The Reader

This really makes me think twice about ever using PayPal again. Based on this
incident, it seems they make it way too easy for scammers to use them to
facilitate the scam. Thanks for sharing this information, Eric.

Rob

________________________________
From: Eric Payne <jericpayne@gmail.com>
To: apple-iphone@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Fri, July 23, 2010 12:20:31 AM
Subject: RE: [apple-iphone] Re: Selling 3GS on eBay

When I purchased my 3GS, I put my old AT&T Tilt on Ebay.

It was purchased by a private individual, but was sent to a storefront in
Florida; that store, in its name, identified itself as an electronics re-seller.

Forty-two days after the delivery of the Tilt by FedEx (overnighted, at the
purchaser's request), the purchaser contacted PayPal, complaining the item
received "was not as advertised."

Without even investigating, PayPal reversed the transaction, notified us they
were taking the money out of our account, and telling us the purchaser had five
calendar days to get the Tilt back to us. When the Tilt came back, it was not
the same Tilt we had sent (verifiable through serial numbers), nor was the
package complete - the power cord(s) and MiniSD card were not returned.

Didn't matter. PayPal refused to make us whole.

And for the amount - less than $300 - it's not worth our time to drive down to
Florida and sue the purchaser for breach. When I spoke with PayPal concerning
the discrepancy between Ebay "refund policy" and PayPal "refund policy," I was,
essentially, told: If a purchaser makes a complaint stating the product
delivered was not what was advertised, the purchaser can get a refund up to ONE
YEAR from the date of original sale.

Eric Payne
Lawrenceville, GA

(The way everything eventually shook out: PayPal forced the purchaser to return
to us power cords and a microSD card. On that microSD card were...
photographs... of a 40-something male with a woman who, if she was 18, was 18
only by days. Also in those photographs was a picture of the same 40 year old
sitting in a brand new black Mustang, with NY plates clearly visible. I
contacted the seller, told him he had just sent me pornography, unsolicited,
through the mail, and would be contacting the US Attorney as well as Customs
officials, unless he refunded the monies to us taken by PayPal; we had his check
within 48 hours, it cleared, we sent him the phone back. We also notified PayPal
of this guy's scam: He owns a shop that sells used cell phones; he'll buy 100 or
so from eBay, put them in his shop, and if they haven't sold in 30 days,
contacts PayPal and makes his "not as advertised" claim. Last I checked, Ebay
and PayPal had closed his online presence; his shop's phone number has since
been disconnected.)

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