Pay Pal Protection Scam?

Kevin_T

Pay pal will NOT pay out anything.

This has taken 6 Months.

They have just told me that they guarantee NOTHING. They even have this as a disclaimer in the website! They even say that enything which is 'implied' i.e. buyer protection, is meaningless.

So there we have it Pished off and £200 out of pocket.

Why do I have to take this lot to court when they are (surely) operating a scam. I did nothing wrong and followed their advice effectively getting further and further out of pocket each time!

This should be filed under the same heading as the 'banks who are responsible for nothing', just wave goodby to your cash.

carlos1973

I had a problem with PayPals seller protection a few weeks ago. You might find this address handy.
It's from the Office of Executive Escalations, not sure what that is but after weeks of running around I complained to the FOS and suddenly had a email from this person about a week later. Complaint resolved and full refund given.

"Please be advised that this is our final response on this matter. However,
should you have any further questions or concerns you can contact me
directly at ppelce@paypal.co.uk. You might also like to note that if you
are not satisfied with our response, you can refer this matter to the UK
Financial Ombudsman Service (?FOS?) within the next six months; see section
14.2 of our User Agreement. Or you can also refer this matter in writing
to our regulator at the following postal address:

Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF)
110, Route d?Arlon
L-2991 Luxembourg


Sincerely,

Alberto Rodrigo
Executive Escalations
PayPal, an eBay Company

Kevin_T

Thanks, I have had that email more than once and each time I explain what has happened over the phone they say it will be looked into. The last time I telephoned they said that 'paypal has never offered any guarantee of any sort', all they are is a 'service to engage the seller and buyer to resolve the issue'.

Also reading their website small print it states that they do not offer any form of guarantee 'implied or otherwise'.

This effectively means that it falls under the heading of a scam, i.e. offering something; buyer protection, but giving nothing; we do not give you any form of protection whatsoever and we never implied we would.

This is surely illegal or at least a shabby way of going about your business.

The other point that I take issue with is the fact that I have no evidence; the single layer of cardboard wrapping and the keyboard in pieces. It was sent back at paypals request. Thus they have effectively got me to destroy my own evidence!

For them it is a win win scenario, for me it was a lost £150 lost £42.

fwor

Unfortunately, Ebay have contrived to make PayPal a near-monopoly that is so successful, they don't really need to care about their customers. It was clever of them to design the PayPal model such that the party that chooses the payment method - the buyer - is the one that pays nothing to use it.

It's a shame that there is so little viable competition for Ebay/Paypal. If Loot, for example, had thought out their business model properly early on, they might have kept Ebay honest - but they made a mess of it.

I know it won't help you get a better response to your specific case, but have you considered raising a complaint with the Office of Fair Trading? It's possible that they would uphold a complaint about the apparent disparity between what PayPal claim, and what their T&Cs actually commit them to deliver.

BFG_2

Don't waste yuor breath phoning, instead WRITE officially to the FSO.

Even though Paypal is beyond UK jurisdiction [in the shi7/loop-hole of Luxembourg] they have agreed to be covered by the FSO.

They probably did this as if they didn't the FSO and other gov depts could have made it difficult for them to operate in the UK.

The more that write, the more the FSO will have to sit up and take notice.

Kevin_T

Thanks again for the support, it's getting me down to be honest. I am having a day of letter writing tomorrow and I've taken a week off in a weeks time when I will be pressing my MP to voice my concerns. This seems to be happening to a lot of people, but yet again it just makes me dispair at the shabby way paypal and ebay treat people, the forums on ebay are full of ripped off buyers and a few sellers.

Im still sure that the way to deal with these problems is for pay pal to hold the cash until the buyer recieves the goods.

missymugwump

How awful for you
This seems more like something has not been entered or done in order at Paypals end
Have you tried phoning them ?
I found them really helpful & it got my case sorted (though it was simpler than yours)

so2006

I hate paypal too, over £1,000 in unauthorised transactions from April last year. Still no money and the FO no longer replied to my emails or letters.

Waste of space, paypal and ebay!

phlogeston

Kevin_T wrote: »

So now I have no keyboard (no proof!?!?) and £200 lost.
IT HAS TO BE A SCAM - What else could it be?

Of course if all your rants were true, then you would have proof of postage and that the item was signed for.

DO YOU HAVE PROOF OF POSTING AND A SIGNATURE ON DELIVERY?

If not, then you haven't returned the items in accordance with PayPals T&Cs.

So it in NOT A SCAM, it is probably your failure to follow the correct claims procedure. If you can't prove that the keyboard was returned, why the hell should they pay you any money?

3plus1

phlogeston wrote: »

So it in NOT A SCAM, it is probably your failure to follow the correct claims procedure. If you can't prove that the keyboard was returned, why the hell should they pay you any money?

It's not always that simple with PayPal. I had to return an item, signed for, at my own expense, with proper packaging. (The seller didn't bother with any of this, which explains why the item arrived at mine in pieces!)

I had to provide a tracking number and then later had to send a fax by a Sunday. Apparently the tracking number (which tracked the item) wasn't enough proof that the seller had recieved the item back, but a piece of paper with it physically printed on did. (Message sent Friday working hours, so received Friday night. Who has a fax machine these days? I didn't realise owning one was a requirement of using eBay!)

I recieved abusive emails from the seller throughout as she felt I should take the hit, not her, because she had children. (Never once enquired as to my situation, however! :mad: I was facing redundancy at the time.)

Incidentally, a few months after this saga was over, someone tried to buy $200 worth of rubbish using my PayPal account. I'm religious with my security, so it was devastating to find out I'd been a victim of identity theft.

PayPal is horrendous. I feel incredibly sorry for the OP, because I know first hand how frustrating/stupid their procedures are. I have a stress triggered medical condition and was actually physically ill as a result of the whole mess.

I don't use eBay anymore and don't buy from any website that requires PayPal. I may have limited some of my shopping options, but I feel much happier as a result. (And healthier, too! ) When the OP finally draws a line under this, I would recommend doing the same thing. There may be bargains to be had on eBay, but the stress is not worth it.