posted on January 1, 2004 08:45:11 PM newI hate when people only post links to stories. Here is a copy and paste of the story.
PayPal Loophole Leaves Man Holding Empty Bag Police Threaten Charges Against eBay Seller
POSTED: 4:52 p.m. EST December 30, 2003
HOPKINTON, R.I. -- A Rhode Island man claims a woman in Florida stole his money by taking advantage of a loophole in PayPal, a payment service used by buyers and sellers on eBay.
Bill Felkner, of Ashaway, R.I., ordered some autographed football cards from a seller on eBay. The selling price was $472. For protection, he paid by using PayPal, eBay's payment service.
PayPal allows buyers and sellers to send and receive money and it offers buyers $500 of coverage if the item isn't received.
"This is the envelope I got in the mail," Felkner said, displaying an empty package.
Felkner said when he received the empty envelope, he figured PayPal would cover him. But he said PayPal was no pal when he filed the complaint.
"When I contacted them, they have a form you fill out and the second line on the form says, 'Did you receive anything? Click 'yes' even if it was empty,'" he said. "But this automatically disqualifies you from the protection program as it is now a dispute-of-goods issue and not a non-receipt issue."
PayPal sent him an e-mail explaining, "PayPal's Buyer Complaint Policy only applies to shipment of goods, not to disputes about the attributes or quality of goods received."
"It's an automatic disqualification from protection if you receive anything," Felkner said. "Even if it's an empty envelope, they don't want to talk about it. So, really you're left to deal with the seller."
After trying unsuccessfully to work it out with the seller, Felkner called Officer Thomas Quaratella of the Hopkinton Police Department, who contacted investigators in Pompano Beach, Fla., where the seller was located.
Florida police went to the user's last known address, but they found the person had moved away.
Quaratella was able to reach the seller on her cell phone.
"Went forward and finally tracked her down, and spoke to her on the phone, which was supposedly a great misunderstanding, which in turn, I came to the conclusion that she was lying," Quaratella said. "Based on my information, she's done this to eight to 12 more people based on the accounts I have reviewed."
Hopkinton police sent the seller an e-mail saying if she doesn't reimburse Felkner by Jan. 5, they will file two charges against her, including one felony, and issue a warrant for her arrest.
Over the past week, television station WJAR made numerous attempts to contact eBay, PayPal's parent company, but messages went unreturned.
The station left a message on the seller's cell phone, but she didn't return the call either.
posted on January 1, 2004 09:32:00 PM new
I hate it when people posts links to stories or auctions and don't use the extremely simple [*url] + [*/url] ( remove asterisks ) USBB tags.
posted on January 2, 2004 12:13:54 AM new
That whole form on Paypal is the trickiest maneuvering. Click here if you received an soimethign anything even a empty package!! That messed up option has got to a scammers dream! They really need to revise that.
posted on January 2, 2004 12:29:21 AM new
I personally like it when someone posts a url of an article from a paper or radio station then you can read what else is going on in that area. I read alot on the internet and enjoy the news from other areas.
posted on January 2, 2004 07:54:10 AM new
I hate it when someone embarrasses themselves horribly using their old Vendio ID, so they start a new one they think will irritate a certain someone.
It is amusing that (having little experience of their own) they still can't resist posting the same old mish-mash of rumor, non-Vendio chat and news from obscure sources.
It's kind of like the book description I was perusing on Amazon the other day. There were eight five-star reviews (which is pretty remarkable for any little-known book) but it was obvious that seven of them were written by the same person despite her efforts to disguise her style. That person was the book's author.
posted on January 2, 2004 10:27:59 AM new
Paypal is between a rock and a hard place on this one. If Paypal covers quality issues, how do you (as a seller) prove what you sent was what was purchased? If Paypal doesn't cover quality issues, a seller can send an empty carton and claim they did what was required.
posted on January 2, 2004 10:55:40 AM newI hate it when someone embarrasses themselves horribly using their old Vendio ID, so they start a new one they think will irritate a certain someone.
Hmmmm........ yesterday I was thinking the same thing. I was thinking maybe someone was getting in touch with their feminine side.
