Update: Chargeback found in favour of buyer. BUT I got my money back!

[foalpatrol]

This is a follow-up to my post in which I was initially worried about a zero-feedback buyer.  When I decided (against my gut feeling) to allow the bid to remain, the bid won and the buyer issued a chargeback just days after the item was shipped, claiming unauthorised use of her credit card.  I have no doubt in my mind that the chargeback was fraudulent.

I advise everyone to add the eBay account "iciloo" to their block list. *edited out names due to privacy concerns* PL

If you're interested in the details of how I got my money back, read below. 

Spoiler

I responded to the initial claim with a photo of the addressed parcel with postage attached, and a photo of the receipt as proof of postage.  The claim was then moved on to the buyer's credit card company to investigate, with PayPal disputing the chargeback on my behalf.  It took around a month before I finally received an email with the outcome:

Hello foalpatrol,

As you know, we have been using the information you provided to dispute a
chargeback filed against the transaction detailed below. Despite our best
efforts, the buyer's credit card company decided in favor of the buyer.

Unfortunately, we do not control the outcome of the chargeback decision
reached by the buyer's issuing bank in a credit card transaction. By
accepting the terms of the PayPal User Agreement, you agreed to accept the
decision of the issuing bank as final and legally binding for this type of
dispute.
 
So I sent an email to the buyer in a last-ditch effort to recover my item; and another email to PayPal.  The one to the buyer said:

Hi XXX,

I am the seller of the item "XXX" on eBay.

I am sorry to hear that the transaction was unauthorised by you. Should
the item arrive, please let me know so you can arrange to send it back
to me at the return address listed on the parcel.  If the item has not
arrived, could you please make a statement by return email to confirm
that it has not arrived so I can make a claim with the post office.

Kind regards,
foalpatrol

Needless to say, I haven't had a reply from her.  The email to PayPal (I didn't save it so I'm paraphrasing) said that I did not agree with the decision and that I wished to appeal it.  I said I wanted to take it higher and asked for the buyer's credit card company so I could take it up with them directly.  (I was given no information about the credit card company's decision - there was no explanation as to why they found in the buyer's favour, and I could not see any of the information that she had provided to them.)  I went on to say that I did not have my item or my money, and to add insult to injury, I was charged a fee by her credit card company for the dispute resolution, when I had done nothing wrong and could do nothing to prevent it.  Finally, I asked why my evidence of postage was deemed insufficent.  I said that the receipt for postage and a photo of the parcel, addressed and with postage attached, would be acceptable evidence in a court of law, so why is it unacceptable as proof for this transaction?  I wasn't expecting anything to come of that email, but at the same time I was not going to just sit here and take it, I promised myself when it first happened that I would fight it as far as I could.  So I was stunned when this email came back:

Dear foalpatrol,
Thank you for contacting PayPal Customer Support.
I have reviewed the documents that you supplied, and I do agree that you should be covered for this transaction.
I am going to refund you the amount of the purchase along with the fee that the credit card company charged you.
You will see this refunded to your PayPal account in the next 72 hours.

So, the money has been refunded in full, even without the PayPal fees being deducted.  The victory is bittersweet, however, since the scammer was not stopped, she is likely to go out and do the same thing to someone else, and the loss was simply passed on to PayPal. 

My advice to anyone in a similar situation:

• Take a photo of the addressed parcel with postage attached, and keep your receipt - this is what saved my bacon.
• Be polite and reasonable in all your communication with PayPal and eBay.
• Never give up - even if you're told you have no chance, keep on fighting.  You only have no chance if you don't try.
• Don't accept a decision as final if it's not in your favour.  Question it and request to appeal.
• Trust your gut - if you think a bidder is going to cause problems, remove the bid.
• Insist that all low-feedback bidders have their item sent tracked.

[Ringlets]

wow that was a tough situation , but I'm really glad that someone at Paypal finally saw some sense and you got your money refunded      Thanks for posting the details.
I 'm only sorry that this scammer had her bank back her up against the evidence (how dodgy is that?! ) and that she is likely to do the same to someone else . At least we have her ID and your experience - that should help keep some people safe

[Marlin]

Yeah for the little guy!!    Well done hun on fighting this. I'm so glad it worked out for you in the end 

[MaronaPossessed]

Awesome job girlfriend!^^

[Stormness_1]

Good work! I went to block the name but it came as user not found. Looks like they've already moved on to a new ID.