eBay and Paypal Problem

Please bear with me if this account is a bit broken, long or vague.

I bought a back massager advertised as new. On arrival it was obviously used and faulty (not sealed, massage oil on it and barely moving at all). I pressed the relevant buttons on ebay to return it and the seller automatically accepted the return (automated return) rather than querying it or arguing etc. This is exactly the sort of detail pp don't seem to want to take into account.

One month later I still do not have my money despite pp promising twice I would have my 100 pounds within 3 days. This is stressing me out as I have very little money coming in at the moment. I'm worried I could lose the whole sum despite following all instructions to the letter.

I've spent around 3 hours in phone calls (waited one hour to speak to someone yesterday only to be forwarded to a different dept and that was a additional half hour) ,the latest being yesterday to follow up on their latest broken promise of a refund within 3 days. I'm also burning more time and effort checking my emails for progress to no avail.

To make the return i used the pre-paid label via ebay. It turns out this is probably the seller's home address and not their company one. A pp employee previously said this was ok and not unusual with the lockdown in place and businesses going under.

The person i spoke to yesterday gave me a bit of a lecture about using his home address for the return. I would have thought safeguards would be in place for addresses on pre-paid mail labels. This is where steam comes out my ears.... pp cannot refund me yet and cannot account for, or hold themselves to the two unfulfilled promises of a refund within three days.

Instead they're looking into it (again) and say I will hear from them within 10 days' time. I have just about zero faith in them and their system- not to mention their promises. I thought the buyer guarantee meant something, now I fear it does not.

As of yesterday they have my scanned tracking receipt. Seems to me they just fixate on this and don't want to hear other details such as the item originally showing up as delivered and the seller having last week sent me an additional return address, this time via pp (in response to pp sending him the tracking information) despite the item already having been returned almost three weeks prior.

Each time I've called they've done nothing or very little on what has been a claim or escalated case for over a fortnight and any 'progress'has come from myself doing such things as providing tracking information. The only time they seem to do anything is in response to my phone calls.

This is where it gets weird..... the item was showing up on the tracking as delivered to the seller. Subsequently it only shows up now as "carded" as though he hasn't bothered to have it re-sent or picked it up from the post office depot. None of this is relevant to pp judging by their response- or lack of. I'm also getting angry and stressed in that the seller appears to place obstacles in the path of the refund.

The seller insisted to pp the item was pristine. I suspect he may be doing things to delay the refund or try to avoid refunding me at all. I think he knows how to game pp and ebay to his advantage. Pp don't seem to be concerned by his claim the item was new. At least not yet. They're needing to see proof the item was returned and are apparently looking into this. They wouldn't say what they're actually doing in detail. As far as I'm concerned the tracking receipt is sufficent proof. I cannot do a charge back on a credit card as I used my debit card.

The reason I involved pp rather than ebay is because I couldn't get to speak to a person at ebay. Things with them seem to be internet contact only. I'm debating whether to make a formal complaint to pp now or later when I probably have more to complain about judging by their performance so far.

I'm just about done with both ebay and pp except for anything really cheap like books. It's tempting to use them but if I were to reflect on all the times things went wrong I'd probably sack them off completely.

I'd appreciate any useful help on this.

 

You're short on money and you buy a back massager?

 

I have chronic lower back problems with muscles that lock into spasm. It's extremely painful and limits my life drastically.

Not that I was expecting to have to justify or explain the purchase

Sorry, Dad.

 

If I am understanding the situation correctly, the seller sure isn’t in any hurry to officially receive the package and give you a refund. We’re talking about someone who sold a used product as new and is denying having done so. Sleazies gonna sleaze.

It is bizarre to me that PayPal hasn’t sorted this out for you yet, and that they would have told you they were issuing a refund twice and then not done so. Do you have any of that in writing, or has all your contact been on the phone? This is one of the reasons I would actually prefer to handle this kind of thing through online contact, so that I have a record of what I have been promised. If you have only been dealing with people on the phone, maybe try online contact to follow up?

 

Strange PP does not solve your problem, everything I buy on the internet, for security, paid with PP!
Last year I bought a Takatsuki 274B tube (U $ 500) in Japan, it was advertised as new, when I put it in the tube tester, I saw that it was at the end of its useful life, I opened a complaint, I sent it and soon after receiving it, I received it refund, no problem!

 

They’ve always been very good with this stuff, IME, which is why I am surprised by OP’s situation.

