BEWARE Paypal Ripped Me Off, Your Next!
This is a fair warning to everyone
. We have all heard here in the last 6 months or so the BAD and UNREAL things PayPal has done to many boardmembers and other people. Well they just bent me over for $250. Fair warning. If you are a SELLER on Ebay, it is in you best intrest NOT to accept Paypal as a form of payment. I may have understated that. YOU WILL BE SCREWED! Let me explain what happened. Once I do, many of you should be able to see how big of a risk you are taking by accepting PayPal payments. Especially for larger ticket items. $75 and up.
Ok... 2 months ago I sold a Fisher ID Excell Metal detector. It was 2 years old, but like new. Had only been used a handfull of times. Was like new in every sense. Sells new for $500 new. I sold it for $250 on ebay. I paid that for it a year ago. So.. I felt that wasnt too bad. Anyway, I got the paypal payment right away from the buyer. The next day I shipped it out UPS Ground with $300 Insurance on it. No biggie. Well this is where the whole thing goes south. 2 weeks AFTER DELIVERY I get a email from the buyer saying that its broken and doesnt work right. She also stated that I ripped her off. So im like.... WTF? It worked fine when I shipped it out. So I tell her that very thing. I then informed her that It was too late for me to make a Damage claim with UPS. Its been 2 weeks since delivery. She Says she wants her money back. I say shes out of luck. There was no warranty or guarentee on the item, and it clearly said no returns. So... She files a claim with paypal. This is where PAYPAL steps in and starts to bend me over. The hit my account for $250. There is no money in the account, so its at negative $250. Im in shock. So from there... I HAD TO FILE A CLAIM TO GET THE MONEY BACK in my acccout to get my ballance back to ZERO. Called paypal. They said I would have to file a claim. They said that from there she, the buyer, would have to get proof in writing from a shop that the Item was damaged.
This royally pissed me off for this reason. Just because its damaged NOW, doesnt mean that it was when I shipped it out. How do I know that it wasnt damaged by her kid or she dropped it etc... Im not friggen WAL_MART 
Paypal says... sorry. Thats all she has to prove. Un freakin believable. I told them that she also waited to long to notify me of the problem, and that I cant even make a claim with UPS now. Again... SORRY... So I sat back and waited for the "investigation" to start and end. Its been 5 weeks now... I have called them numerous times, and logged into my account daily for updates etc... Didnt want to miss anything.
So Today.... I get a email from them finally. Here it is...
This claim has been reviewed and it has been determined that a full refund
> of the PayPal transaction (including shipping and handling) should be
> awarded to the buyer once the item, in its original condition, is returned
> to you. The buyer is responsible for shipping and handling costs related
> to
> returning the item to you.
>
>
>
> The buyer has 10 calendar days to provide proof of shipment for the item
> being returned. PayPal will issue a refund from your account once the we
> can confirm that the item was shipped.
>
> Thank you for your cooperation.
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Protection Services Department
>
>
>
So.. I call them up. I tell them that this investigation proves nothing. They say sorry, but the BUYER HAD PURCHASED THE BUYER PROTECTION, AND THAT I WAS BASICALLY OUT OF LUCK BECAUSE OF THAT. Sorry for the all caps. So.. I say, so that protection TRUMPS everything??? And they said that it basically does. They never contacted me once, looked at the auction / pictures of the item ON and working, requested more info or anything. Just BAM.. PAY UP!
I told them that I have had well over 200 used items sold on ebay and NEVER had a problem. Not even one. This did not matter to them. Your feedback and account history apparently mean nothing. So my warning is this. If you use Paypal to accept payments for auction items, do so at your own risk. Personally I think you are out of your mind if you do. They ( paypal )are the JUDGE, JURY, & EXECUTIONER. If you accept paypal payments for your auctions, this can and will happen to you. I repeat, it will happen to you! Its just a matter of when. Just think if this was a New OEM Speedo Head, fenders, or whatever. If the buyer purchased the buyer protection, and it arrives screwed up, or as in my case broke after it arrived, ( thats my belief) your responsible for giving them a Full refund. Is that total and complete BS or what. Im convinced that she dropped the detector after she got it.
They said that they WOULD NOT debt my checking account, but if I didn't refund the money, it would go to collection. I cant even remove my checking account info or credit cared info until its resolved. So im over a barrel. Paypal can go to hell. I am going to wait as LONG as possible to do anything. Even then I may not do anything. I will have to think about it. Especially if it shows up to my house damaged. It will be after Christmas for sure.
Im telling you guys... Its just a matter of time. They will screw you! If I do ever get my account straightened out, I will ONLY use paypal to buy things. Never for accepting auction payments. 
Hell I may never use them again. Im pretty upset about this.
DO GET RIPPED OFF BY THEM.
You have been warned. 
AGAIN!!
ClayW
Last edited by ClayW; 09-11-2006 at 01:41 PM.
Clay Whitman
Newnan, GA
AMSOIL DEALER
My Toys
2008 Yamaha Rhino 700 SE
1999 Larson 226 SEI 5.0L EFIVolvo I/O LOVE IT
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by jason 32
86-87 Tecate ROCK!
