Decided to post this, because there have been several disappointed buddies lately who have been shopping online and ended up with one of the following:
1) Not receiving anything at all after ordering and making the payment
2) Receiving an item that is nothing like it was supposed to be
Yup, it really sucks!
Even reputable shops fail at times and post office can screw things up sometimes, so you can always try to sort things out with the customer service and most shops are happy to help you by email or phone. However there are LOTS of web shops internationally, new ones keep popping up and it takes a while to build a reputation. It is not unsafe to shop in the less-known web shops, as long as you know how to keep it safe.
Unfortunately, I have also heard sad stories about customer service not answering mails at all, so what to do if you received a piece of crap / received nothing and the customer service is ignoring you?
Especially when shopping in foreign shops, PayPal is the best way to pay. Sorry if this comes too late, but if you shop online a lot, I recommend getting a PayPal account in order to avoid getting scammed next time! I'd feel uncomfy using my card number while shopping on various websites, also that is why I prefer PayPal.
Some credit card companies are willing to help you if you are unhappy with your online shopping results, but PayPal is deffo gonna offer help.
If you feel you need to be served better, you can dispute a transaction.
You gotta do this within 45 days from making the payment, so be careful. I have heard of and even encountered actual scam artists who try their best to make you wait more than 45 days by giving excuses why the order is delaying, so you won't make the dispute on time and won't be able to get your money back. Anyway, disputing a transaction doesn't mean that you are grabbing your money back straight away or claiming that the seller is not trustworthy. It simply means that you want to negotiate thru PayPal, and if you don't end up happy with the solution, PayPal will decide for you if you will get your money back. Fair game.
1. Go to your transactions and find the payment you have made to the seller. Click on the "details" and copy the transaction ID.
2. Go to "resolution center".
3. You will find a tutorial how to dispute the transaction and the button to use when you actually want to make the dispute. You will need the transaction ID here.
4: You negotiate with the seller and hopefully find a solution that you both are happy with, but if not, PayPal will search the case and if the seller's policy has been bad, you will get your money back. You must go back and end the dispute within 20 days from starting it, or else PayPal will wash their hands of the whole thingy.
An extra good thing is that if you have made an order, you are not happy with it and the shop's customer service doesn't like to reply to your emails - they are likely to reply the PayPal dispute ;).
IMO this is a fair way to act, no space for anyone to get mad since when you come to an agreement, you can close the dispute in good terms.
That's all and everybody happy.
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