Consumer complaint received 2020-06-30
Company: Paypal Holdings, Inc
State: MN
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service
Sub-product: Mobile or digital wallet
Issue: Fraud or scam

Complaint:
A seller ( XXXX XXXX XXXX and XXXX XXXX ) falsely advertised merchandise ( XXXX XXXX XXXX ) on their website. After purchasing the items through PayPal, I received the items they sent and the following issues were evidenced : 1 ) The items I received were completely different from what I ordered in every aspect - it was just not what I ordered for 2 ) The items I received were not only the wrong ones but they are counterfeits and defective as well 3 ) The advertising on the seller 's website is misleading and the items are not at all worth the amount of money paid for them 4 ) They have no reliable avenues of communication or standardised return/refund policy.

5 ) The website and packaging implies that they are inland US based but they are  actually operating in XXXX Prior to my contacting you, I have been trying to resolve this issue since XXXX XXXX. I tried contacting the seller as well as PayPal severally via email and through the PayPal App, to resolve the issue with the seller to return the goods so that I can receive a refund to no avail. 

At first they avoided sending me any of their details/information when pressed and claimed to be an overseas company which is not indicated anywhere on their website. They did not offer to replace or have me return any of the items and offered to remit one-tenth ( {$31.00} ) of the total amount I paid as compensation and that I can sell the items to other people to get my money back. This is genuine and bonafide fraudulent behaviour. I reached out to the actual company ( XXXX XXXX ), to which the seller implicitly claims to be affiliated and they have no knowledge of this seller and have implied that this is a scam and are currently looking into having them investigated. 

When I contacted PayPal about this, they reached out to the seller who responded immediately ( after failing to respond with as much fervour when I contacted them ) with an offer to provide a full refund - {$300.00} USD if I returned their defective merchandise to XXXX. This means that I will have to incur an extra fee of more than {$80.00} in shipping costs which I can not afford right now and I am not certain will be refunded by the seller or PayPal. 

I have tried to contact PayPal via phone and messages to express my concerns and request that they remedy this situation, however I have only received an automated response from them and have failed to reach them. It states that I need to send the items back by XX/XX/XXXX however, I have no viable way of contacting PayPal that will help me get a response. 

The seller is misleading customers on their website to believe that the products are shipped from within the USA and yet they are all the way in XXXX. The seller does not offer a return label, not to mention the fact that the shipping address they sent is not in English and none of the delivery companies will accept the address because it is not legible. 

I can not afford to incur an extra cost for shipping to a company that has clearly scammed me and refuses to send through legible contact information/address after several attempts on my part to reach out to them. 

Any assistance you can render will be highly appreciated.

Company response to consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief