I’ve found PayPal to be effectively useless in resolving disputes involving a Chinese merchant. After waiting over a month, I finally received a flashlight I’d ordered from a Chinese merchant, Banggood, for $80. The flashlight began malfunctioning within the first hour. By the next day, the flashlight malfunctioned constantly. I contacted Banggood and provided them with all the information they requested: pictures of the flashlight, shipping label, SKU code, batteries used, and videos showing how the flashlight was malfunctioning. After Banggood refused to give me a refund or prepaid return postage, I opened a PayPal dispute. This was an ordeal since I purchased the flashlight using PayPal’s “guest checkout.” Every time I contact PayPal, I have to wait two to four hours online or on a phone before I’m connected with the “specialists” who handle “guest checkout” disputes. PayPal customer service directed me to return the defective flashlight to an address in China (even though Banggood has a facility in the USA) and to use a shipping method with a tracking number. While it only cost Banggood less than $2 to ship the package to me, with a tracking number that worked all the way, return shipping to China is extremely expensive. UPS quoted $150, FedEx wanted over $80. I returned the flashlight via USPS First-Class Package International Service with a tracking number for $23.50. I provided pictures of the package (showing I used the address PayPal specified) and the USPS tracking number to PayPal. PayPal said I would receive a refund once the package was delivered. Here’s the problem: USPS First-Class and Priority Mail tracking numbers aren’t scanned once a package enters the Chinese postal system. My package reached China on January 12, 2020; the USPS tracking number still says “In Transit to Next Facility.” It will still say that six months or six years from now since USPS First-Class and Priority Mail tracking numbers don’t work inside China or numerous other countries. PayPal has refused to refund my $80 even though I provided them with proof the flashlight was obviously defective and that I’d returned it using a method PayPal told me to use. I then opened a dispute with Chase Bank since the purchase was made on my Chase Amazon Visa card. Chase initially posted a $80 chargeback. Earlier today, I received a phone call from Chase customer service informing me they’re restoring the $80 charge since I can’t prove Banggood received the returned item. I can’t prove the package was delivered because USPS tracking numbers don’t work inside China. Every shipping method I’ve researched which has tracking numbers that work inside China cost more than the $80 I paid for the flashlight. For all practical purposes, the “protection” PayPal and credit card companies afford consumers who receive defective or incorrect merchandise from Chinese vendors is worthless.
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