PayPal
SNAD Claim Lost on Damaged Laptop With Wrong Processor

I bought a laptop on eBay, and they advised me to open a SNAD (Significantly Not As Described) dispute on PayPal.

The laptop had a non-working screen and fresh liquid damage (done during the last 3 months). There were stains on the palm-rest and other areas that would not have survived any stain if the laptop were working. That means the seller knew the laptop was damaged but did not describe it. He used a fake photo to show it working and said the screen problem was "a few red lines at the bottom," but it did not show any image. It was completely unrepairable. The keyboard had red stains and a slow-motion effect because of sugar. The seller pretended to have used a description and photo from last year, when the laptop was working, but the photo ended up being a screen capture, and the seller admitted the photo was stolen from another auction.

Bottom line, the laptop was not the model stated. Obviously he could not read the specs from the system since it was not working at all. I had a page with the whole description and actual photos.

The PayPal disputes department decided my case was not a SNAD. They kept their decision unchanged when I appealed, and they did not notify me about it. In their words: "Based on our definition of significantly not-as-described, this claim does not qualify for a refund. We found the seller to have accurately represented the item (s) in question."

If intentionally describing an item as "not properly working" when knowing it is dead does not qualify as a SNAD, being the wrong model should.
Item described: 1.67Ghz processor (4th generation).
Item shipped: 1.25Ghz processor (a whole different laptop, 1st generation).

PayPal's definition of SNAD is: "if the seller clearly misrepresented the details of the item in a way that affects its value or usability."

The main reason why PayPal did not catch the SNAD is that their protection system does not work at all. The reasons why it does not work could be:

- Lazy or stupid employees.

- Automated decisions. I got automated replies saying "We are sorry about your seller not shipping you the item problem" when the problem was not even close.

- Dispute resolution people do not see the actual listing. The processor speed and other specs are not seen in their system, nor are links you may include to show actual photos of the received item. They do not have internet access when you ask for it, although they say they have it when you mention that is the reason they missed your case.

- Dispute agents looking for the word "broken" in the auction and blindfolding themselves from that point on, not seeing other differences.

- Disputes being based on "refund fairness arbitration," so PayPal decides if the refund was fair or not without knowing or having the whole information about the item or auction.

- Disputes being based on "working" or "not working" only, regardless of the item being a Ferrari and being shipped a Ford.

PayPal had 4 chances to catch it:
1st) when I first submitted the complaint,
2nd) when I emailed them 30 days later (they said they would take 30 days) explaining everything more clearly and going right to the point,
3rd) when they asked me for extra proof, and
4th) when I appealed.
That is not to mention my other appeals, for which I did not get any email.

All my claims included a link to a page with actual photos and the seller's emails admitting the laptop was that different, was crashed, and used a fake photo.

It is not only some lazy PayPal employee missing the SNAD. It is the whole staff, hanging up your calls, redirecting you to nowhere, and admitting they cannot see the processor model but pretending they do when you tell them they may have missed your SNAD because of that.

The most probable reason why they do not want to change the decision now is that after PayPal's error, the seller must have withdrawn the money from the PayPal account to celebrate his scam, and now PayPal cannot get more than $200.

Company: PayPal
Country: USA
State: California
City: San Jose
Address: 2145 Hamilton Avenue
Phone: 4089675033

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