Bait and switch scam from Actio Pte. Ltd.

[jkberry]

A company going by the names "[Removed]." and "awesome-print.com" among others is perpetuating a scam as follows.  I am a customer of this scam and Paypal has been ineffective in protecting the victim.

• Scammer advertises one product online and ships a different, inferior, and worthless product to customer.  In my case, the advertised product was a periodic table with real elements attached for a total of $65.98 but the shipped product was a small piece of worthless plastic.

• When the customer files the inevitable dispute, the scammer will first offer a small refund.  This was $19.80 in my case, which if accepted would result in a $46.18 loss for the customer and at least $30 in profit for the scammer considering shipping costs and the negligible cost of goods sold.

• When the customer inevitably declines the small refund offer, the scammer will offer a full refund contingent on the return of the worthless product.  The scammer provides a fictitious international address so that receipt of the return will never be acknowledged so the scammer will never have to pay the refund.

• Additionally, an attempt to return the worthless product by the customer would cost so much that they are disincentivised to even bother, resulting in even more profit for the scammer.

Paypal's dispute process is flawed and does not support the scammed customer. Simple validation of the return address would help, but even with a valid return address, the scammer still profits and the customer incurs a loss.

I have a dispute open with Paypal but I have no hope that they will address this.

[jkberry]

Here is a detailed explanation of the same scam by a reputable PhD:

[removed]

[jkberry]

PayPal decided in favor of the customer and issued a full refund after bringing this information to their attention.

[Temp20210313]

Help! PayPal please assist! I just looked at my bills from the past several months and I have been robbed in exactly some way by same company. I cannot attach my screenshot of the number of dips they took. How do i do this? Help! Paypal do something

[Temp20210313]

Paypal just replied “ An update about your case We've completed our review of your unauthorized activity case, and we’ve determined there was no unauthorized use.” What do i do now? Where is the appeal?

[Temp20210313]

Please help. I have many fraudulent charges from this company. I reported them and Paypal replied that all is fine and that I made those authorizations. I tried phoning and they shut me down. I tried reporting them again and they shut me down. What did you do to get them to be honest and reimburse you?

[kernowlass]

@Temp20210313 

Why did you open a dispute for unauthorised and not 'non receipt OR not as described'?

A dispute for an unauthorised transaction is telling paypal that your account was hacked and used without your consent to make that transaction.
Paypal would check IP addresses and devices and close the dispute if it was you that made the transaction.

You are only allowed 1 dispute per transaction so the only way you can get a second dispute opened is to contact Paypal (when and if you can) and see if they will open a second dispute for you.
They may decline citing policies but if you say what happened then they might open a second dispute for you.

If not then if you funded your paypal payment via a credit card then consider contacting your card issuer and see if they will help you with a chargeback?

[alexis8888]

Have not received my order .. placed on April 12, 2021 ...  Transaction ID2FS842545T955961E  double charge .. Reading Other comments here .. Actio Pte. Ltd. is not reputable … Why Are They Not Vetted before selling their so called products ..  Purchase details Below

1000000147514639

$22.99

1000000147163691  

$23.99 

[kernowlass · Accepted solution]

@alexis8888 

Not sure why you didn't vet your merchant before buying from them but paypal can't vet every single seller / merchant / company in over 200 countries worldwide.

That is why they give you some buyer protection but its up to you to risk assess your own transactions.

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 (or you receive a totally different product).

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 refund or your item.
If a seller states that they can't refund until you have closed the dispute don't believe them.
Escalate the dispute to a claim within 20 days (before it times out), if you need Paypal to get involved.

If you lose because the seller provides a fake tracking number then post back here for more advice.
If the item arrives and its not what you ordered / not as described then make sure you change the dispute quickly from non receipt. If the dispute times out before you can change it then contact customer services to open a second dispute for the new reason.

Activate the below link in case you have to return the item at Paypals request (or the correct one for your country as this is the U.S link).
https://www.paypal.com/us/webapps/mpp/returns

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 issue a chargeback.

[lyndaeaton]

I too fell victim to this scam and it cost me £18 to return the worthless item back to the company in Vietnam ( when i bought the item its country of origin was not listed as vietnam ) I paid Royal Mail to track and trace which was not worth the money as i could not track and trace. However after much arguinbg with paypal they have paid a full refund to me inc £15 towards my postage costs  SO STICK WITH IT AND DO NOT GIVE UP  and  hopefully paypal will no longer have dealings with Actio Pte.