Consumer complaint received 2021-03-20
Company: Paypal Holdings, Inc
State: FL
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service
Sub-product: Mobile or digital wallet
Issue: Fraud or scam

Complaint:
On XX/XX/2020, I was scammed by a fraudulent website. This website was intended to look like the official XXXX XXXX website, and had a Cyber Monday special on the XXXX. Someone had sent me the link, knowing I had been trying to purchase a XXXX. I'm usually really good about catching scams like this, but because of how quickly the XXXX sell out, and it being Cyber Monday, no red flags went off, and I used one click checkout with my PayPal account, paying with my XXXX XXXX credit card. I immediately realized it was a scam, because the website changed and was now showing up as " XXXX XXXX XXXX '' and was a merchant from XXXX. I never received an invoice or order confirmation from the site. They didn't even ask for my email. I tried emailing the addresses provided on their contact page, but neither worked. Then the website was gone. 

I went to Paypal 's website and it was already too late to cancel the payment. Furthermore, I could not open a claim on Paypal 's website until I received the item. So I contacted XXXX XXXX and informed them of what happened. The gentleman refunded my account and opened an investigation. This started a long back and forth process with XXXX XXXX. I sent them some information, and apparently it was not enough, so they denied my claim. I then had it reopened and provided more information, every thing I had. By this point I had received an item in the mail from the company I ordered from. It was a small envelope containing a pair of shoe laces. I have attached images of this envelope and its contents with this report. So I included that with some of the other documents they requested, hoping this would be the smoking gun. It wasn't, and they ruled against me. 

I called XXXX XXXX, and they informed me that what they really needed was an invoice or order confirmation, or the website where it was purchased. Something showing that I ordered a XXXX. The problem is, these scam sites know what the credit companies and Paypal require, and they have figured out clever ways to skirt around them. They don't send invoices, or order confirmations. So all that I could think of, was maybe there was something on Paypal. So I went back to check the invoice, but was unable to view it. Since XXXX XXXX opened a fraud claim, I did not have access to view the invoice through PayPal. The only thing I could possibly send to XXXX XXXX to prove my case. I tried to submit an update to the claim on PayPal. I sent them the same information I sent XXXX XXXX. They still haven't responded. 

So, finally Paypal updated the claim on their end as resolved, and I was finally able to access my invoice, which clearly states that I ordered a XXXX XXXX for {$230.00}. In the Paypal claim where they reached out to the merchant, XXXX XXXX XXXX, they provided a tracking number for the product. The tracking number given to Paypal matches the tracking number on the envelope I received, which contains a pair of shoe laces. The description on the envelope says shoelace, and the value says {$10.00}. I think this is finally what I need to get this resolved, so I called XXXX XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX, and they informed me that, even though I now had the required information ( which I did not have access to before because of Paypal ), they could no longer reopen my case because it was past the allotted time to reopen. I now could only take it up with Paypal. 

Paypal was no help at all. I called them on XX/XX/XXXX and they told me that since the investigation went through my credit card, Paypal could not do anything about it. To recap, Paypal allows this fraudulent merchant to dot business through their platform, then hides crucial information for the investigation, causing me to lose my case against them with my credit card, then refuses to look into the matter themselves. Take a second and google " XXXX XXXX XXXX Paypal Scam. '' Pages and pages and pages come up with people having the same problem with the same merchant, and many of them have gone unresolved. Paypal is aware that this is a scam site, and they continue to allow it. We are in the middle of a global pandemic, where millions are out of work and money is already tight, and these scammers are taking advantage of people, and Paypal is allowing it to happen through their platform. 

I have extremely clear, irrefutable evidence that I was scammed, and I can't get either of the two financial institutions involved to help me find a resolution. This has happened to many, many, people, as a quick search shows. These sites put highly sought after products up for sale, things that sell quickly so you let your guard down. Then, because they are in XXXX, the delivery takes so long that it makes it way more difficult to file a claim. Even though I knew two seconds after confirming the order that it was a scam, Paypal still requires you to wait months to receive it, since the merchant provided a tracking number. 

Please help me find a resolution with this.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation