Chargeback via PayPal by buyer - item defective/not as described.

911bill

Hello,

We are a small business and we supply inflatable products, marquees, awnings.. 

in April, after many discussions, a customer went ahead with a custom order which was made to his measurements and design. 

2 months in the making, he finally got it but he was out of the country so his girlfriend and gardener set it up. 

There was a few issues, power cut so pump stoped and just general confusion by the girlfriend on how to set up the pump. 

Got past all of that by taking after hours calls and text messages. 

Later,  it seemed that a puncture appeared, possibly due to over pressure, so within a few days, wanting to keep the customer happy, I’d just drive the 4 hour journey there to repair the puncture and make sure all is good and I’d do this for free. 

I went there and fixed the issue and made sure everything was set right and that there were no issues for peace of mind. Took pictures, the buyer was there and I showed him how it works and chatted. One issue was that the unit was only tied to a fence with 1 rope and had nothing in it. Out instructions state that the unit should be secured using all the rope points and tied at 45 degree angles (14 in total)

typically, the next day, there was a storm and 45mph winds..

I receive a message from the buyer with a screenshot from his CCTV, showing the unit blown over. “Hope it’s not damaged”

“it was up a tree”, “think there are rips” were some of the messages.

My Replies were along the lines of, “you really need it tied down”

Then things would go quiet, until again, I’d get a message, “had a quick look and think there is damage. Hope pumps ok, not sure I want to use it”

again, I would suggest securing it down and all would be fine, see the instructions but here is a photo of what the instructions say. 

Then I’d get another message, “ Hi mate. Had a look at the thing properly now. The actual ties you supplied have snapped so despite what it was tethered to the outcome would have been the same unfortunately.

I’m in a bit of a predicament as while I understand that with things inside there’s no way it would have taken off I can’t always guarantee there’ll be things in it.

So my issue is I’m a couple of grand down for something that essential I cannot use for the purpose I intended to from the offset“

i replied with a hefty reply saying it needs to be tied down, we have many out there and no issues etc etc etc. refer to the manual, it will be fine and I’m confident of that”

Few days later, I get an email from PayPal saying a case has been opened, a chargeback by the buyers card company, for defective / not as described product. 

My account is not on hold until case closed. Which in the mean time, will screw my business as I use PayPal to pay suppliers and take payment. So god knows what I will do.

now, I’m here to ask for advice. The product was bespoke for this buyer, he has failed to follow instructions and I believe made no attempt to try and use the product since it originally failed, some of the text messages seem to just be a statement, perhaps hoping I travel back up there to erect it for him and sort it. There has been no request for refund or ask for anything. So I was shocked by the case open email. 

Due to not being tied, I feel the product has been neglected. I saw the product in its position at the customers premises, it was perfect, we did full testing on it, talked customer through it. I have pictures and video, even of the single rope being tied incorrectly. 

My thoughts are that he just doesn’t want it anymore. 

This is giving me anxiety as it’s hard for me to resell and it already lost us money and then a day out for 2 of us to visit. I know there was nothing wrong with it, it was simply not tied and 45mph winds did what you would expect to sometbing that is inflatable. 

So I have text messages, pictures, video. 

Am I going to end up having to refund and lose out here? 

Thanks
Bill 

Mistral001

"My account is not on hold until case closed. Which in the mean time, will screw my business as I use PayPal to pay suppliers and take payment. So god knows what I will do."

Is that a typo? Should it me "now" and rather than "not"?

911bill

Yes typo. Should say now on hold. 

Auto correct on phone. Sorry. 

Mistral001

Whether this sale was carried out on Ebay or not, there is a lot of good Paypal advice on the Ebay sub forum:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/categories/ebay-auctions-car-boot-jumble-sales

911bill

Just to update, somehow, the buyer won the case.
Even with my detailed descriptions, text messages and photos which I took in person, showing every aspect of the product in working order, the card issuer sides with their customer, of course. I cannot believe this is legal.

He now has £2580 of money for a product which he still has and I now have to pay some fee's. I cannot believe this.

lincroft1710

It is up to the card provider who they side with, "legality" does not enter it. From your point of view it may be a perverse judgement, but they do happen. There are threads on this forum where a supplier has either threatened to sue or actually sued a customer when the customer had successfully persuaded their card provider to rescind payment. I am unable to suggest if this would be a suitable course of action in your case