Consumer complaint received 2017-08-09
Company: Paypal Holdings, Inc
State: NY
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service
Sub-product: Mobile or digital wallet
Issue: Fraud or scam

Complaint:
Hello, I am contacting you in regards to a dispute I currently am involved with between PayPal, an individual whom purchased an item from me on XXXX and his credit card company. PayPal is refusing to honor their " Seller Protection '' policy saying the item " was not as described '', even though it was and there 's no way for them to prove otherwise. There is {$1200.00} in funds related to the transaction of this item that I am currently out, outside of some other costs and a lot of time dealing with this matter. The shortstory, the buyer received the item ( that I listed and he won on XXXX ), told me that it was n't working properly when he received it ( even though I had tested it before shipping and it was working perfectly ). I offered a refund on return. He did not return the item ( sent back an empty box to the manufacturer instead of sending the item to my address as supplied on the return label I sent him ), so I refused the refund. An XXXX dispute was filed, which I ended up winning. During that dispute, I had provided evidence that the buyer not only still had the item after claiming to return the item, but was selling the item on XXXX. I had a friend of mine in his area contact him through his XXXX listing and confirm that it was the same individual that had purchased the item from me, and that it was the same item ( he provided a picture of the serial # ). I contacted both my local authorities and the authorities in his area and was advised to file a police report with my local authorities, which I did ... but there was not much else they could do. All of this information was provided to XXXX in resolving their dispute ( in my favor ) and they released the funds to me. After the dispute with XXXX was settled, I found the buyer selling the ( stolen ) item on XXXX. I reported this to XXXX, but they did nothing about it and it was sold to another person. Note that the buyer ( selling the item now ) listed the item as " In working condition. '' and " fully operational and functions as intended '', even though he claimed it was broken in his dispute. I can provide links to my listing that he bought from and to his listing, if necessary. This fact alone should negate any " item not as described '' claim. A few weeks later, I get an email from PayPal saying that my balance was negative. It turns out that the buyer filed a charge back with his credit card company. So, PayPal deducted the amount from my account and has claimed that their Seller Protection does not apply to my situation because the item was reported " item not as described ''. I 'm not sure how that the " item not as described '' can be taken seriously when the guy claimed it was n't working at all ... which is the only way it could be " not as described '' ( said " all the lights stay on and it makes a squealing noise '' ), then turns around and lists/sells it ( after claiming to have sent it back to me ) saying that it works perfectly and posts pictures of it powered on without all of the lights being on as he had said it had been doing. This could not be any more of an obvious scam, yet PayPal has continued to deny me coverage under their Seller Protection despite numerous attempts to work this out with them, showing that I won the XXXX dispute against this person and providing all of the evidence that I have documented in this matter. They only answer me with this ... " Please note that we have disputed the chargeback with the buyer 's credit card issuer. Depending on the credit card issuer involved, the chargeback dispute process may take up to 75 calendar days. The chargeback case will reflect as closed within the Resolution Center of your PayPal account while we await the credit card issuer 's response. Once the card issuer has responded to PayPal with their decision, we will send an email to your primary email address with the final outcome of the case. Keep in mind that the outcome of a disputed chargeback is ultimately made by the credit card issuer and PayPal can not appeal or control the decision. If the chargeback is decided in your favor, the funds will be credited back to your PayPal account balance. '' Also note that in the PayPal transaction history, this item was listed as " eligible '' for the PayPal Seller Protection. I have very little faith that I will ever see this money at this point since PayPal wo n't even acknowledge that I have been wronged by not honoring their policy and prtecting my funds. How can I trust that they 'll represent me well in this case to the credit card company? Since, I 've sold a few items on XXXX with PayPal as the payment method ( no other choice ) and I have been unable to collect this money as it goes directly into paying the negative balance on my PayPal account. So, essentially, I 've given away a bunch of stuff that I worked hard to purchase. I 've made hundreds of transactions on PayPal and XXXX ... never with an issue and have maintained 100 % positive feedback since 1999. This situation sickens me and I 'm not sure where to go with it. This is very disheartening. I can provide any communications or other evidence I have as needed. Please advise.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation