Buyer used laptop for 179 days, now want a refund

[mydiyau]

Long story short, sold a $1500 laptop 179 days ago to a buyer. They want to return it, I said no way, so they filed a paypal dispute and escalated the claim on the 179th day. They got all sorts of excuses, I didn't know the laptop was bought for a 16 year old. Sigh...

Trouble is I have closed that paypal account a while ago. when I switched from sole trader. I can't even log in to respond to their claim. Paypal says if I don't respond with in 10 days they will refund the buyer. I emailed paypal with my side of the story about two days ago. Paypal today send anther email requesting information or will hold my funds.

What should I do? The paypal account was closed before the dispute was filed and since the transaction happened so long ago, Australia post probably don't even have tracking info left. I can't even find the tracking number now... probably have to dig up old receipts...

Will paypal take money from my bank account or credit card if the dispute is ruled to buyer's favour? As I said I can't even login to my old paypal account and respond to this ridiculous claim.

[lyndal1838]

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@cq_tech wrote:

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@lyndal1838 wrote:

Apart from the very obvious advice that Digi has given you to ring paypal I have nothing to add but would love to know what excuses he has used and why the age of the user makes a difference?

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Not sure if this clause in the Paypal Buyer Protection Policy is relevant but it could be worth investigating.

Eligibility

3.7 To be eligible to use our Services you must:

1. Live in Australia;
2. Be capable of forming a legally binding contract; and
3. Hold a valid email address.

And be either:

1. A body corporate registered in Australia;
2. A partnership;
3. An Australian government body;
4. An association; or
5. An individual who is at least 18 years old.

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Good idea CQ but I doubt that it would fly.

The OP is dealing with the parent, not the child.   The account is owned by the parent, not the child.

I just don't see that the buyer has a leg to stand on.....if the laptop had a guarantee which was honoured by the manufacturer what need is there to go back to the seller.  The seller is the last resort for sorting out problems...there are no problems to sort out.

[cq_tech]

Have you checked your Paypal records to see exactly when the laptop was paid for? After studying the Paypal BPP it appears that the 180 day claim period commences from the date of payment, and not delivery. It could well be that the buyer hasn't taken this into consideration and has therefore missed out by several days. Additionally, as others have already mentioned, the fact that he has had work performed on the laptop should in theory negate his SNAD claim anyway.

[mydiyau]

I have checked, 179 days from transaction date.

[phorum_junkie*]

Have you called Paypal yet? I have never had to wait longer than a few minutes to get through and if the first person you speak to doesn't help just ask to speak to a supervisor and keep bumping it up until you get someone who understands what is gong on. If you eventually get a positive response from Paypal make sure you note the time and date of the call along with the employee's name and number.  They agreed to give me a refund once but when it didn't arrive they denied saying it when I rang back however as soon as I gave them those details the money was back in my account within a couple of hours.

[utebns]

Oh wow!!!
Well hey, if they want to be dodgy, you can too!
If the claim goes through close all accounts you have listed, close the debit accound or bank account you had linked to the old and new paypal, and close down your ebay account.
Eff them! If paypal have this completly idiotic returns system and call it in the buyere favor and not yoursele, shaft them a new one and close everything!

why not?!?!thats exactly what scMmers do and they get away with it!

[cq_tech]

Unfortunately that won't work. If Paypal are unable to access any monies owed to them, they simply pass the debt on to their debt collectors who will seek judgment in a debtor's court and then you'll not only be up for the original amount owing, but a shipload of costs as well. Anyway, given the circumstances, it's a frivolous claim and the OP should be in a pretty good position to have it resolved in his favour over the phone.

[toysandthings12]

Very interested to see how it goes.

[digital*ghost]

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@phorum_junkie* wrote:

Paypal's intention with the 180 days was to give cover to people who bought from sellers who clearly said the item had a warranty but of course didn't want to know if anthing went wrong after 45 days.

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No it wasn't.

I don't know for sure what their intention was (aside from trying to minimise CC chargebacks after the 45 days they originally had), but as I mentioned in an earlier post, PayPal buyer protection expressly states that it is not intended as a product warranty, it only covers items in their received state, not if they develop faults later on. 

[lyndal1838]

Even if the paypal 180 days was to cover warranty claims which were not honoured (and as Digi says, it was not intended for that purpose) the OP's buyer does not have a leg to stand on as the warranty has been honoured by the manufacturer.

[phorum_junkie*]

The point about it being for items where the seller, not the manufacturer, says things are covered by warranty was definitely made by Paypal as reported by a poster who had contacted Paypal when this first came out and they copied and pasted Paypal's reply.