Consumer complaint received 2018-10-02
Company: Paypal Holdings, Inc
State: CA
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service
Sub-product: Domestic (US) money transfer
Issue: Other transaction problem

Complaint:
PayPal 's " buyer protection '' and dispute resolution policies enable fraudsters to take advantage of a loophole in the dispute process and facilitate fraudulent online sales by forcing honest buyers to provide evidence of shipping with tracking to invalid addresses provided by scammer sellers when a claim is settled in the buyers favor. Note that it is not possible in todays computerized environment, to do so. No major shipper or delivery service is able to create a shipping label with tracking to an invalid address. PayPal is aware of this, has done nothing to change their policies, and continues to facilitate online fraud. In addition, their automated phone system inhibits consumers from appealing unfair dispute outcomes by not providing a readily accessible option to speak with an agent - callers must be persistent and lucky enough to finally guess to " zero out '' to speak with an agent and challenge the unfair outcome resulting from PayPal 's policies. 

I have been a PayPal customer for *17 years* without a single claim or complaint filed by me or against me. The seller in question has not even been verified by PayPal, by their own records. I have provided every item they have requested THAT IS POSSIBLE TO OBTAIN, within the time frames requested and have still been denied a refund of my funds and am unable to return the merchandise I received in error that does not match what I purchased. 
XXXX : XXXX/XXXX/2018 : agreed to buy a pair of boots on a closed XXXX marketplace for the buy/sell/trade of XXXX XXXX shoes for {$200.00} USD including shipping. Provided PayPal and shipping details. 

XXXX/XXXX/2018 : paid the seller, " XXXX XXXX '', {$200.00} XXXX via PayPal. 

XXXX/XXXX/2018 : After no communication from the seller, contacted her for tracking information, which was provided. The receipt showed shipment from XXXX, NH ; this matches the hand-written return address label on the package. 

XXXX/XXXX/2018 : received shoes ( not boots XXXX that are not from XXXX XXXX, do not match the sale description, and are not worth what I paid, even new. Contacted the seller to request a refund. She responded, confirming she sent the wrong item, that there was a shipping mix-up, and the shoes I received were intended for her XXXX sale headed for XXXX. **Note Poshmark is US only  and does not allow sale or shipment to XXXX XXXX I did not know this at first and continued to treat this as a genuine mistake. ** Note that seller XXXX same name and profile photo ) has zero listings on XXXX. See evidence file. 

XXXX/XXXX/2018 : after no communication from the seller I attempted to message her in the XXXX marketplace and learned that she left the closed group **two hours** after I notified her of the shipping error, leaving me no choice but to contact her via email. 

XXXX/XXXX/2018 : Due to the increasingly hostile email exchange in which the seller used vile language and called me offensive names, and inability to resolve the issue with the seller directly, I opened claim XXXX with PayPal to mediate the return of the incorrect shoes and refund of my payment. The seller escalated my claim to a case on the same date. Seller refused my repeated requests to communicate only within XXXX XXXX XXXX and continued to harass me via external email. 

XXXX/XXXX/2018 : PayPal settled the claim in my favor, provided that I return the wrong shoes **to the address provided by the seller during the dispute process** with tracking confirmation. 

XXXX/XXXX/2018 : Logged on to the XXXX website to create a return shipping label but was unable to do so because the address provided by the seller **DOES NOT EXIST**. Called XXXX and there was **NO OPTION LISTED TO SPEAK TO AN AGENT**. Called and tried repeatedly to 'zero out ' and reach a person ; finally succeeded after multiple attempts. Spoke with an agent named XXXX, who performed a XXXX search and confirmed that the address provided by the seller does not exist. He instructed me to submit, via email, a screen shot of the XXXX website showing the inability to create a shipping label due to invalid address, along with my claim number to 'complaint-response@paypal.com '. I did precisely that within the hour. 

XXXX/XXXX/2018 : Having heard nothing from PayPal, I called again and spoke with an agent named XXXX at XXXX PM. He informed me that my claim had been closed without ANY NOTIFICATION OR JUSTIFICATION TO ME because the evidence requested must be uploaded. THE UPLOAD FEATURE WAS NOT ENABLED AT THE TIME I EMAILED THE EVIDENCE EXACTLY AS REQUESTED. I asked that he enable the upload feature in their XXXX XXXX and uploaded the same evidence as requested, immediately. 

