described, PayPal wasted almost a month, which cost me extra credit card fees and stood behind the scammers.
I purchased a listing on Mercari for almost $700 for a Canon EOS R camera in good condition.
I received Canon EOS RP camera instead. Moreover, the lenses on the camera I received had scratched off UV coating, which makes it broken and unusable and requires repair.
I tried to negotiate with the seller to compensate for this and for the credit card fees with partial refund and had no success.
So I opened Significantly not as Described Case with paypal, they didn't do anything for almost a month and then told me to send it back at my expense.
After a phone conversation, at least I got the shipping label, but they didn't care about my lost business opportunities, expenses i encountered, time wasted and all the frustration...they just stand behind the Mercari platform, not their customer, who's been with them 2 decades.
Mercari itself is a paradise for scammers and it not only allows scam to happen, but it tries its best to protect the scam happening on their platform. When I asked Mercari to prolong the return window in order to wait for the PayPal resolution, they just closed the return and paid out my money to the seller right away.
PayPal has joined them on this fraud activity and told me to send the camera back.
Now, when I send the item back, I wonder if the seller will tell them that I didn't send it, it doesn't work, or that it was I who scratched the lenses.
I don't know what will happen.
Definitely consider reporting both PayPal and Mercari to the BBB and leave them reviews on TrustPilot and other review platforms.
The PayPal, now Asian, support represented by Lin and her supervisor Nina didn't care about anything including the policy on the PayPal website.