PayPal dispute escalation (scam website)

Ls035051 on 25/11/2016 - 15:33
Last edited 25/11/2016 - 15:35

Hi all,

I have purchased a pair of shoes from an Australian website. It has been 14 days and I have received no contact from the website whatsoever (no purchase confirmation, shipping confirmation, etc). I paid through Paypal and the website/business and I are both based in Australia.

I have done some searching and apparently the site is a scam:
http://www.productreview.com.au/p/badminton-store.html
Although the productreview webpage does not state the URL of the website, only the store name "Badminton Store"
The business URL is here:
https://www.badmintonstore.com.au/

They have no contact details whatsoever on their website.

I've also tried contacting them on their website message box, but I have received no confirmation that my message was even delivered.

Now the question is, I have just messaged the seller via the Paypal dispute resolution centre. Paypal procedure states that if I am unable to reach an agreement with the seller, I am to escalate the matter to Paypal, cutting off contact with the seller and leaving the case to Paypal staff.
Since this is likely a scam, should I escalate the matter to Paypal straight away? I am worried that they will close the case given the fact that I have not given the seller time to respond. If not, how long should I wait before escalating the case? I am not expecting a response from the seller

Thanks

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Comments

  • oscargamer on 25/11/2016 - 16:17
    +4

    escalate, they won't reply, you'll be refunded

  • apple2016 on 25/11/2016 - 16:55

    I have purchased a pair of shoes from an Australian website

    I think you are saying this because of the ".com.au". all websites with this extension are not necessarily Australian.
    the website "www.badmintonstore.com.au" is hosted from the US.
    Also the ABN/ACN information is missing which is mandatory for Australian business.

    I hope that you can get your money back from PayPal.

    • [Deactivated] on 25/11/2016 - 22:03

      Their ABN is 54507136440 which is listed in a Whois lookup

      http://abr.business.gov.au/SearchByAbn.aspx?SearchText=54507…

      Registrant Contact Name: David Tan
      Registrant Contact Email: [email protected]

      The website is not necessarily hosted in the US, it is just sitting behind CloudFlare.

      The guy is a sole trader. For all we know he could have died, thus the lack of response. Without anyone else working with him, there would be no one to take down the site until the hosting or domain expires.

  • kawinuyo on 27/11/2016 - 22:12

    Escalate it straight away as you have not had any response PayPal will still make you wait for refund from experience.

  • s035051 on 28/11/2016 - 09:14

    Thanks for the replies guys.
    The store is now in contact with me after I have escalated the Paypal dispute. Brief summary of email exchange:

    Seller is saying the item got lost while on route from China. Asks me if I would like them to re-order a pair, or just take a refund.

    *** I ask for a refund

    Seller tells me they have ordered a new pair for me (not what I asked for) and if I wouldn't mind waiting

    *** I tell seller no, I would like the refund. (Also hotmail has flagged their email account as potentially fraudulent and I mention this to them as my reasoning)

    Seller addresses fraudulent flag with some reasoning involving a mail server setting. Tells me that they can happily issue a full refund for me now, but asks me if I can pay for the shoes after they have arrived (since they have already ordered me a pair - which is not what I asked for)

    *** I agree to pay them the full amount should I ever get a refund then subsequently receive the shoes.

    It feels like I am being gamed by a scam. My end goal is the refund - I do not want to close the dispute. What's my course of action from here?
    Do I request a refund directly from seller and then close the Paypal dispute once I receive it?
    Do I request the seller refund me via the Paypal dispute?
    Do I keep responding to seller's future emails?

    Also I am considering reporting the seller to some regulatory body in case it is a scam. Is this a good idea? Personally I think it is a scam and he's only responding to me in the hopes of resolving the Paypal dispute.

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