Amex reversed charges three months after purchase - buyer wont return product - legal?

[seans2]

H all,

I sold some business equipment via eBay/PP in December 2018. The buyer wasn't happy from the outset - kept coming up with all kinds of things they weren't happy with but I kept telling him I had video of the equipment working perfectly and then video of it going right into the package.

In March of 2019 he goes direct to Amex for a reverse of charges and they granted it. 

Now the buyer will not respond to any email and I cannot get the product returned. PP has now turned me over to collections agency to get the money. As I have told PP and the collections agency - I will pay the money back when I get the product back in original condition. But no one cares.

Now I'm out $17,000 and no equipment. 

Has anyone else run into this and have any advice?

Thank you

Sean

[sharpiemarker]

@seans2 

It is legal. Buyer can either file chargeback or PayPal dispute (their choice) within 180 days from date of payment. Chargebacks are a whole other animal from PayPal disputes.

Have to repay the debt and take the buyer to court to get the item or money back. For $17K in equipment, it is worth it. The thing with chargebacks, the card issuer may not require the buyer to return items. And Amex is a great card to have as a consumer. From observation, they really go to bat for their cardholders, in some cases, a couple years longer on chargeback depending on circumstances and holder's account standing with AMEX. As sellers, we have to work with buyers to resolve things before it gets to the point where you lose your item AND money AND go into collections. This customer was ragging on and on during the transaction like you said, at some point, I would have said "return for refund, please", just to mitigate loss and stress. And don't look at PayPal, their seller protection was never meant to be a guarantee, warranty or insurance and they're definitely at the mercy of the card's decision and if the buyer claims (either with PayPal or their card issuer) that the item you sent isn’t what was ordered (referred to as a “Significantly Not as Described” claim), it's not covered against chargebacks. 

https://www.paypal.com/us/webapps/mpp/ua/useragreement-full#seller-protection