posted on March 13, 2002 07:00:52 PM new
I had been warned about the dangers of using PP but just did not listen.
Last Aug a buyer got a piece of test equipment from me. Sent PP payment and I shipped out fedex (fx).
Later he wrote asking if I had sent. Checked online w/ tracking number and saw it was delivered and signed for. Called him back and he still said he did not get.Fx had delivered to a wrong address and it appeared the driver had dropped off and signed the buyers name.
Fx admitted they messed up and approx. 5 days later it was picked back up and delivered to the correct address but damaged. Fx was notified and they admitted they would have to accept responsibility since they had messed up the delivery and the pkg had been out of their control for almost a week.
Buyer was then notified of the info fx provided. Claim was filed with the buyer to receive the refund check. My mistake was not checking back to see if his refund was sent. Anyways, 2 days ago I received a chargeback for almost 250.00 to my PP account as the buyer contested it with his card company.
I then called fx to see what happened. Found out claim was never entered into system but was showing open and all the other info regarding the mis-delivery. Fx was not sure why claim never completed except finally we did come to some sort of idea that the original claim had been sent out USPS right after 9/11 and therefore anything could have happened to the mail.
I Was instructed to get another form printed off online fx site and submit as they would resolve as soon as receiving.Buyer chose not to even contact fx or me but rather just contact CC company.
Then PP just zapped 250.00 out of my account.Well actually they put it at neg 250.00 as there was a 0 balance.I had already sent out a lot of auction notes from last weekend and then the PP payments started coming in which only moved the neg 250.00 closer to 0. I called customer service and got so tired of hearing "I understand your frustration BUT we have no control over someone contesting a charge on their CC and if that happens we have to debit your account.
What really ticks me is I followed the rules thinking I was under the seller protection but still got zapped. 6 months later!!!!
Seller protection does not exist. CS keeps saying since you replied to our request you may be protected. MAY BE???? My account does not look like I am. I was given 72 hours to reply (or loose all rights to contest the chargeback) and was then told by PP CS that it may be up to a month before I hear back with what the final determination is.
That does not sound anything like seller protection. What really made me realize what "seller protection" through PP really is came a question I asked CS at PP...I asked "what if a buyer pays 500.00 for an item, I follow all the rules under the seller protection, they receive the item but their CC allows them to contest any charges for 12 months. Since I do not keep shipping records a year (and doubt too many sellers do) they could wait 11 months, contest the charge, have PP zap me the 500.00 back and there would be nothing I could do as I would not be able to prove 11 months later they received the item.
The PP CS reply was that would be possible with a dishonest buyer. I asked her to explain how in a situation like that I would be protected and the reply was "I understand your frustration but...." Well I have an answer to the BUT .. but win or loose on this I will not use PP anymore.The local auctions where I go, alot of other ebay sellers, who happen to be friends of mine, currently take PP and I will do everything in my power to try to explain to them the risk they are taking by using PP.
They may think, like I did, they are protected but if a buyer uses a CC they are not protected if the buyer is dishonest, wants a free item, would rather contest a charge as to file a claim or knows how to play the chargeback game. I realize this was quite a long post but I just wanted to let other sellers know what has happened to me.
The Seller Protection Program does work (applies to claims of non-delivery/cc fraud only). I am a little confused though by your post though.
You received a payment from the buyer via PayPal, yet you keep mentioning a refund check.
Can you please clarify this statement?
"Buyer was then notified of the info fx provided. Claim was filed with the buyer to receive the refund check. My mistake was not checking back to see if his refund was sent. Anyways, 2 days ago I received a chargeback for almost 250.00 to my PP account as the buyer contested it with his card company. "
In addition, the timeframe for chargeback issuance is determined by the card company, not by PayPal. Most card companies allow users to contest the charge within 60 days, yet they can make exceptions.
I can have someone in our chargeback team assist you with this.
posted on March 13, 2002 07:16:03 PM new
" but if a buyer uses a CC they are not protected if the buyer is dishonest, wants a free item, would rather contest a charge as to file a claim or knows how to play the chargeback game."
So true, but never forget that as long as you accept CC online the risk is yours!
As far as the rest of your post, seems like your beef is with fedx.
Lets face it, they screwed up one thing after another.
posted on March 13, 2002 07:34:15 PM new
Hi Damon. Let me clarify some if I can.
After the pkg was picked back up by fx where they had delivered to the wrong address, re-delivered to the correct address but damaged ssomewhere along the way,and all was sorted out with fx what had happened, (with the exception of fx NEVER could explain how the buyer signed for a pkg he never received at an address that was not his) a damage claim was filed with fx.
Fx knew they had really bungled this one from the beginning where the ground shipper had printed an incorrect address on the label and their gound dept customer service even admitted so.
The claim form was made out so that the buyer would have the refund check from fx sent directly to him instead of me. I figured why have them mail me the refund when I would then have to turn around and send it back to him.
The buyer was told that the check would come to him from fx after the claim was completed.
The buyer had all the tracking info and the info that a claim form had been submitted to send him the damage claim refund.
I have another issue now..... I resubmitted claim to fedex today and fx stated (as of yesterday) they would resolve it as soon as they got the paperwork entered. Now what do I do when fx sends the refund check for the damage as this time I am having it sent to me. Last thing I will do is forward the refund check to the buyer when I have a chargeback on my account.
posted on March 14, 2002 05:35:35 PM new
You are correct when you say:
They may think, like I did, they are protected but if a buyer uses a CC they are not protected if the buyer is dishonest, wants a free item, would rather contest a charge as to file a claim or knows how to play the chargeback game.
However in this situation, as other said, you will be getting your refund check. Therefore, I wouldn't worry about the chargeback, since you will be getting the money back anyway. You are luckier than mostk, since many times the buyer does know how to play the chargeback game and gets the item and the money free, and the seller gets nothing.
