[Help] Escalating something to PayPal

[Arthur]

Anyone had any experience of escalating something to PayPal?

Long story short, I bought some storage boxes online from a company (not an eBay seller) and paid via PayPal. Turned up and they were shit and not was not what was advertised at all. Raised a grievance through PayPal and the company who I bought from initially offered me 20% refund without having to return the items to them, then 30%, then 50% and now 60% saying that is there final offer but they will give me a full refund if I return the items at my own cost to a return address which is in China (they are an American company).

Having never sent anything to China before I've no idea how much it is going to cost but I expect it will be a big chunk if not all of the 40%. So part of me is thinking just to take the hit and accept the partial refund. But the other part of me is thinking why should I be out of pocket from no fault of my own.......other than buying stuff from a dodgy company.

My question is if I escalate this to PayPal are they likely to side with me or the company?

 

[grubbyhands]

I had a stab at taking out a case against some sub-standard motorcycle gloves from a chinese company. They were utter crap. Paypal apparently investigated and took no further action. Case closed. Recently had some Timberland boots (from China, yes I know ,my fault) Never delivered despite my local sorting office saying that they had been. Neither party interested in compensation, both saying it was the responsibility of the other. Moral...Don't buy anything from China,Royal Mail tracking number or not.

 

[father_and_son]

I had a stab at taking out a case against some sub-standard motorcycle gloves from a chinese company. They were utter crap. Paypal apparently investigated and took no further action. Case closed. Recently had some Timberland boots (from China, yes I know ,my fault) Never delivered despite my local sorting office saying that they had been. Neither party interested in compensation, both saying it was the responsibility of the other. Moral...Don't buy anything from China,Royal Mail tracking number or not.

Buying from China on eBay is fine. Had numerous issues with goods from there either not turning up or being shockingly shoddy quality. Always had a very prompt response from eBay when complaint to seller unresolved. Never been refused a full refund.

 

[Uncle C]

The Sale of Goods act covers items sold to the UK. If it is new and faulty or not as advertised then the seller is obliged to pay for return postage. Tell them to send a prepaid label or a courier to pick it up.

 

[Gwylan]

I've only ever bought one thing from eBay via PayPal. The money was taken but the seller sent me a message saying that he didn't have the item any more and couldn't send it. I raised it with both eBay and PayPal and they said that there's nothing they could do about my money but I should give the seller a poor rating.
I've avoided PayPal ever since.

So, to answer your question, I wouldn't expect any help from PayPal on this.

 

[Beach Hut]

I've only ever bought one thing from eBay via PayPal. The money was taken but the seller sent me a message saying that he didn't have the item any more and couldn't send it. I raised it with both eBay and PayPal and they said that there's nothing they could do about my money but I should give the seller a poor rating.
I've avoided PayPal ever since.

So, to answer your question, I wouldn't expect any help from PayPal on this.

PayPal work similar to that old computer supplier TINY (Tough Its Now Yours) always pay by credit card on eBay

 

[darkwolf666]

PayPal work similar to that old computer supplier TINY (Tough Its Now Yours) always pay by credit card on eBay

Strange isn't it, I use PayPal probably in excess of a 100 times a month and have had no problem with them - apart, that is when they froze my account for no apparent reason, other than wanting copies of ID...

Then, like Amazon the problem started as it is almost impossible to actually speak to a human regarding your problem, instead you just get stuck in a loop on their FAQ section!

 

[grubbyhands]

Buying from China on eBay is fine. Had numerous issues with goods from there either not turning up or being shockingly shoddy quality. Always had a very prompt response from eBay when complaint to seller unresolved. Never been refused a full refund.

Well that's obviously not the case then ,is it?

 

[Weststander]

As a seller, I found eBay/PayPal were 100% tough on sellers in a dispute, no matter the facts. I can see why, to protect buyers.

Regarding the OP:

 

[marlowe]

My wife bought some fake Dr Martens boots from China via ebay for £38. We had a very strong suspicion they would probably be fake even though they were advertised as Dr Martens. We did some research prior to purchase and the general feedback and reviews was that even though they were fake they were still quite good quality.

My wife went ahead and purchased a pair on the strength that if they did turn out to be of poor quality she would simply complain to ebay/paypal that she had been sold fake goods.The DMs duly arrived and their quality seemed as good as she would have expected for a pair of boots. There were however tell tale signs that they were not genuine DMs such as the inscription on the soles and tongue. My wife used this as an excuse to complain to the company that they had missold her the boots as it was obvious they were fake and she provided them with photos of the anomalous inscriptions which confirmed they weren't genuine. The company offered her the same deal of keeping them for a partial refund. My wife ended up paying £18 for a pair of DM replica boots, the quality of which were probably no worse than the genuine version.

