I had a recent dispute relating to a $300 Telstra prepaid mobile recharge made via PayPal. My husband unknowingly recharged his phone account before it was necessary. Telstra admitted sending the bogus recharge request 2 months prematurely (Telstra’s error). I initially thought this was a scam, hence the raising of a dispute with PayPal. I feel like Telstra still took advantage of the situation using a decoy effect to prompt the premature recharge (they suggested the remaining account balance was less than $5.00 on an unlimited call account having a date of expiry rather than a $ value to expiry). Telstra also told me they could not reverse the PayPal transaction. I don’t believe that is true. PayPal needs to know that Telstra admitted fault but still wouldn’t refund the payment that was received under false pretences. I personally think this is fraudulent activity on Telstra's part and that PayPal's rejection of the claim was probably also premature. The dispute should have been investigated further. It seems the lines are blurring between the 'real' Telstra and 'scam' Telstra, making it more challenging for customers to obtain assistance from PayPal when payments are garnered dishonestly. Money is being made in complexity and where system protocols are not designed for non-standard events. How can these kinds of issues be managed going forward? Telstra also admitted the decoy texts to recharge were sent to others, so I wonder how much extra money they made out of their little 'accident'.
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