Complaint Review: Paypal - San Jose California

I have reported Paypal to the following agencies: California Better Business Bureau, Federal Trade Commission, The California Atty. General and now Rip-off Report. I am filing reports with as many agencies as I can in hopes that it might prevent them from being able to victimize someone else.

As a direct result of Paypal's business practices, conduct, I am out a brand new handbag that has a retail value of $795.00 and the money I spent to purchase it. Just as bad or worst, they simply don't care. They have an attitude that they are not accountable for their actions and consider themselves above and beyond legal recourse. I disagree. And I have learned that anyone can file a small claims court case against California based Paypal in their own hometown and that is what I intend to do.

I sold a brand new authentic Juicy Couture handbag on ebay. The buyer obtained my private home phone number from ebay and called me at my home to arrange the purchase. He purchased it as a last minute Christmas gift for his wife and I think it was somewhat of an impulse purchase. After the buyer received the handbag, on 12/28/2006, he filed a complaint against me with Paypal.

Paypal's web site says that to insure good things etc., their dispute resolution customer service reps follow a dispute check list. They also say that a buyer can escalate a claim at anytime. I never even heard from my buyer. He never contacted me with any problem or complaint and Paypal did not require him to communicate his problem directly with me before they imposed their involvement and took control. Their was no dispute process and apparently no guidelines or check list used.

I offered a defect only return in my ebay ad and I believe this is why my buyer contacted Paypal instead of me. He told Paypal that the brand new handbag I sold him had scratches, didn't look new. That made me angry because it was an outright lie and I had documentation that included pictures to prove it was an outright lie. He also told them that the handbag was to soft, he thought it was fake. I objected to his claim.

When Paypal imposed their control, they obligated themselves. It was their responsibility to conduct themselves professionally. It was their responsibility to consider me every bit as much as the buyer who filed the claim. As an ebay member I was in good standing with a positive rating for over 30 sales. Including our transaction, my buyer had two ebay transactions, with a bad rating on the other transaction, for non payment. It was Paypal's responsibility to set and use criteria that insured the chances of accuracy and minimized the chances of error. It was their responsibility to know the qualifications and credentials of any appraiser they used. And their responsibility to give the buyer adequate instructions on how to obtain an appraisal. They did not do these things.

I was completely available to Paypal, stayed in regular contact, had every kind of documentation available for Paypal to review. They looked at none of it. My buyer was allowed to obtain only one appraisal and he obtained that from a small independent shop that did not sell Juicy Couture handbags. The shop was not qualified to make an appraisal. I spoke with the shop owner and I knew more about the handbag than she did. The shop owner or one of her clerks, it's unclear which, made a guess and put their guess in writing. Based on that guess, Paypal issued my buyer a refund and destroyed a $795.00 retail value handbag.

When I learned they had decided to refund my buyer, I made them aware that I intended to appeal their decision. When I learned the details of the appraisal I made them aware of the errors. When I learned they intended to destroy the handbag, I made them aware that I would not grant permission or give consent to destroy a $795.00 handbag and I also reminded them of the errors and my intent to appeal. They disregarded all of this and destroyed the handbag. I am out the purchase amount and the handbag. And they aren't even ashamed of themselves.

Treva

Louisville, Kentucky
U.S.A.

Click here to read other Rip Off Reports on PayPal

STOP! ..before you think about using the Better Business Bureau (BBB)... CLICK HERE to see how other consumers were victimized by the BBB's false or misleading information. Don't be fooled! It has been reported, when there are thousands of complaints and other investigations underway by authorities, the BBB has no choice but to finally give an UNsatisfactory rating to a BBB member business that is paying the BBB big membership fees every year. When a business is reported that is NOT a BBB member, BBB files WILL more likely show an UNsatisfactory rating, then reportedly shake down that company to become a member of the BBB. One positive thing about the BBB is, either way, if a business has an unsatisfactory rating with the BBB, you can be sure, the business is bad. But what about all those BBB member businesses that had complaints filed against them? Consumers never get to hear about them. What about the BBB advertising to the public? Is this a false and misleading perception they are giving about consumer confidence when dealing with a business? Click here to understand more of what consumers and business alike are saying about the BBB. You decide. ..Remember. The BBB membership is not earned, it's paid for!