PayPal Buyer Protection Scam/Bad Policy

[tdg63]

PayPal's buyer protection policy that goes for 6 months beyond the purchase date and is easily used to defraud ebay sellers. Any buyer on ebay can wait until the ebay return period expires and then make up a bogus reason for a refund and they will get their money returned. There is essentially nothing the seller can do to protect themselves.

Here's what happened to me. April 11 I sold a brand new in box android phone on eBay. Five months later, the buyer contacted me and informed me the phone worked fine on Verizon until September 8 when he attempted to upgrade the OS and bricked the phone. He wanted me to refund his money. He even provided a photo of the phone screen showing it was bricked. I liken this to him smashing the screen 5 months after purchase and wanting his money back. I said no, you broke it.

He put in a refund request with PayPal simply claiming "phone not as described, only works on Sprint", no details, no proof. I provided Paypal a detailed response and included the message exchange.

PayPal found in favor of the buyer. When I called, PayPal told me they don't accept ebay messages or photos as proof. What do they take? Your word against theirs and to keep buyers happy they usually find in the buyer's favor.

I am not a small business, I'm just some guy struggling to make ends meet who resells items I find cheap. I don't have the money to pay a bogus return. Nevertheless, PayPal says they will deduct it from my empty checking account and I have NO recourse. What's worse, I was told even if the phone is physically damaged, as long as the tracking number shows a completed return, I'm out the money.

The worst part for me is that PayPal takes no risk on a policy that is so easily defrauded. ALL OF THE RISK IS TAKEN BY THE SELLER. What did this bad decision cost PayPal? Nothing. I have proof he is lying and provided it, but PayPal never bothered to look at it.

Anyone know if there is anything I can do? I already plan to shutdown my eBay and PayPal accounts. IMHO, PayPal is the worst form of payment a seller can accept. AT least credit card companies look at the evidence provided to them.

[kernowlass]

@Katra 

Can't give advice as you haven't said what country you are in.

[PayPal_AshleyM]

Hi @Katra,

I'm very sorry to hear about the problem with your buyer, that definitely sounds frustrating. I would advise appealing the decision by reaching out to us by phone, Facebook, or Twitter. Hopefully the case is resolved amicably soon!

- Ashley M

[CL83]

I am the opposite, I am a buyer and I have been scammed from the seller. I purchased an iPhone 11 Pro in November. Working fine for 3 months and then become blacklisted due to an insurance claim for Loss/Stolen. PayPal have sided with the buyer even after providing all the evidence, Checkmend, eBay messages etc. PayPal’s reason, it was as described for 3 and a half months. The fact it become blacklisted due to insurance fraud is not their concern (even though PayPal Credit was used to fund the phone purchase) I have appealed twice and had both rejected. Just don’t understand the reasoning. It’s clearly not safe to sell or buy phones on eBay at all and both Ebay and PayPal simply do not care.

[JamnDude]

I also am the opposite. Purchased a replacement electronic board for a TV. What arrived was an envelope with some papers in it. Filed a claim with Paypal, provided all the info and returned the item to the seller with a tracking number. Paypal closed the case in favor of the seller stating the tracking number was invalid. WTF???

Also once a case has been closed, they won't allow me to re-open or dispute the original claim. So stuck and out of $70!

So in my case basically the payment protection is itself "IS" the scam. Be careful out there everyone is trying to get you from every angle.