I've been scammed (Received empty box)

[reonu]

What the title says. I received the box of the product, but not the product itself. I opened a claim for "item not as described" (since I guessed that with the "Item not delivered" he would get away with it by just providing the tracking number. There was a delivery, yes, but it was a delivery of an empty box instead of the promised item. Was this the correct option to choose?). Of course when the site asked how much money I wanted to be refunded, I wrote the whole value of the transaction. It's an empty box! I'm not gonna settle for a partial refund.

The seller has yet to answer. What do I do from here? What answer can I usually expect from the seller, and how should I react? When should I escalate? Thanks.

[Dennisw2468]

Take a picture of the shipping label and document the weight of the package. This would give you some solid evidence to stand behind, as far as everything Im not sure the proper steps. Good luck.

[reonu]

@Dennisw2468

The weight is "0.00kg" according to the sticker in the envelope/package... (it's a really small item). In any case, I always take a picture of every single package before opening it. 

[kernowlass]

@reonu

Make sure you put ALL the information into the dispute and then escalate to a claim.

Paypal may well tell you to send the item back for your refund SO return what you received BUT wait until they tell you to do so AND make sure you send trackable.

[reonu]

@kernowlass

So I don't wait for the seller to reply? I just escalate after putting all the info?

[kernowlass]

@reonu

When you escalate is up to you but if the seller has not responded in a few days then I would escalate to paypal.

Make sure you do it within 20 days though or it will 'time out'.

Also can you get a police crime number in your country to add to the dispute as that may help?

[Whac-A-Mole]

robot handles INR,INAD cases,robot doe snot watch vidoe or read emails,so no need to upload anything.

you pay return shipping,if you win,yes,return the empty box with tracking

[reonu]

@kernowlass @Whac-A-Mole @Dennisw2468

Okay so the seller gave me some sort of automated answer to the case "blabla your package will arrive X day", and I escalated the case. Now PayPal is asking me to return the item to get my refund, with tracking and everything.

So... I have to return the empty box? 

Since I'm not sure the seller actually understands what is going on (he is chinese), will he try to mess with me when he receives the empty box?

Thanks.

[kernowlass]

@reonu

In the event of an item received but not as described dispute it is always one persons word against anothers.

So paypal ALWAYS tell you to return the item back to the seller (trackable to prove delivery) and then supply paypal with the tracking number so you get your refund.

If you don't return anything then you will lose the claim.

Just make sure that you take photo evidence of the weight and postage costs of the item sent so that they match what you returned.

However as the seller is in China (and we have more SNAD complaints on this forum from that country than any other), it may be either impossible to have it tracked to delivery OR it may cost more than the item is worth, in which case if you funded your paypal payment via a credit card (which in my opinion you should always do) then contact your card issuer and consider a chargeback.

[PayPal_Olivia · Accepted solution]

Hi @reonu,

I'm sorry to hear that you've received an empty box! Please contact PayPal to make sure that a representative is aware that what was received was an empty box. It may be that the case was automatically transitioned to the state where the item would normally be returned. If you call someone's attention to the issue with the empty box, there may be other instructions. You can reach customer support by Facebook, Twitter, or phone or email.

I hope this helps!

Olivia