I know that the quality of genuine DMs has diminished since they stopped making them in the UK as I found out when I tried a pair on in the official DrMarten shop in Brighton. I was quite surprised at how thin the leather was compared to how they used to be. I don't think what my wife ended up with for £18 was any worse than what they were selling in the official shop for four times that price.

 

[Weststander]

Strange isn't it, I use PayPal probably in excess of a 100 times a month and have had no problem with them - apart, that is when they froze my account for no apparent reason, other than wanting copies of ID...

Then, like Amazon the problem started as it is almost impossible to actually speak to a human regarding your problem, instead you just get stuck in a loop on their FAQ section!

Amazon, I find:

Prime - they’re brilliant at refunds and trust you.

Amazon Marketplace (other sellers) - it’s a Wild West, chancers and the hopeless use it to sell, although the majority of sellers are honourable.

 

[grubbyhands]

As a seller, I found eBay/PayPal were 100% tough on sellers in a dispute, no matter the facts. I can see why, to protect buyers.

Regarding the OP:

View attachment 121683

Thanks for that,good info ,however,I fear it's too late for my dispute.

 

[Albion Prem]

Strange isn't it, I use PayPal probably in excess of a 100 times a month and have had no problem with them - apart, that is when they froze my account for no apparent reason, other than wanting copies of ID...

Then, like Amazon the problem started as it is almost impossible to actually speak to a human regarding your problem, instead you just get stuck in a loop on their FAQ section!

I think their Customer Services dept are very similar to Sky and Virgin a complete nightmare!!!!

 

[SK1NT]

Had an absolute nightmare with paypal.

I sold an online game (clash of clans for £650). I gave the apple id etc... The guy renamed my account and i could see he was playing it... Next thing i know 3 months down the line he did a charge back and my paypal account was minus £650) luckily i withdrew the cash. Spent months arguing with them saying i sent the item and provided proof he was using it and he received the item. They didn't want to know. So i thought i was going to lose this game that i spent a lot on and spent way too much time playing and the money. I then just thought **** this and never gave paypal the money. I had a debt collection agency try a year after but realised they didn't have a leg to stand on and left it. That was 4 years ago. They did disable my paypal account, however you can pay on ebay using a temporary paypal account, or i use my partners account.

So can you do a charge back on your credit card?

 

[Weststander]

Thanks for that,good info ,however,I fear it's too late for my dispute.

Sorry. It’s annoying to think that crooks have your money. But once bitten, twice shy.

 

[Guinness Boy]

No one should buy anything from China from now on IMO.

And, yes, plenty of mass manufacturing and tech going on out there so it needs organising.

 

[phoenix]

Buying from China on eBay is fine. Had numerous issues with goods from there either not turning up or being shockingly shoddy quality. Always had a very prompt response from eBay when complaint to seller unresolved. Never been refused a full refund.

Same here, my Daughter ordered a iPhone that never turned up. Received full refund after 14 days.
The time was to allow the seller time to reply.
But i guess its a totally different proposition proving a certain item was crap.

 

[Live by the sea]

Personally I have found returning goods via e bay much easier than amazon although I recognise the op didn’t but via e bay.

What I would say is if you see a well known branded item of clothing at what looks like a cheap price and the seller is from China or India , you have about a 99.9% chance its a fake. May be a good fake but a fake nevertheless. If it’s too cheap to be true there is usually a catch ! Use your common sense ....

I’ve even seen fake Rolex watches from China that are very difficult to tell apart from a real Rolex, until you open up the case and inspect the mechanism.

 

[Weststander]

Personally I have found returning goods via e bay much easier than amazon although I recognise the op didn’t but via e bay.

What I would say is if you see a well known branded item of clothing at what looks like a cheap price and the seller is from China or India , you have about a 99.9% chance its a fake. May be a good fake but a fake nevertheless. If it’s too cheap to be true there is usually a catch ! Use your common sense ....

I’ve even seen fake Rolex watches from China that are very difficult to tell apart from a real Rolex, until you open up the case and inspect the mechanism.

Every time I buy a new Rolex, I fly to their Swiss HQ. Imho, it's the only way to know that the watch is legit.

 

[Arthur]

No one should buy anything from China from now on IMO.

And, yes, plenty of mass manufacturing and tech going on out there so it needs organising.

How do you know where something has come from though?

I had no idea this rubbish (although I could have had an educated guess) was from China.

Only yesterday I bought a ladder from Amazon and it turned up and written in big letters on the box MADE IN CHINA (thankfully its a millions times better quality than the storage boxes).

Thank you all for the replies on here. I'm still conflicted on what to do but going to look into the card charge back. Although I think contacting my bank at the moment might be an issue.