Consumer complaint received 2016-05-14
Company: Paypal Holdings, Inc
State: VA
Product: Money transfers
Sub-product: International money transfer
Issue: Other service issues

Complaint:
This is in reference to an order I placed with XXXX XXXX and paid for using a money transfer through PayPal. The majority of items I received were damaged or the wrong size, and some items were not sent at all. I have been unable to resolve this matter through PayPal or with the seller directly. The seller has refused to communicate with me in any capacity, including ignoring my inquiries about how to return items or get an itemized billing invoice. 

I believe this seller has perpetuated systematic wrongdoing. After receiving the damaged goods and being unable to reach the seller, I researched the company online. I found an overwhelming number of consumers complaining about the company and allegations of fraud and misrepresentation. At the very least, this company has violated implied warranties that arise from usage of trade in this industry to provide undamaged items of fair average quality. By refusing to communicate with consumers and making it impossible to return items, this company has insulated itself from being held accountable. 

I ordered items totaling {$100.00} by clicking the link provided on XXXX. I did not receive an order confirmation or itemized order receipt after ordering. At this point, I became concerned, but thought I would receive an invoice/receipt with my physical ordered when I received it. 

Upon receipt, I immediately noticed that the majority of items were damaged and of extremely poor quality. For example, hair clips were broken and would not open, jewelry with beading or inserts were missing pieces, a shirt had a hole in the collar, stockings/pantyhose were not as depicted on the website, and XXXX shirt was the wrong size. Further, some jewelry and accessory items that I ordered were not included in the package. I received other packages over the next few weeks, but none completed my order and none had an invoice or receipt. 

After waiting a few additional days to see if the remainder of my items would arrive, I tried to contact the seller through the XXXX website help function ; however, the chat/help function was broken every time I attempted to use it, which occurred on multiple days during different times of day. 

On XXXX XXXX, 2015, I initiated a dispute with PayPal. The seller offered a refund of about {$24.00}, which I rejected and escalated the dispute to a claim on XXXX XXXX, 2015 with PayPal. PayPal rejected the claim on XXXX XXXX, stating that I did not provide documentation in a timely manner. However, during the time between claim escalation and closure, PayPal never requested any further documentation and the status on the website was that it was continuing to review the claim. Then the claim was abruptly closed. I followed up with PayPal to try to re-open the claim so I could provide photographs of the items, but their policy is to not re-open a claim after it has been closed. The seller then unilaterally issued me a refund of {$2.00}, which I tried to reject, but was unable to do so. 

Throughout I had tried to email the seller, and after the claim was closed I sent another email that included a letter from myself as an attorney, explaining applicable Virginia contracts and sales law and requesting a full refund and a pre-paid shipping label. I never received a response to these communications. There was no mailing address for the seller so I could not mail a physical copy of the letter, but did email it to both email addresses provided on PayPal for the seller. 

I would appreciate any assistance in this matter. I simply would like to return the damaged and non-conforming items to the seller for a full refund, including the seller paying for return shipping costs. Thank you very much for your time, and for providing this service to consumers.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation