Fraudulent Chargeback, Buyer Kept Item and the Refund

[drstereo]

My question involves a consumer law issue in the State of: Florida

Long story short, I sold an item that a buyer claimed was damaged. We went through Paypal's dispute resolution. I provided pictures of the unit just prior to shipping, the buyer provided nothing to prove that it was damaged. Paypal ruled in my favor. The buyer then issued a chargeback through his credit card company by saying he had already returned the item to me, I don't have it and he hasn't sent me a tracking number either. Anyway so far I'm out $80 and my equipment. I basically paid this guy to steal my item is what this boils down to. What recourse do I have against this person other than driving 18 hours to appear in small claims court in his state? This really bothers me that his Credit Card company information isn't provided to me so I can't even tell them I don't have the unit so this guy wins 2x over he has his money and my product!!!

[Who'sThatGuy]

What does PayPal say about the item being shipped back without a tracking number?

[drstereo]

Paypal said that since it was a credit card issued chargeback they couldn't contest it on my behalf yet I can't have the credit card companies contact information to let them know I didn't get my item back.

They ruled in my favor so he was to keep the unit and my money was to be returned initally. When the CC company chargeback was issued Paypal stepped aside and basically said "we can't do anything else for you it's up to the credit card company" The credit card company aparently didn't require him to give them proof of return in form of tracking number and went forward with the chargeback.

[Who'sThatGuy]

I would speak with PayPal again as they can only answer this question. Make sure to tell them again that you haven't received your item back from the buyer and there isn't a tracking number. Tell then you want to dispute this with the credit card company. The CC company will hold the buyers refund for 90 days incase there is a dispute.

[drstereo]

Thank you I will try that. The chargeback went through on Nov 29th. I have emailed him through ebay with no response. Should I give it until Friday to see if it shows up or go ahead and call back now?

[Who'sThatGuy]

Why wait? Call PayPal now so they can contact the buyer for the tracking number.

[Mr. Knowitall]

PayPal has already expressed that it considers the dispute to be between the credit card company and the seller. It may be that they'll ask the buyer for a tracking number, but if the buyer doesn't respond then your position won't have changed. Granted, it's worth a shot.

If you are in fact both in Florida, you can consider small claims court.

[flyingron]

Yes, failure to send back with electronic tracking only lets you win in the case that it was a paypal dispute directly.
If they protested with their credit card and the card company charged back paypal, the rules are different. Paypal will still argue the charge is valid, but they're not going to eat the loss but rather pass it along to you. You can take small comfort in that Paypal will close out the accounts of people who do this (charge back credit cards without first attempting to allow paypal to resolve the situation).

You have little recourse other than to sue the guy in his own state in small claims which probably isn't going to be worth it.

[drstereo]

Since the last post, I sent this guy a message through facebook telling him that since his ebay account was closed that I wanted to make sure he had my address so he could return my item. He responded that if I wanted it back I would have to send more money to cover shipping costs. (not going to do that, that would just add to what was stolen) Also in this message he admits that he never opened the box and that it is still in his garage. My question now is #1 If I file a report can police and include the FB message will that allow the police to search his garage? #2 if so and I also provide the serial number, which I have, can he be charged with possession of stolen property?
It’s unfortunate that there is no recourse for the victim (that makes financial sense in this situation) and that this guy and others can pull this scam with no repercussions.