Legal Question in Consumer Law in California

PayPal refuses to release my payment to seller

How do I handle this. In Sept., I won an Ebay auction for a bed. The bed, to be shipped from China, was $1875, a lot of money for me. I paid using Paypal, knowing that the bed would not be shipped from China for about 50 days.

Paypal put my money into the seller's account, but is not giving the seller access to the account. I just learned this from the seller, who forwarded me a Paypal email, showing this problem has been going on since September 12, 4 days after I paid.

Paypal refuses to refund my money and refuses to release my money to the seller. As a result, I have neither the bed nor the money. To make matters worse, because Paypal never notified me of this, I did not even have recourse to take advantage of Paypal (and Ebay's) limited protection schemes, which expire 30 days after I won the auction.

I think Paypal has in effect stolen my money, and would like to know what to do about it. In the last couple of days I have written to Paypal and Ebay, and filled out the FTC complaint form, but if this isn't resolved soon, I'm wondering: What can I do?

Thanks.


Asked on 11/26/03, 5:59 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys
Alvin Tenner Law Office of Alvin G. Tenner

Re: PayPal refuses to release my payment to seller

You can sue paypal in small claims court.

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Answered on 11/28/03, 3:47 pm
Nance Lyons Law Office of Nance Lyons

Re: PayPal refuses to release my payment to seller

I am not able to advise you on this issue - the rules re the internet are new and not yet fully developed. However, I would contact the Consumer Protection Bureau at the MA Attorney General's office for advice and assistance.

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Answered on 12/01/03, 12:06 pm


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