Back in September, I held an online auction on E-bay for a used Honda engine.in the description of the item, it was noted that the engine was used, and would need a full tune-up (carb cleaning, etc.) before it would run properly. The engine sold for $25 (I run an engine repair shop and regularly sell these engines for $200 used), and I promptly packed and shipped the item after receiving payment.
The buyer (having paid with PayPal), then choses to file a dispute with PayPal and request a full refund (the $25 he paid plus the shipping cost to send it to him) based on his claim that the engine was "not as described". Apparantly, according to the buyer, the carb was dirty and the engine wouldn't run. Funny, it seemed I mentioned just that in the item description, leading most to believe the item was EXACTLY as described.
Anyway, now to the rip-off part. Having been out of town for two weeks on business, I came back home to find 3 different e-mails from PayPal requesting that I respond to the dispute, which I had not. The e-mails threatened that if there was no response, the full amount would be refunded automatically from my account, in the buyers favor. This, I fully understand. Even though it was a fraudulent claim in the first place, I can fully understand that I did not respond in a timely fashion, so the buyer was awarded his money back.
However, I never received the merchandise back! PayPal refunded the full amount, plus the shipping! That means not only did I take a $200 engine and give it to someone for free, but I paid to ship it to them! Any idea how much it costs to ship an engine! I appealed PayPal's decision after I got back into town, and now, thirty days later, I just received a response from PayPal saying there was nothing they could do because I did not respond to their original e-mails in time. To me, this would seem as though PayPal just enabled someone to commit theft online. I understand it if they want to refund the buyer's money, all I asked PayPal for was to get the engine back for me, and they have refused. I have even offered to pay the shipping myself to have it sent back, and no luck.
I have considered calling the local police department where this buyer is located and attempting to file theft and or fraud charges, but not sure if this would do any good. Anybody ever have an experience like this with PayPal before, or have any suggestions on any legal measures I might be able to take? Thanks!
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