 

I'm awaiting a reply from Paypal about why I have not been refunded as promised. This is via their message centre online.

I just realised something the seller did could be an issue unless I have it cancelled. He very recently issued a return agreement via Paypal with a deadline attached- despite the return having been arranged and actioned via ebay over a month ago. Paypal might go into auto mode and follow his false trail, if you see what I mean. It might appear the return has not been made.

He issued the return agreement in response to Pp sending him the tracking info of the actual, real return.

This seller is one scumbag.

 

I don't know if this applies to banks in the UK, but my Bank of America debit card is backed by Visa. (It looks like the one below.)

I once had a similar problem with a bad eBay deal and Visa strong-armed the seller into giving me back my money.

 

Strange situation. As you will know if you regularly sell items on eBay, PayPal ALWAYS sides with the buyer, no exceptions. As a seller this can be a real pain, but as a buyer this is what gives the customer confidence in the transaction. I've had 100% success in returning items as a buyer, no questions asked, and have never had to contact either eBay or PayPal in person. If the seller doesn't refund you by the date specified, PayPal refund you and go after the seller themselves for recompense.

 

Paypal have decided against me and refused me a refund. The case with Pp is now closed. The date for ebay intervening passed around 15th of this month.

I phoned ebay and they put me onto Pp and vice versa.

The seller released via Pp a return label 3 weeks after the item was sent back. They say I should have used that label!! The seller released this label in response to Pp giving him the legitimate actual tracking number. The SOB knows what he's doing. He set me and Pp on a false trail. They said the tracking info I gave is invalid. Strange that they were fine with it before. "We did not receive valid proof or tracking that you returned the merchandise"

(The label I used was via ebay and the address given is not his business address. Pp had no problem with this initially and said not unusual for seller to use home address during lockdown)

The item has now been sent back to me, I was carded for the attempted delivery.

I haven't a clue what I should do next.

I do know I will use both ebay and Pp to the minimum. Not for high value items, just books and suchlike. Kicking themselves ultimately. I was on the lookout for a new amp and a dac, but my faith or trust in ebay and Pp has been smashed to smithereens.

I've put in around 9 hours trying to sort this issue, and it's not over yet. Unprompted by myself, even the claims dept said I would get my money back. There's been a lot of promises that have not materialised into action.

 

Canny unscrupulous sellers are able to manipulate the system such that the buyer is left without their money. If you check on the net, Pp and ebay are no guarantee of receiving a refund for goods not as described and similar situations.

 

If the Paypal payment was backed by your credit card rather than by a Paypal balance, initiate a chargeback.

 

You need to call PayPal and try and appeal their decision. You can appeal, they might not let you proceed further but you can try and appeal.

When you call them try and stay calm.

Try that and if no luck, then do as @R. Totale suggests and get your credit card company involved (if that's how you paid for it). PayPal hates that but no reason why you should be out of pocket here and they will forgive you if you only do it once.

But try calling and appealing to their better side if possible. In the past I had to call several times before I finally found someone who would help me and I finally received my refund as a result.

Also, this is why I hardly ever bother with eBay when making a claim. I always go to PayPal right away now. In the past when they were owned by the same company PayPal could see your eBay transaction details but they can't see certain particulars anymore. If they could, they would see the address label you received, etc and I expect you would've won this case very easily.

 

This never got resolved. Ebay and pp kept bouncing me between one another. Paypal wouldn't accept the ebay label as a legitimate return.

Things were straightforward when ebay owned pp.

 

You would not need to speak with anyone at eBay. Just just click that you wish to get a refund (for return) and the process should be seamless.

You do not mention the time frame here, like if you took a couple of weeks to get this claim filed SNAD, which means significantly not as descrived. Or if the seller listed the item with no returns or returns within 14 days and you took longer. There is a lot of info you do not state here. You damn sure should have filed with ebay right away, and done it through the normal channels provided. Seller does not get very long to reply to you before case is ruled in your favor.

Something is not right here. And no, you don't get to complain later when you have more evidence of pp performance. Your issue is here and now, and you should not have h4elf off doing your ebay complaint because you wanted someone to speak with you. It seems you are at fault for being too slow to get on ebay about this. ebay can not afford to have po'd customers and nearly always rules in favor of the buyer unless the buyer is caught in a lie. I have had lairs make claims that contracted what they stated in messages. Ebay read the messages and saw their lies, and ruled against them in 3 cases they opened against me. So eBay was just dying to rule in your favor, yet you passed on opening a claim there first.