Problem Solved

Woman seeks refund after returning Gucci bag

By Christopher Elliott

When Olga Levy returns a Gucci bag to TJ Maxx, she expects a prompt refund. Instead, the company stalls. What’s going on?

Ken Engelman buys a camcorder online but receives a cloth purse instead. Can PayPal help him get his money back?

Question: I placed my order from TJ Maxx last year, and I paid via PayPal credit. I returned a few purchases, including two clothing items and a Gucci bag. They refunded me for the clothing items, but not the bag.

After numerous attempts to get a refund for the bag, and several emails with the TJ Maxx customer service department, I turned to PayPal. But PayPal declined my case because the item was “as described.” I never said the item wasn’t as described, I simply asked for their help to retrieve a refund for an item I returned. Can you help?

–Olga Levy

Answer: TJ Maxx should have refunded you for the purchase immediately. So why didn’t it?

A review of the correspondence between you and TJ Maxx shows one of the problems. “We apologize for the delay in processing your return,” it said. “When items such as this are returned, we have to authenticate them. This does cause a delay in processing the refund.”

TJ Maxx is suggesting that you might have sent a different Gucci bag back. But you assured me that you did, indeed, send the same Gucci bag back to TJ Maxx as you received. So what went wrong?

It looks as if when TJ Maxx didn’t refund the order, you filed a dispute with PayPal. That dispute was ongoing when you contacted me. So when I reached out to TJ Maxx, it said it couldn’t refund you until you dropped your dispute.

Contesting your PayPal dispute is a lot like filing a credit card chargeback (though not exactly the same thing). If you had won, and TJ Maxx had also returned your money, then you would have gotten two refunds.

You could have reached out to one of the customer service executives at TJ Maxx. On my nonprofit consumer advocacy site, elliott.org, I list their names, numbers and email addresses. They might have helped you sort this out quickly.

I contacted TJ Maxx on your behalf. It checked your return and verified that it was the correct Gucci bag. It also agreed to refund your purchase but said you had to drop your PayPal dispute first. Once you did, you received a refund of $1,162.

Question: I recently bought a professional camcorder online. I received a small cloth purse instead. I disputed the purchase through PayPal and sent a photo of the purse.

PayPal claims that it spoke to the merchant, who provided proof of delivery of the item. But their “proof” doesn’t prove I received a camcorder. Can you help me get a refund? –Ken Engelman

Answer: You should have received the camcorder you ordered, of course. But before I get to that part, a disclosure. You publish a newspaper that runs my Problem Solved column, and decided to avail yourself of my nonprofit organization’s advocacy services. We try to help everyone, so my advocacy team and I are happy to assist you. I’m also very grateful that you’ve decided to run this column, which allows us to help your readers.

PayPal offers limited protections against fraud. It states that if an eligible item that you’ve bought online doesn’t arrive, or doesn’t match the seller’s description, PayPal’s Buyer Protection “may” reimburse you for the full amount of the item plus postage. A careful review of PayPal’s Buyer Protection suggests that your camcorder is covered.

But I’m worried about the “may” in PayPal’s agreement — it sounds kind of noncommittal. Your records suggest PayPal reached out to the merchant, which assured the company that it had sent you the camcorder. But then PayPal simply closed the case without really getting your side of the story. That’s not what I would call due diligence.

We list the executive contacts for PayPal on my consumer advocacy site, elliott.org. You might have reached out to one of them for help, although lately, even emails to PayPal executives meet with form email and bot replies.

The key to solving your case was in the “proof” the merchant sent. The camcorder weighs 3 pounds, but the package you received was lighter. Therefore, they couldn’t have sent you a camcorder.

I reached out to the merchant, but the listing site was permanently closed. That made me wonder if PayPal had indeed contacted the merchant, or if it just said it did. I contacted PayPal. It reviewed your case and refunded your purchase.

Christopher Elliott is the chief advocacy officer for Elliott Advocacy. Email him at chris@elliott.org or get help with any consumer problem by contacting him at elliott.org/help