Help with Paypal Claim Won Please!?

Oct 11, 2007
659
4
Hi Folks. I won't go into too many details because I know you have heard it all before, but I stupidly bought a bag which turned out to be fake!! Anyway, I put in a Paypal claim and have just been advised that I have won but I need to send bag back to seller. The seller is in US - I am in Australia. The amounts I have quoted are in US Dollars.

I paid $500 for bag + $50 post (which by the way she posted for only $25!) so I put in claim for full amount. I also had to pay $60 for a letter from an authentication service. It is now going to cost me approx $50/$60 to send it back securely with tracking and signature confirmation.

As she is a relatively new ebayer, the most I can get back is $200 under Protection Cover. It will cost me all up $660 to get $200 back!!

She will then have her piece of s#*t back (already making a tidy profit from me!!) which she can then onsell.

I have decided that I would rather her not have the bag back, just on principle!! Is there any way that I can arrange to have the bag destroyed here (say at a police station) and have a Statutory Declaration completed to this effect).

My husband says to not waste more money on return post, throw the bag away and just "learn from my mistake", but if I cancel the claim she will win and then I can't even justify leaving her negative feedback!!

Please could someone offer some suggestions!!
 
Call PAypal. Since you have a document stating it isn't authentic tell them that they are asking you to mail a counterfeit good, which is 100% illegal. They should rell you that you have to destroy it and provide proof (photos or something) and then they will refund.
You could get fined by customs for shipping counterfeit goods! They should side with you.
Also, print the auction and then post it here for us to report it and have it removed. That can always help too!
 
Actually, it's not illegal to mail the bag. It's only illegal when selling it.

OP won the claim, right? So it looks like the issue is that there is a cap in the amount of money that she can recover via PayFoe.

OP: Did you use a credit card to pay via PayFoe? If you did, you could dispute the charge with your cc and send the bag back. If done via the cc company, you won't need Signature Confirmation, although that might be included depending on the service you choose. All you would need is delivery confirmation.
 
This question was raised sometime, somewhere here (I think not in this subforum) last summer, and we looked into the actual law. It turns out it's not illegal to buy or mail fakes. It's illegal to sell them. If I'm not mistaken a TPF member who is also a lawyer confirmed this info.
 
Actually, it's not illegal to mail the bag. It's only illegal when selling it.

OP won the claim, right? So it looks like the issue is that there is a cap in the amount of money that she can recover via PayFoe.

OP: Did you use a credit card to pay via PayFoe? If you did, you could dispute the charge with your cc and send the bag back. If done via the cc company, you won't need Signature Confirmation, although that might be included depending on the service you choose. All you would need is delivery confirmation.


Unfortunately I have a savings account linked to Paypal and this is how I paid for the bag.

I have already resigned myself to losing the money however it turns out, but I really just want to avoid "throwing good money after bad" (as my dear old granny would have said!!) by wasting another $60 to send the bag back to her, which she would love to use to scam someone else!
 
I see what you mean, as all you would be able to recover is $200 vs the $600 you would've spent. I'm sorry, my friend. This definitely suKZ. So PayFoe still has a $200 limit for buyer's protection in Australia?
 
I see what you mean, as all you would be able to recover is $200 vs the $600 you would've spent. I'm sorry, my friend. This definitely suKZ. So PayFoe still has a $200 limit for buyer's protection in Australia?

The email I received from Paypal stated "please note that your refund amount is based on the Protection Coverage listed on the Auction and could be less than the original transaction amount" and gave me link to their coverage rates. Based on seller's feedbacks etc I am only covered to a maximum of $200US.
 
I am so sorry to hear what happened to you.
I actually thought that under new Paypal policy that the full auction price was covered now regardless of the sellers feedback rating, if they still cap it for new sellers at $200, then pretty much nothing has changed since they indroduced the "new paypal protection" late last year. But now they are being sneeky as it doesn't say $200 or $2000 cover under the listing.
I think you need to phone paypal and ask if there is anyway to destroy the bag (as it's a fake) and still get the refund because if your refund is dependent on the return of the bag then you will have to do it even though it sucks.
Did you have any contact with the seller before you made the claim, i.e. did they refuse a full refund?
 
OSCAR... if the parcel was shipped to you via USPS from the US then try this...
FILE a MAIL FRAUD complaint....

https://postalinspectors.uspis.gov/forms/MailFraudComplaint.aspx

And hell, while you are at it.. file a complaint against PP also, for demanding that you MAIL it again!

And then contact whoever the carrier was in OZ and see if you can/should file there also. You don't have much to lose at this point...
 
I am so sorry to hear what happened to you.
I actually thought that under new Paypal policy that the full auction price was covered now regardless of the sellers feedback rating, if they still cap it for new sellers at $200, then pretty much nothing has changed since they indroduced the "new paypal protection" late last year. But now they are being sneeky as it doesn't say $200 or $2000 cover under the listing.
I think you need to phone paypal and ask if there is anyway to destroy the bag (as it's a fake) and still get the refund because if your refund is dependent on the return of the bag then you will have to do it even though it sucks.
Did you have any contact with the seller before you made the claim, i.e. did they refuse a full refund?

PayFoe did eliminate the buyer protection limits in the U.S., but she's in Australia. It really sucks.
 
Thanks for all your help and suggestions ladies!! I have just got off the phone to Paypal and they are going to refund the full amount! The email they sent me was incorrect, saying that the refund may be less. They also have referred to a supervisor and I may not have to send back but can destroy the bag instead which would be fantastic. I would love to cut it up into little pieces!!

Anyway, thanks again for everyone's help and I promise that any further purchases I make will be authenticated at TPF first!!!
 
^ Awesome news!!! I'm glad you called PP. I assume you already had and the $200 limit was unavoidable. So PayFoe there's no buyer protections limits or they just didn't apply to this case based on feedback, etc.?
 
Thanks for all your help and suggestions ladies!! I have just got off the phone to Paypal and they are going to refund the full amount! The email they sent me was incorrect, saying that the refund may be less. They also have referred to a supervisor and I may not have to send back but can destroy the bag instead which would be fantastic. I would love to cut it up into little pieces!!

Anyway, thanks again for everyone's help and I promise that any further purchases I make will be authenticated at TPF first!!!

I'm so happy for you!!! Before, it certainly sounded like you were in a Catch 22 - there was no way for you to proceed without it costing you MORE $$$$.