XXXX/XXXX/2018 : Visited the XXXX at XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX in XXXX XXXX CA and spoke to two different employees, who confirmed they have never heard of a " letter of refusal ''. The second employee performed a search of the address on their computer system and confirmed they can not create a shipping label because the street and address provided do not exist. He informed me that he was unable to print out this information but provided an index card with the invalid address, and the name and phone number of his supervisor for validation purposes. Uploaded a photo of this documentation on XX/XX/2018 along with an explanation, to PayPal 's Resolution Center. Called PayPal again at XXXX PM and spoke with an agent named XXXX, who told me that PAYPAL IS AWARE OF SCAMMER SELLER USING PAYPAL 'S DISPUTE RESOLUTION PROCESS TO DEFRAUD CONSUMERS BY PROVIDING INVALID RETURN SHIPPING ADDRSSES DURING THE DISPUTE RESOLUTION PROCESS. HE SUGGESTED THAT I INSTEAD PURSUE DISPUTING VIA MY BANK. NOTE THIS IS UNETHICAL AND NOT AN OPTION FOR ME SINCE I PAID FOR THIS PURCHASE USING EXISTING PAYPAL ACCOUNT BALANCE. Escalated to a supervisor, XXXX, and explained that PayPal has already confirmed the invalid address and that it is IMPOSSIBLE TO SEND A PACKAGE TO AN INVALID ADDRESS WITH TRACKING CONFIRMATION. She told me that I must provide the " letter of refusal '', whether it can be obtained or not. 

XX/XX/2018 : Visited a XXXX XXXX and a FedEx store with the same results at each ; obtained evidence at each and uploaded to the XXXX XXXX. 

XXXX/XXXX/2018 : After no communication from PayPal yet again, called them and spoke with an agent named XXXX at XXXX XXXX. She also informed me that PAYPAL IS AWARE THAT SCAMMERS ARE RIPPING CONSUMERS OFF BY PROVIDING INVALID RETURN ADDRESSES and she " is sorry ''. I asked her to request a valid return shipping address from the seller and she said THEY HAD NOT AND WOULD NOT. I asked if I could return the wrong shoes to the seller at the address from where they were shipped in NH and she stated they MUST BE RETURNED TO THE ( INVALID ) ADDRESS PROVIDED DURING THE DISPUTE PROCESS, EVEN THOUGH THEY KNOW IT DOESN'T EXIST AND IT DOESN'T MATCH THEIR RECORDS. 

XX/XX/2018 : Visited a larger XXXX branch on XXXX XXXX in XXXX XXXX CA and spoke to a supervisor, who told me they are aware of this scam that fraudsters are performing by providing invalid return addresses. She created a shipping label for me, with tracking, and accepted the package for return. I called PayPal at XXXX PM and spoke with an agent named XXXX to appeal the dispute closure and provide the XXXX XXXX number. 

XXXX/XXXX/2018 : I received a notification from XXXX that the package could not be delivered because there is " no XXXX XXXX ''. Called PayPal at XXXX PM and spoke with an agent named XXXX to notify her that the package could not be delivered. She checked online and confirmed the same, informing me that she was escalating the claim to " PayPal back office Tier 2 ''. 

XXXX/XXXX/2018 : After no communication yet again from PayPal XXXX yes, I checked my Junk Mail folder ), called and spoke to an agent named XXXX at XXXX PM. He informed me that my claim had been closed YET AGAIN, WITH NO NOTIFICATION OR EXPLANATION TO ME, NOT IN MY FAVOR. I told him that I now had the actual returned package in my possession, showing all shipping labels and return markings. I had to insist repeatedly that he enable me to provide a photo of the package. HE REFUSED TO ALLOW ME TO UPLOAD TO THE RESOLUTION CENTER AND TOLD ME I MUST EMAIL THE PHOTO TO PAYPAL. **Note this is the same tactic employed by PayPal agents in the beginning of this process, resulting in the closure of my claim because I did not upload the requested evidence. ** Photo emailed immediately. 

XXXX/XXXX/2018 : After no communication YET AGAIN from PayPal, I logged in to their Resolution Center to see that my claim had been closed YET AGAIN WITH NO COMMUNICATION OR EXPLANATION. 

This leaves me no choice but to pursue resolution with the CFPB.

Company response to consumer: Closed with monetary relief