Issue after Paypal dispute closed

hulfan

I raised a PayPal dispute after I ordered a tennis racquet online. The item wasn't as described (no strings). The company was awful to deal with, very slow to respond to emails, and almost impossible to contact via telephone. After several weeks they had not been able to rectify the issue (I asked them to send strings or a partial refund so that I could pay for the racquet to be strung locally). 

I therefore raised a paypal dispute amd was fully refunded for the racquet.

I am now getting threatening letters asking me to pay the full amount plus interest, debt collectors etc.


Does anyone know what my rights are in this situation? Surely they can't provide a full refund, and then change their minds after the fact?

user1977

Presumably it's Paypal who provided the refund, not the retailer? Paypal isn't judge and jury about any underlying dispute between you and the retailer, they're just reversing the payment (similar to credit card companies doing a chargeback). So the retailer can continue to argue it if they like (as presumably Paypal has swiped the money back from the retailer). Whether that has any merit is a different question.

How much money are we talking about? I wouldn't have thought a tennis racquet was worth going legal over.

mebu60

If you've been refunded have you returned the racquet?

hulfan

user1977 said:

Presumably it's Paypal who provided the refund, not the retailer? Paypal isn't judge and jury about any underlying dispute between you and the retailer, they're just reversing the payment (similar to credit card companies doing a chargeback). So the retailer can continue to argue it if they like (as presumably Paypal has swiped the money back from the retailer). Whether that has any merit is a different question.

How much money are we talking about? I wouldn't have thought a tennis racquet was worth going legal over.

Over £130. I've never used PayPal dispute before so I don't really understand what my rights are here.

user1977

PayPal protection means you've got your cash back, which is most of the battle.

I doubt a retailer is going to go to small claims for £130 even if they thought they had a good case. "Debt collectors" don't have any special powers.

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

mebu60 said:

If you've been refunded have you returned the racquet?

This is the question OP?

If not do you still have it?

If so where did you buy from? 

There is either a duty to return rejected goods or make them available for collection depending on the terms

Paypal usually require the goods be returned if it was a SNAD dispute under their buyer protection or was this a card chargeback and the retailer didn't contest? 

eskbanker

Nice to read about PayPal offering a 'no strings' refund for a change

Sorry, couldn't resist - as you were....

Olinda99

eskbanker said:

Nice to read about PayPal offering a 'no strings' refund for a change

Sorry, couldn't resist - as you were....

excellent but don't give up the day job yet ...

Okell

hulfan said:

I raised a PayPal dispute after I ordered a tennis racquet online. The item wasn't as described (no strings)...

Just to be clear, some specialist retailers of tennis racquets might sell a mixture of strung racquets and unstrung frames - allowing the buyer to string the frame to their own preference.

Are you sure what you bought was advertised as being strung, and not as an unstrung frame?  The seller might think you've been wrongly refunded.

And as others have asked, did you return the racquet after it was refunded?

born_again

eskbanker said:

Nice to read about PayPal offering a 'no strings' refund for a change

Sorry, couldn't resist - as you were....

Just had to "lob" that one didn't you. 

Which dispute did you use via paypal?
As would have thought you would have had to return item. Clearly paypal have taken the funds from the retailer hence their contact.
In effect they have a legal right to the money, not interest, while you have the item.

hulfan

Okell said:

hulfan said:

I raised a PayPal dispute after I ordered a tennis racquet online. The item wasn't as described (no strings)...

Just to be clear, some specialist retailers of tennis racquets might sell a mixture of strung racquets and unstrung frames - allowing the buyer to string the frame to their own preference.

Are you sure what you bought was advertised as being strung, and not as an unstrung frame?  The seller might think you've been wrongly refunded.

And as others have asked, did you return the racquet after it was refunded?

I have screen shots stating that the racquet will arrive strung. We are very familiar with tennis and the racquets available.

 We purchased this after searching extensively for a racquet with the right weight and balance. The racquet failed to arrive on time, did not arrive as described and the awful communication from the seller (an "LTA partner")  led to us being out of pocket regarding prebooked lessons and tournaments for a number of weeks.