can I get my money back from a fake replica?

[clepe]

Hi,

I was sold a fake replica; I have verified that with the maker.

After opening a dispute, escalating it, and rejecting a partial refund (20%) the seller offered a full refund, but I must ship the item to China first (I've got it within Europe from France).

Paypal does not offer more options than accepting this and I am not willing to as I have no guarantee that I would get the money back and that I would get the shipping costs covered (maybe 30% of the goods value).  I cannot communicate with Paypal either, I’ve tried messages and chat, with no answers.

Is there anything I could do?  I’m afraid that I should escalate the issue to legal authorities as Paypal is not supporting the fix within the platform, which is highly disappointing.

Thanks.

[kernowlass]

@clepe 

If you win a dispute for item received but not as described then you are expected to return the item first.

In the event of a dispute you choose your seller and not Paypal so you need to bear in mind possible return trackable costs before you go ahead and buy from that seller / country.

Paypal state this >>
IMPORTANT: You may be required to return the item to the seller or other party we specify as part of the settlement of your claim. PayPal Buyer Protection does not entitle you to reimbursement for the return shipping costs that you may incur.

Although they will compensate you for some of the cost if you have activated this at some point before you made that transaction.
https://www.paypal.com/us/smarthelp/article/FAQ3544

You also have the option to do a chargeback via your card issuer instead of a Paypal dispute if you funded your Paypal payment via a credit card.

However you 'sometimes' do not have to return the item if you can prove its fake, you can't just say it is with no proof or every buyer would do that so they did not have to return anything.

Paypal accepts a written statement from a shop selling or a company that makes the item on a letter with company logo citing what you had was fake OR a letter from trading standards if you have that in your country.

[clepe]

@kernowlass 

Hi, 

Thanks for the answer!

I have contacted a Paypal representative (by phone) and they told me that the best would be to follow Paypal guidelines: to ship the item back, get the tracking information, and that Paypal would reimbust the item amount even if the seller claimed that they did not received anything. They also told me that they would cover up to 30 € of the return.  I think that this is the preferred option by Paypal as the vendor gets the item and the customer gets the money back.  This would take around 1 month.

The Paypal Statement you metion is clear, but in this case the item was shipped from France to Spain, and the return was expected to be to China, so this might be a special situation.  Paypal representative told me that this was usual.

I could probably get a document from the Item Maker indicating that the item I was sold is fake, but Paypal did not give the option to do that.  The only option I have in the dispute platorm is to ship the item back and to add the tracking information within a fixed timeframe. How could I proceed to check this option and settling the dispute?  If I could just go for this option it would be the best for me, because following Paypal guidelines I am risking the item, the item price, and the returning costs, and I'll wait trusting Paypal to commit to their promises. It is true that after taking with the representative she told me that I should not worry indicating that no matter what happened I’d get my money back.

Any advice?

Thanks!

[kernowlass]

@clepe 

Hmm not totally sure i would accept the advice the rep gave you but your call.

This forum is full of folks that bought from scam China websites or Social Media ads and they ALL dispatch from your own country but their return depot is in China so not sure what the rep thinks is so 'unusual' about it.

Normally if you win a dispute you have to return the item to the address paypal give you and that is normally in China.

But if you want to go with the advice given by the rep then feed back and tell us what happened.

[clepe]

Hi @kernowlass 

I've followed Paypal advice and Instructions:

1. I've sent the product to China (with tracking information)
2. I've requested the shipping cost reimbursement (around 25€)

Best case scenario, and the most probable one based on Paypal instructions, is that in within some weeks I’d get the amount I’ve paid and the shipping costs.

Worst case scenario would be not having any of the payments back, no item, and Paypal to close the case.  If this is the case, I’ll open a legal dispute against Paypal Europe.

For European consumers, you can cancel any online order within 14 days, no questions asked.

https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/consumers/shopping/guarantees-returns/index_en.htm

I’ll update this post.