I could use a little advise regarding a paypal dispute please.

A couple of months ago I bought a Spartan wideband controller and sensor kit (not from extraefi as Phil was out of stock). When it arrived I could see that the sensor was a non bosch cheap version, no part numbers, bosch logo on the connector scratched off etc.

So I asked the seller if I could return for a refund (he was the same price as others so why settle for a cheap sensor). I offered to pay return postage but wanted a full refund as it wasn't as advertised.

After many email exchanges he refused to refund the original postage. I also tried to return the sensor alone for a refund of the difference as he offered the controller separate but he wouldn't refund the difference fully.

So I went through paypal and they have instructed a full refund and I am to return the kit at my cost.

So if I do that now whats to stop the seller saying ive sent something different back, or its used etc.?

I'm worried that I'm setting myself up to loose the lot!

Any advise?

My only thoughts are to photograph the kit with todays paper, pack it, more pictures then send it recorded insured postage.

Or give up and accept defeat.

What a PITA!

Dan

send it all back recorded delivery, you are going to have to take the hit on the postage and put it down to experience.

If the item is subject to a ebay/paypal dispute, send it all back via recorded or special delivery ( Royal mail )

As far as I know, once you give the tracking number to the dispute team.
Ebay / Paypal will make the refund & make a chargeback on the sellers account.

^^^Correct - will already have been "held" on the sellers a/c so he won't be able to draw on that money & will automatically be refunded as soon as you send a recorded return

I had a similar issue with lots of loose parts. I took a pic of everything in the box before I posted it showing the weight. Then sent recorded as suggested above. Then sent a message with the pics as PayPal can see all messages to sellers.

PayPal are very good at protecting buyers not so good for sellers but for this instance you will be ok.


David

Yes, pp are likely to side with the buyer, so nothing to stop you sending a half brick or bucket of dog turds wrapped in cellophane to the same weight.

Not that I'm suggesting you do the above just pointing out the flaw in the system.

I'm surprised that they are not forcing the seller to pay for the return postage.

I think you have all confirmed what i thought and maybe put my mind at ease a little, i was worried that the seller would turn around and say that i had returned a load of rubbish. Ive taken pictures of the bits during the stages of packing and will send it with a royal mail tracked service.

Once this is sorted i think i will buy a spartan controller direct from the states and then a genuine sensor locally, just to make sure i get the right thing this time.

Thanks
Dan

just so you know, distance selling rules dictate that if an item is not as descibed, the seller is actually liable for any return postage costs and also would have to refund and postage that was applied at time of sale.

In short, their fault that the sale is not as described, so they are liable for all costs.

If you have opened a paypal dispute, then i'd be surprised if they didn't settle in your favour, and once again the seller should actually cover return postage cost.

I went through a Paypal dispute as i was unable to reach agreement with the seller and the outcome was full refund but return postage at my cost.

I cant do much about that now, Paypal's word is final.

The issue was with the sensor, it was advertised as a Bosch LSU4.9 I realised that things were not as they should have been as soon as i opened the package and contacted the seller.

He came back with some info from Spartan who apparently said that the internals were a Bosch sensor head and that they now use a 3rd party company to assemble the sensor and calibrate it to save money - hence why it doesn't look like a Bosch part should.

Paypal must have decided that this was near enough to the real deal but reality, a compatible sensor is worth £20, a genuine £80. I sent them quite a bit of info and photographs to show the differences but maybe they don't have the time to review in that detail.

Its wrong really and i don't know if the story is true or rubbish but i just want my money back now so i can by something that i'm happy with - to me cheap sensors are false economy + i have paid the price for a genuine part.

It wasnt an eBay purchase, maybe i would have got more support if it had been.

Oh well, i just need my money back now. Its going to cost £7.25 with royal mail to insure for the correct value with tracking - ouch!

I've now posted the items back to seller and updated paypal with tracking details, the reply from paypal is that they will refund when the seller confirms receipt. If the seller doesn't confirm then paypal will evaluate.

Not very re-assuring is it.

I've had an issue in the past with a transaction where i used a Barclaycard, that was so much easier and faster to resolve. i think paypal has become too easy and convenient, this has served as a reminder to me to use other payment methods when possible. This claim has dragged on for ages, it started in October, there must be 3 weeks between each paypal review but then they are holding the money so it makes sense why they do it for their own benefit.