Fraudulent transaction? But 16 months later... What are my options?

[ideate_tech]

Hi,

Summary: I purchased a 20,000mAh GPS tracker in August 2020. It was sent out and received as normal but today I discovered it was actually 10,000mAh (Nov 2021 - over a year later).

Firstly, this whole thing seems petty on my side and I'd usually let something like this go.. BUT I hate being lied to especially when I was suspicions from day 1.

Long story:
I purchased the GPS tracker and it arrived as normal. Great!
I questioned the seller after the item arrived to confirm if it was actually the 20,000mAh.
The seller replied and guaranteed it was the 20,000mAh model.
I was tempted to crack the case open to inspect but didn't as I believed the seller.
After just over 12 months of use the device stopped working (couldn't track online but SMS still worked)
I asked for support but was told the device no longer operates as originally sold.
I then purchased a new GPS tracker and decided to crack the case open to finally see if it was actually 20,000mAh.
Turns out I was right to be suspicious! The seller sent me a 10,000mAh!


So what are my options now? It seems like the consensus will be "you should have checked it as soon as you received it!" But I didn't want to break the case and had belief in the seller doing the right thing.

PayPal have wiped their hands of this and said it's outside of the 180 days.
I haven't tried eBay but I assume it'll be a similar story.
I've messaged the seller but he hasn't replied yet and I doubt anything will come of it. He's not selling the trackers anymore (not surprisingly).

Do I have a case with some type of ombudsman or similar?
Should I waste my time with VicPol?

Any advice will be much appreciated. Cheers,

[jellybirddesigns]

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If the seller has such good feedback and is so noble then I'm sure he'll propose a positive outcome or at least get back to me.

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Nobody is saying the seller is "noble", but they are not obliged to do anything after this time period. There are no warranties on Ebay that you can claim. 

Seller does not even have to respond to you and if you continue to communicate with them, you'll soon find yourself blocked.

[ideate_tech]

No idea about what? I'm not sure what your problem is. I'm not the one selling false products (and trying to get away with it). There was no effort what so ever from the seller at the time to investigate and confirm that the product was actually 10,000 instead of a 20,000. Why is it the consumer's problem to be checking every single complicated little thing they purchase to confirm they're not being ripped off? The onus or pressure should be on sellers to be doing the right thing. And if they don't they should have an opportunity to fix their mistakes or face consequences.

From what I gather you think I'm just being annoying and proposing to waste everyone's time because I should have initially broken the device to check it's capacity when it first arrived? If the device was actually correct then I would have been stuck with a broken case/device. If it was incorrect then I would have a better case (I understand) but the fact is there was suspicion from day 1 and the seller led me to believe it was correct even with the likelihood of them knowing it was not. 

[ideate_tech]

The invoice doesn't which is unfortunate. I pretty much knew there wasn't anything I could do once I realised it was out of all the time frames for a dispute but was hoping there was something someone could share about a similar experience. It's just not right whether the time frame and circumstances are out or not. The seller would have a record of this but there's no chance they'd make an effort to trace this information voluntarily.

[davewil1964]

After that amount of time it is unlikely that even a warranty, if enforceable, would be valid.

[katistrophik]

You quote in your OP "BUT I hate being lied to especially when I was suspicions from day 1."

Begs the question why you waited 12 months to check it.