Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with chargeback

Is this a known PayPal scam?

pullayup — Wed, 07 May 2008 07:59:30 -0800

Is this a scam, or am I being paranoid? Okay, so, I bought a camera lens on eBay, and PayPal'ed the seller their money. The lens arrived yesterday, and there's a small crack in the casing, suggesting that it was dropped or whacked; the packing job was impeccable, so it looks to me like the lens was damaged before it was shipped. The crack wasn't in the description or photo, so I sent the seller a message (via eBay) detailing the damage and requesting to return the lens. I offered to cover the return postage.

Within twenty minutes, the seller sent me an email indicating that they would be happy to take a return, and that they would cover the return shipping and kick in another hundred clams for my trouble. This is ridiculous--I understand wanting to make a bad transaction right, but $100 is fully one quarter of the value of the lens!

Is this an eBay/PayPal variant of the chargeback scam, and, if so, has this happened before? All of my searches turn up plenty of information about phishing, but nothing that sounds like this. I mean, the internet never forgets, right?

Should I insist that my money be refunded in a specific way? If they PayPal me the money, am I in the clear, or do they need to specifically issue a refund for the original transaction (precluding, I assume, their offer of shipping and an extra $100)?

Are these folks just being nice, and I'm too cynical to see it? The seller looks legit--they have perfect feedback, and an accessible record of selling photo equipment on par with what I bought.

Should I chargeback my attorney?

naveed — Sun, 13 Nov 2005 15:42:13 -0800

I had a paid consultation with an attorney, and decided to hire the firm. I signed the agreement and sent the form for the credit card authorization. I didn't hear from them for a few days, and after a number of calls, I was sent a waiver form to sign, before they would start working on my case. This was in addition to the agreement I'd signed earlier. They also sent me some templates for letters. My card had not yet been charged. Needless to say, my confidence with this firm wasn't very high at this point. The waiver letter I was signing said something about getting advice from independent counsel. I did exactly that. I contacted another attorney, found his strategy much better and found that he was more confident. I decided to go ahead with the new attorney. I contacted the old firm and told them, that I did not want to continue with them. They asked me to send an email, which I did. The next day, they went ahead and charged my card for the first payment (half the full amount). We talked a few times and now they tell me, that I'm not entitled to a refund, the amount charged covers the additional consultations and the letter templates. I don't have a problem paying for the additional consultation and any time they spent on my case, but charging this for the templates doesn't seem right. Should I chargeback on the credit card?

Do I have to pay for something I bought through BidPay but never received?

reflexed — Thu, 01 Sep 2005 22:42:39 -0800

CollectionAgencyFilter: I bought an item on eBay in July and paid with my Visa debit card using BidPay. When it became clear that the seller was a scammer and wasn't going to deliver, I contacted my bank and they issued a chargeback on BidPay, and I got my money back. Today I received a somewhat threatening email from BidPay saying that I still owe them the full amount, and if I don't pay they're going to sic a collection agency on me. Do I have to pay it? BidPay says:
Under the Terms & Conditions of BidPay, you are responsible for the amount of the auction payment and the charge for the BidPay service fee (see BidPay Terms & Conditions):
d. Notwithstanding anything in this Agreement, if, as part of the BidPay Services, you purchase a money order or instruct us to provide Direct to Bank Services, (i) in addition to the terms and conditions contained in this Agreement, you are also subject to all terms and conditions appearing on the face of such money order or imposed by the originating, intermediary and/or destination banks and you hereby agree to comply with and be bound by all such terms and conditions; (ii) in the event that such money order is fraudulently cashed or stolen or the money is fraudulently directed to the wrong bank, BidPay assumes no liability and you agree to assume all liability; and (iii) BidPay's obligations with respect to such Direct to Bank request or money order are complete upon BidPay’s (a) deposit with the designated financial institution, or (b) deposit of such money order in the mail or with a recognized courier service.

The email later says:
If we have not received remittance within 15 days, we will place your account with a collection agency.

Should I be worried? It says I assume all liability, but that only seems to refer to the money order being stolen, "fradulently cashed" or misdirected, nothing about the seller never delivering. I don't want to ruin my credit over $84 (though they do only have my debit information and none of my credit info). I figured that my bank would go after BidPay and BidPay would go after the scammer, not me. They deposited my money into his bank account, after all.

Should I just pay it and be done with it? Should I tell BidPay that the seller never delivered and I'm not paying? Do nothing? Or is there some advocate/attorney general/senator/better business bureau i can contact to help me out?

Thanks in advance for your help.

It was a Buy-It-Now auction and I think 20-30 people also got scammed. Many of them are going after the guy in NY small claims court (he's in Staten Island). I declined to participate because I thought I had already gotten my money back, and I'm in PA and wouldn't have been able to make it to court.