Consumer complaint received 2025-01-10 00:00:00
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service — Mobile or digital wallet
Issue: Fraud or scam — 
Company: Paypal Holdings, Inc
State: SC

Complaint narrative:
On XX/XX/year> I purchased a used cell phone on XXXX and used PayPal to pay the seller {$410.00}, that price included shipping and tax. Despite numerous messages asking for tracking, the seller waited until the following Monday before providing a tracking number that showed a package was actually delivered XXXX days prior to my receiving the tracking number. I knew the item was not delivered to my house so I immediately initiated a tracking number claim with the USPS to find it's delivery location. A postal supervisor called almost immediately and told me the tracking number I provided was addressed to a different address than my ship to address and feared I was the victim of a seller scam. 

I filed a claim which was immediately rejected even though I provided proof, then filed an appeal and was told by a PayPal supervisor that if I provided the back office intranet report, I could get a refund. Once again the post office gave me this report showing the item ship to address did not match the XXXX auction ship to address or the PayPal payment ship to address. They also provided a signed letter on USPS letterhead listing the itracking number and incorrect address it was shipped to for further proof. It also listed other facts and quotes the mail carrier stating the package as being " flimsy and bendable '' which isn't how ancell phone shipment should feel. The item was also shipped without insurance or signature confirmation. 

Despite having physical proof that the seller shipped to the incorrect address, PayPal only asked the seller for verification that the tracking number showed delivered to XXXX and ruled in their favor a second time. The postal supervisor said the seller can easily request the back office intranet report since they initiated the shipment and prove it was shipped to the proper address, but, PayPal doesn't require them to do this simple step. In the postal supervisors opinion, the shipper had no interest in the actual item getting to my house, only to initiate a shipment to my zip code which is sadly enough to fool PayPal into ruling in their favor the majority of the time. This postal supervisor gave me every bit of proof they can provide yet PayPal still ruled against me because their arbitration process is biased towards the seller. 

PayPal is falsely giving purchasers a feeling of security with their Purchase Protection, but, sadly, their arbitration process is very flawed. I've provided numerous pieces of evidence showing the seller deliberately scammed me but all PayPal cares about is that a package was delivered to my ZIP code. They don't care that it wasn't the phone I ordered, wasn't delivered to me, just that a package was delivered in my general area. This item was also supposed to ship from XXXX, OH according to the auction but tracking shows it was mailed in Florida. 

Arbitration is generally considered to be done by a neutral XXXX party interested in getting the facts correct. Proof of this scam on PayPal 's own forums and numerous online forums shows that PayPal almost always rules for the seller in these cases. Many think this is because ruling for the seller allows PayPal to keep its fees, which is reprehensible if true! 

I will also be filing reports of the arbitration process with the XXXX and FTC, this process is very flawed and seems to care very little about reviewing actual facts.

Company response to consumer: Closed with monetary relief