Issues with PayPal buyer protection claim with ShoppingDaily/APUS/ShoppingSquare - Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge

This may serve as a warning for those who plan to purchase through ShoppingDaily/APUS/ShoppingSquare…

In late September last year I purchased a Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge from ShoppingDaily via eBay. Within about 2 weeks I experienced issues with the phone whereby it would freeze within minutes of use and get stuck in a bootloop. I tried removing my SD card, clearing cache, and multiple factory resets to no avail. I contacted ShoppingDaily and got an RMA. I sent the phone back to an address in Silverwater to "APUS Computing". As you may be aware APUS is also affiliated with Shopping Square and it seems ShoppingDaily.

This is where the problems began. The phone was delivered on the 16th November. I followed up once a week from the delivery date and didn't get a response until the 11th December. The response stated the had only "just received the phone" and were passing it on to their technician. A week later I received a response stating it was going to the "supplier" for repairs. Weeks passed with no response to my follow up messages and finally on the 9th January I get a response saying it's with the supplier.

The poor communication was starting to raise all sorts of alarm bells. I decided I had given them the benefit of the doubt too many times and raised a PayPal buyer protection claim on the 11th January. I was able to escalate this claim and it was marked as "granted" awaiting return of the device. I attached a screenshot of the seller confirming he had receive the item and I also provided a screenshot of the tracking through AusPost showing the delivery date. PayPal then rejected my claim on the basis I was unable to prove delivery of the phone. This is ridiculous as the seller has said in numerous eBay messages he has the device. I called PayPal to try and explain my case. I was able to "appeal the case" and attached further eBay messages from the seller which he clearly states he has "just received the device". PayPal took a couple of days and has now rejected the appeal too. The e-mails are seemingly insufficient and they want a receipt from AusPost. I didn't get a receipt because it was reply paid. How is an e-mail from the seller confirming they have the item insufficient!?

Not sure what to do next. I'm travelling overseas for 3 weeks and am very disappointed I will not be able to use the S7. It's been 3 months of dealing with this and I'm pretty over it.

Any suggestions?

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Shopping Square

Comments

  • The problem with aust post receipt is that it does not itself show the address and the name of the receiver.

    In the past, when you send an item via registered post, you can request a slip which they can attach the tracking number as well as the name and address of the recipient. However austpost no longer does this and simply give you the standard receipt with the tracking number.

    This receipt by itself does not mean you've sent the item to the recipient.
    Tl:Dr it's hard to prove you sent the item via aust post.

    In regards to OP, it sounds like you'll have to wait until the phone is fixed via warranty.

    May I ask why you didn't get a phone via contract? Just wondering.

    • +5

      May I ask why you didn't get a phone via contract? Just wondering.

      Because contract means locked means jailed.
      Freedom is priceless.
      You join a 24 months contract that looks very cheap NOW but after 10 months there will be many cheaper ones and you will cry. Never get contract.

      • Was just thinking of the other deal from virgin someone posted. S7 for 55/mth (24 mth contract). You also get 100 off, and 50 if you go via cashtewards. That's still cheap and peace of mind compared to buying the phone outright and spending money on prepaid/sim only plans.

        Sure you cant change your phone. If you want the latest and greatest, you can go with Optus/telstra and their new phone feeling.

        Or, get the phone, sell it and use your old phone.

        Each to their own I suppose

    • Yeah I agree it's hard to prove it's sent via AusPost. That's why the multiple eBay messages from the seller confirming he has the device should be more than sufficient.

      "May I ask why you didn't get a phone via contract? Just wondering."

      I get my SIM through work and BYO device. Also I like the flexibility, freedom and cost effectiveness of purchasing outright.

      • Hi, I am rep from Shopping Daily on ozbargain.com.au. I have noticed your post, and now I am concern about your case as currently i do not have any knowledge of any pending return case. Please PM me about your case and if it was already solved or not and i will follow up immediately.Thank you!

        • Hi Rep - please allow private messages by enabling this in your OzBargain account settings - my account > settings > messaging > "allow private messages"

          I have not received the refund you have mentioned - please provide the PayPal transaction ID and I'll follow this up with PayPal to see where it has gone.

        • Hi, Thank you for your reply. I have set "allow private messages". Could you please provide the details of the order information for further checking? Thank you.

  • +2

    You join a 24 months contract that looks very cheap NOW but after 10 months there will be many cheaper ones and you will cry. Never get contract.

    Who is crying now without the phone?

    • +1

      Damn, where are the ice at?

  • +1

    Reading from OP, what seems to me the main message is that Paypal's Buyer Protection doesn't mean jack.

    The next thing in my mind is can OP claim Chargeback for possibly fraudulent act committed by Paypal? (That is, there was an admission the returned product has been received and yet Paypal tried to pretend this didn't exist)

    How does Consumer Act assist in this matter?

    • Thanks for your response. I am looking into a charge back through my CC company now - hoping I haven't passed any deadlines. Wondering if the Financial Industry Ombudsmen has any powers over PayPal operating in Australia.

  • +2

    I was in pretty much the exact same scenario as well. Purchased a Samsung Galaxy S7 through ShoppingSquare eBay then a couple of months later had issues with freezing and bootloops. Got a RMA number and returned the phone. It was also a reply paid address to APUS Corporation. Did not get any response for a few weeks after numerous messages to them after they received the phone so I opened a PayPal dispute. Had to escalate the claim, and eventually PayPal approved my refund.

    All I provided to PayPal was a tracking link to the AusPost website with the article ID showing it had been delivered and they were happy with that.

    My return was also initiated mid November and didn't get resolved till early January this year.

    Learnt my lesson and never going to purchase from them again! Hope it all works out for you.

    • Glad it all worked out for you! In my case the Tracking number no longer shows up on the AusPost website because it has been so long. Luckily I took a screenshot of the tracking page to prove it was delivered. Unfortunately this meant nothing to PayPal.

  • I think ShoppingSquare might be more at fault here, but I hate Paypal - so here it is: Financial Ombudsman

  • Glad I read this post as I was tempting to get a S7 from them.

  • I had same issue escalated to claim. However, I just posted the chat log with the seller acknowledging receipt of goods.
    PayPal did ask for shipping confirmation but I didn't give it. As long as seller acknowledge receipt and u have proof it should be ok

  • but yeh I had exactly same problems as u , almost identical, maybe they sent out same phones.

  • +1

    First hand experience dealing with Ebay/Paypal buy protection here. I submitted multiple evidences to show that my parcel was delivered to the wrong address, after several escalations, they all came back saying the tracking status shows that it's been delivered (no sh*t!) and rejected my claim on that ground.

    They agreed to a refund only after I got email confirmation from the delivery company saying the parcel was lost.

    What really pissed me off was the fact that I paid for something, never received it yet I had to jump through hoops and waste so much of my time to obtain more evidence because Ebay was playing it safe and sided with the seller instead of looking at my original evidence thoroughly.

    Good luck with your claim

  • +1

    If Paypal can't recover the fund from seller, they reject buyer's claim.. Paypal is useless and I lost trust in them when I lost USD 275 when a seller did not ship the product.

  • Bumping this thread for visibility - APUSexpress and Shoppingsquare are not to be trusted - I'm out $600+ for a lost phone. Rude and unhelpful customer service. Awaiting paypal claim outcome.

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