Hey all
I recently bought some SD cards off ebay. Of the 20+ cards I have bought over the years, this is the first time I’ve been sent counterfeit cards. The cards are obvious fakes as the fonts on the packaging and cards themselves do not match the legit Samsung design. I then tested the cards and they operate at about 25% of the advertised speed, both read and write.
Anyway, I opened a case with Ebay. As soon as I submitted what I thought was a complaint to Ebay, I realised my message was being sent to the seller. So naturally, I deleted the case with the intention of starting the process again. Except this wasn’t possible! A call to Ebay confirmed that once I closed a case for any reason, I could no longer file a dispute for the item - something Ebay neglected to mention anywhere, ever! And I’ve been using Ebay to buy and sell for a decade now.
So I followed up with Paypal, who I currently have an open dispute with. Here’s the clincher - after a bit of back and forth, Paypal has repeatedly told me I must return the counterfeit goods to the seller at my own expense, before they will consider refunding me. They have said that after I send the fake cards back, Paypal will then request proof from the seller that the cards are not fakes. Is this a joke? Obviously the seller can simply provide photos of some other legitimate SD card, and destroy the evidence that will no longer be in my possession.
None of this makes sense. I’m starting to wonder what my options are, as Paypal seems complicit in the fraud being conducted by the seller of these fake goods. Do I have to go to the local police at this point? I never thought I’d have such a problem with Paypal trying to cover up criminal activity.