Didn't arrive & seller not responding

theclarkofben

Hi

On 27th August 2013 I bought an engagement ring online from a shop hosted on: http://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/

I paid $1230 (£816) using Paypal which withdrew money from my HSBC VISA credit card and was patient as I knew the ring had to be shipped from America.

After a few emails back and forth I was advised by the seller on 27th October that the ring had been lost in American customs. The seller said she was going to look in to it as it may have just been put aside and assured me that she would liase with customs and get back to me.

Again, I was patient and gave the seller time to resolve the matter. However on 2nd December after more chasing emails by me the seller responded to say that she had spoken to the courier (USPS) and that they were unable to locate the package and also that she is unable to claim on the courier insurance as the customs number associated to this case is no longer valid.

The seller went on to offer me a different ring, one with a smaller stone but apparently of a higher stone quality.

I'm feeling quite nervous about this and i'm worried I may be getting scammed. I have told the seller not to send me the replacement ring and have instead asked that she provides me with all relevant information related to this shipment and insurance claim (tracking numbers, reference numbers, contact numbers, etc.). I've told her that i'd like to contact the different bodies and discuss their policy on these kind of things. I also asked her to provide a bit more information on the replacement ring: photos, the differences between the stone I ordered and this one (size, quality, type, sourced from, etc.) especially asking for the facts around why this replacement stone is of the same quality and value as the one that I ordered.

I haven't received a response in over 2 weeks.

I've begun looking at opening a dispute with Paypal but i've just seen that they refuse to investigate any transaction over 45 days old.

Does anyone have any advice for me? I feel helpless.

InsideInsurance

Etsy themselves do have a dispute process but again its 60 days limit and so by your giving them so much time is a problem.

You can try with your card issuer to see if they will do a chargeback or Section 75 claim but the fact it was via PayPal causes a potential problem too.

Outside of that you'd have to pursue the seller directly but given they are in the USA that probably isnt going to be cost effective.