Continued from part I, How the Facebook-Shopify Scam Works (click to read)
What I’m doing to get my money back and if you paid with a credit card, following the same path will increase your chances to get your money back too.
(I copied, using print page, the ad and the website information. This was good, because the Shopify store is no longer around, which isn’t a big surprise).
The first step is to file a credit card dispute, and you perform this action by calling the 800 number and advise the credit card issuer of your desire to dispute the charge. In my case, which is likely nearly the same as yours, the reason for the dispute is “not receiving the item ordered.” There could be variants to that including “significantly not as described,” or something along those lines, however given this is not an honest mistake or error, but rather an outright fraud, not receiving the item ordered, notwithstanding an item was sent as part of the scam appears to me as more appropriate.
Hello Transaction Support Center,
I wish to reopen my dispute with Case # xxxxxxxxxxxx for the following reasons:
- The “merchant” isn’t an actual business, and is a fraudulent enterprise, and I point this out because others who are similarly situated, should not suffer from this nefarious fraudster simply because they’re not sufficiently aware or sophisticated to navigate a dispute process. It should be the effort of Capital One, Visa, and the merchant account provider to shut these types of transactions down as quickly as possible.
- The item ordered, admittedly by the merchant’s own documentation depicts (see merchant’s attachment #1) an EIGHT FOOT by FIFTEEN FOOT outdoor storage shed as being sold and shipped, yet claiming this storage shed only weighs a total, including the packaging to ship it as .04 kilograms, or less than one tenth of a pound. In actuality, these type of sheds weigh several hundred pounds. Objectively, it’s unreasonable to believe the item ordered was actually shipped, much less delivered.
- The Lifetime shed ordered is produced in United States (https://www.lifetime.com/large-sheds), it’s objectively unreasonable to believe a product made in United States was shipped to China, and then resold back into United States with its characteristic size and weight for a price that is less than the shipping cost alone. It would cost less to throw the shed away in China than to ship it to my address for less than $180.
- The company claims it’s in the business of selling “high quality clothing and accessories…,” yet, their website isn’t functional (https://wefhgbow.best displays “This shop is unavailable)
- The card holder did not sign for the receipt and acceptance of the item ordered.
- The item received, which is nearly worthless and an estimated retail value of much less than one US Dollar is available for the merchant to pick up during any reasonable hour of any standard business day. Otherwise, at the completion of this dispute, it will be tossed into the garbage as it has no value to the card holder.
- The customs form wrongly states a value of $6.00
- The Customs form wrongly states the country of origin is China (product is made in USA).
- I contacted Shopify in regards to the merchant, and while Shopify didn’t state what if any actions would be taken, the store is no longer on the shopping platform.
- It’s very transparent what the fraudster is attempting to do here. S/He is under the impression they can manipulate the payment transaction rules as part of a scheme to cheat, steal, and defraud naive and trusting consumers.
Ok, so for some good news. I do expect the merchant to capitulate after I provide the follow. The reason why is if they want to dispute it further, and open an investigation, it costs (last time I checked, which was admittedly a while ago) $250 if you lose. The merchant would be crazy to spend $250 in an attempt to convince a third party that the item shipped is what was advertised, and that I received it.
What if you paid with PayPal?
The process is the same with some additional steps
Instead of first disputing the charge with your credit card, you file a dispute with PayPal first. The reason is simple, PayPal doesn’t give you as much time to dispute the charge to begin with, and secondly, if you win with PayPal, it’s over and likely to be easier than going through the additional steps with your credit card. Also, if the PayPal dispute doesn’t work (PayPal in my experience is “iffy” at best), you still have your credit card dispute rights to employ in your defense.
I’ll follow up on this as it makes progress.