PayPal is now on my shit-list. YouTube is full of videos of people complaining how PayPal screw them over. I think it's about time a lawyer filed a class action law suit against PayPal.
I was not going to share my story, but it happened again, and I'm pissed. In a nutshell PayPal is now scammer friendly and has figured out a new way to screw their customers.
Here is what happened last year...
I bought several Xeon CPU's from a reputable seller on eBay from China. I payed with PayPal. My order was shipped and the seller provided a tracking number. When my order didn't arrive when expected, I contacted the seller. He advised me that according to the tracking number my order was delivered. I never got anything.
At this point I contacted my post office - Canada Post. I figured they can help. The agent I spoke with informed me that the sender (in my case the eBay seller) must open an investigation/case with their post office - China Post. My post office made it clear that I can't open an investigation as the receiver. I called Canada Post several times and confirmed that is indeed their policy (which in some ways makes sense, and in others it's quite stupid).
I contacted the eBay seller and I asked him to open an investigation with his post office - China Post - and send me the investigation/case number (so I can call Canada Post and follow up). He said he will and he will keep me posted. After three weeks and no update I contacted the seller. He claimed he opened an investigation but nothing come out of it. He never provided me a case number or the actual response from his post office.
At this point I requested a full refund. The seller only agreed to half a refund. I refused, and opened a dispute case with PayPal.
What happened next was shocking. PayPal requested the tracking number from the seller and closed the case siding with the seller. There was no explanation as to how the decision was made or why. I got a standard generic message saying that the case is closed and that I lost.
Here is the interesting part... as part of my dispute case I submitted the following information to PayPal:
1) I have secure mailbox which requires a key to open and only I (and the obviously the post office) have a key. In other words, the package was not stolen from the mailbox.
2) I copied a response from the eBay seller saying that my package required a receiving signature.
3) I informed PayPal I asked the seller to open an investigation with his post office - China Post - and that he never gave me the investigation number.
Without asking the seller for proof of signature or the China Post investigation case number PayPal closed the case and sided with the seller based only on the tracking number. WTF? How convenient for scammers! All a scammer needs to do is make a "friend" at the post office.
Scammers aside, mail occasionally gets lost - which is what I think happened in my case. If PayPal cared about me, the customer, they would have requested the post office investigation number (and proof of signature). If not to find out what really happened, at least for insurance purposes. I might have been eligible for some (if not full) compensation from the post office if they determined they lost the package.
In the end I lost $200+. So be aware! PayPal sucks.
I was not going to share my story, but it happened again, and I'm pissed. In a nutshell PayPal is now scammer friendly and has figured out a new way to screw their customers.
Here is what happened last year...
I bought several Xeon CPU's from a reputable seller on eBay from China. I payed with PayPal. My order was shipped and the seller provided a tracking number. When my order didn't arrive when expected, I contacted the seller. He advised me that according to the tracking number my order was delivered. I never got anything.
At this point I contacted my post office - Canada Post. I figured they can help. The agent I spoke with informed me that the sender (in my case the eBay seller) must open an investigation/case with their post office - China Post. My post office made it clear that I can't open an investigation as the receiver. I called Canada Post several times and confirmed that is indeed their policy (which in some ways makes sense, and in others it's quite stupid).
I contacted the eBay seller and I asked him to open an investigation with his post office - China Post - and send me the investigation/case number (so I can call Canada Post and follow up). He said he will and he will keep me posted. After three weeks and no update I contacted the seller. He claimed he opened an investigation but nothing come out of it. He never provided me a case number or the actual response from his post office.
At this point I requested a full refund. The seller only agreed to half a refund. I refused, and opened a dispute case with PayPal.
What happened next was shocking. PayPal requested the tracking number from the seller and closed the case siding with the seller. There was no explanation as to how the decision was made or why. I got a standard generic message saying that the case is closed and that I lost.
Here is the interesting part... as part of my dispute case I submitted the following information to PayPal:
1) I have secure mailbox which requires a key to open and only I (and the obviously the post office) have a key. In other words, the package was not stolen from the mailbox.
2) I copied a response from the eBay seller saying that my package required a receiving signature.
3) I informed PayPal I asked the seller to open an investigation with his post office - China Post - and that he never gave me the investigation number.
Without asking the seller for proof of signature or the China Post investigation case number PayPal closed the case and sided with the seller based only on the tracking number. WTF? How convenient for scammers! All a scammer needs to do is make a "friend" at the post office.
Scammers aside, mail occasionally gets lost - which is what I think happened in my case. If PayPal cared about me, the customer, they would have requested the post office investigation number (and proof of signature). If not to find out what really happened, at least for insurance purposes. I might have been eligible for some (if not full) compensation from the post office if they determined they lost the package.
In the end I lost $200+. So be aware! PayPal sucks.
