Okay. Need opinions on PayPal situation.

[Witchboard]

I'm needing opinions on how I should handle this situation.

I bought two Pole Position board sets off RGVAM.  They were advertised as "complete" with RAM 8 errors.  He also supplied a link with photos of the boards displaying the RAM 8 errors on an arcade monitor.  Well, when I received the package I have two CPUs and two video boards and no interconnect PCBs to hook them together.  I email the guy asking where they were and he said he could have sworn they were in there before he sealed the box.  He said they should have been in bubble wrap.  First off, nothing in the box was in bubble wrap.  The boards were wrapped in 3 layers of newspaper each and shoved in a box with no extra padding.  I told him I triple checked the box and they were not present.  He said he would look around his shop and see if he could find them.  After a couple of days I emailed him again asking if he had any luck finding them and he said they weren't there and he was trying to find an extra one for me.  I replied stating I needed two since I bought two board sets.  I've emailed him several times since with no replies after his last one on 3/31/05.

Today I filed a claim with PayPal and it was immediately closed stating it didn't meet their specifications.  Here's where I need opinions.  My credit card bill is in with the PayPal charge on it.  I'm thinking about disputing the charge with my credit card company.  I don't really want to do that since I'm not sure what can of worms it would open and he wouldn't get any of his money, or at least I wouldn't have to pay any.  I received a product so I think it's morally wrong to do so, but he won't communicate with me anymore to try and resolve this.  Either I would like my boards, or I would like him to refund some money to cover expenses of buying replacements... if I can find them.

How would you go about this?

[JackTucky]

you didn't get what you paid for.  dispute it.  tell the guy he has 10 business days to give you a refund or you will dispute, and paypal is going to take his money back.  and probably close his account too.

Art

[Witchboard]

Paypal pretty much said they couldn't do anything... at least the automated thing did.  I put a message on the newsgroups in the slight chance that he hasn't been getting my emails.  If he doesn't reply to those by the end of this weekend, I guess I'll contest the charges with my credit card company.  It's not like I haven't bent over backwards to get in touch with him and I think I've been patient enough.

[Crazy Cooter]

Just make sure you tell the CC company you got part (but not all) of what was supposed to be shipped.  They'll handle it slightly differently.

[Stingray]

Just make sure you tell the CC company you got part (but not all) of what was supposed to be shipped.  They'll handle it slightly differently.

I'm pretty sure that's the approach I'd take.

I saw your message on Oklahoma Arcade Collectors this morning. Sorry to hear you got burned.

-S

[Witchboard]

I'll call my CC company after this weekend.  I'm going to give him a little more time.  All I was looking for was an answer if he was going to find me some or not and never got a reply.  So, I've actively started looking for the replacement parts.  Thing is, the guy seemed real sincere and helpful at first.  I just hope something didn't happen to him.  It's not like you can reply to emails when you're in the hospital or something.  That's why I've given him the benefit of the doubt this whole time, but I have to get this resolved.

[Vicious]

The same thing happened to me last October.  I had bought my father a Little Giant Ladder and they said there was a shortage.  I was patient and and let him know he wouldn't get it until around mid-January.  Well, long story short January passed by after some terse e-mails with the seller I tried to do a PayPal dispute which they did the same thing they did to you.  I called my CC company and started a dispute with them.  I finally received the ladder around the end of February, which was good because about a couple of weeks after that my CC company sent a letter saying since it was more than 60 days ago they weren't going to do anything.

Your best bet just to cover your own ass would be to call them now.  If you should get it then you can let your credit card company know and have them drop the claim.  If you wait too long you're out everything and he may know this (don't let sincerity get the best of you).

[Witchboard]

I'll take care of it tomorrow afternoon.  Thanks for everyone's input on this situation.

[Witchboard]

I called my credit card company today and told them the story.  Apparently I have the option to give them a less amount of money instead of cut them off completely.  I told them that I would have to research how much it would cost to replace the missing parts and call them back.  I have a guy who offered to sell me one on the newsgroup so I emailed him to see how much he's charging and I'll double the price and tell my credit card company to reduce the charge by that much.

[Witchboard]

Okay.  I disputed $30 of the charge to my credit card.  I figured that would be fair to replace the missing parts based on what I've found so far.  Now to find the missing parts. 

[TheTick]

I hope your checking account is not linked in PayPal. Two to three months from now when they realize you did a partial charge back, they will first try to retrieve the money from your paypal account. If they are unsuccessfull, they will retrieve it from the buyer and charge him a penalty fee. No idea what they'll do to your paypal account afterwards... probably make it restricted = you can accept payments but can't retrieve the funds.

[Witchboard]

I don't have PayPal linked to any bank accounts, just my credit card.

[Kremmit]

I did a chargeback through my credit card on a Paypal transaction once.  The ebay goods never arrived, and Paypal wants DAYS to process a claim, after which you know they'll get back $0.00 for you.  Anyway, I got my money back, and Paypal sent me a nasty note that said they cancel accounts from people that do that on a regualr basis.  That's all- they didn't try to re-charge my credit card, or anything else. 

Your results may vary.

Oh, here's the note they sent me:

Dear ----------------,

We have received notice that you initiated a chargeback through your
credit
card company.

Details of the transaction and this case are as follows:

Seller's Name: -----------------
Seller's Email: ---------------@-----------.com
Transaction Date: Apr. 22, 2004
Transaction Amount: -$137.50 USD
Case #: -----------------

You may not be aware that PayPal's Buyer Complaint Policy allows you to
resolve disputes through PayPal, prior to contacting your credit card
company. To learn more about the Buyer Complaint Policy, just go to
Security Center link from the footer of any PayPal page.

You do not need to fill out the Buyer Complaint form for this case
because
we are already working with your credit card company to resolve this
issue.
However, this service is available to you for any future disputes you
may
have with a seller.

PayPal encourages all buyer purchase disputes to be filed and resolved
through the PayPal Buyer Complaint process, and reserves the right to
terminate or restrict account privileges of buyers who file chargeback
complaints without attempting to resolve the complaints through PayPal. 

Sincerely,

 

PayPal Chargeback Division

[Witchboard]

I don't think they have much of a leg to stand on since it seems they were complaining you didn't go through them first.  I already filed a claim with PayPal which was rejected, but noted on the sellers account.  I'll just have to keep an eye on my statements to make sure they don't attempt to slide another charge past me.  Thanks for letting me know what to expect. 

[Witchboard]

Figured I would post up my PayPal email I got in response to the credit card chargeback.