Scammed by seller, Paypal needs me to file police report, Action Fraud UK won't handle this.

[UnGreel]

Hi everyone,

Well, the title sums it all up. I have opened a case, for which after several steps and pics/documents from my side, now PayPal wants me to file a report to the police.

Paypal:

"We'll need some additional information about your case. You’ll have to provide the following on or before 11 January 2021 at 10:11:31 GMT+2.

• Report filed with a law enforcement agency or government organization. Examples of such agencies are - Internet Crime Complaint Center (https://www.ic3.gov), state agencies, state police or a federal law enforcement agency such as the FBI or Postal Inspection Service."

I am currently in the UK and Action Fraud's website don't deal with such issues, please see below from Action Fraud UK website :

Action Fraud UK (police fraud and cybercrime reporting centre) :

"Disclaimer

We do NOT deal with disputes about goods ordered from genuine sellers which did not arrive or are not what you expected. You can report such consumer issues to the Citizens Advice consumer helpline on <removed>.

Indicators of fraud can include:

• The email address of the seller is no longer available.
• When you try to phone, your calls are not answered / do not connect.
• The postal address is unknown or found to be a PO box.
• Other people have been defrauded by that same person.
• The payment was rejected by your bank or other payment service provider. "

Needless to say, I have paid $30 for a chair, which did seem cheap/bargain, however I received a $1 small pillow, completely different item. So, it falls in the "item not expected category" I would guess? Why do I need to go through all this and does Paypal not simply protect me as it is? Any idea where I could possibly file this ? Or maybe ask paypal to get on with it and allow me to return item for a refund? (Seller's website is of course advertising as a 100% money back guarantee)

I'm frustrated that I am the one that has to do the manual work to file this to the police instead of Paypal's quality assurance, admitting dodgy sellers to use paypal and bear Paypal's seal on their website making them seem trustworthy.

Please help me as I have 8 days to file the report and not lose my money! 

Thanks

[kernowlass]

@UnGreel 

How do I open a dispute with a seller when a purchase goes wrong?

You can open a dispute in the Resolution Centre of your PayPal account within 180 days of payment if:
•You don’t receive the item OR service
•You receive an item but it’s significantly different than the description on eBay or on the seller’s website

By opening a dispute, you can communicate directly with your seller to work out a problem transaction.

If you reach an agreement with the seller you can close the dispute. If you're still not happy with the result, you can escalate the dispute into a claim. Paypal will review the claim and decide on reimbursement.

These steps apply to Personal accounts. If you have a Business account, please log in to see the steps that apply to you.

To open a dispute:
1.Log in to your PayPal account.
2. Click on the transaction and use the resolve a problem option at the bottom of that details page.

Note:
•Generally buyers must wait at least 7 days from the date of payment to escalate a dispute for an item not received
•Where an item has not been received, please ensure you have given the seller enough time before opening a dispute

DO NOT CLOSE THE DISPUTE UNTIL YOU HAVE A CLEARED REFUND OR YOUR ITEM WHATEVER THE SELLER SAYS. ALSO DON'T FORGET TO ESCALATE THE DISPUTE TO A CLAIM WITHIN 20 DAYS IF THE SELLER DOES NOT REFUND.

If you lose because seller provides a fake tracking number (likely) then post back for more advice.
If the item arrives and its tat the make sure you CHANGE the dispute quickly before it closes to 'not as described'.
If that does not work then if you funded your paypal payment via a card then contact your card issuer and see if they will do a chargeback for you.

Also make sure you have activated the below link in case you have to return it.
https://www.paypal.com/uk/webapps/mpp/refunded-returns

If you need a police report just ring the local police and they should give you a crime number.