PayPal transaction small claims VENUE?

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katybgood1

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In Sept. 2005 I completed an Ebay transaction with a buyer where I was the seller of a set of dolls. As I have a reputation for high-end dolls and a world class collection of a particular type she contacted me directly afterward by requesting my 'user information' from Ebay.

She called me and asked about dolls and general and then specifically my collection. After I sent her descriptions, photos, and many phone calls she drove 8 hours from her home in Los Angeles, CA to mine in northern CA to view the dolls personally before finalizing her selection. She bought several and paid with cashiers checks. This took place in Nov. 2005.

For the next two months she asked me about other dolls she had seen in my home and now wanted, and we negotiated sales and they were paid by her through PayPal.

On February 9th she AGAIN drove here to look at a special doll she wanted and knew I had just recently acquired. She had seen photos of it and nagged me to sell it to her. I gave her a price and she accepted it and picked out yet another doll totalling several thousand dollars. She then stated that 'she didn't bring any money with her', as she 'was only going to look'... drive 8 hours each way to 'look'? She asked if I would take a personal check which I declined as the total came to over $4K. I reminded her that she had used PayPal to transfer funds to me a couple of times in the past and my computer was available to make the transfer if she wished. She did. I got notice of payment and my son loaded the dolls into her car and she left.

On March 2 we again met and she purchased several more dolls (the END of my collection of this type of doll, so in retrospect, she didn't 'need' me anymore.

A month later, on March 11th, I got a notice from PayPal that she had filed a complaint against me, stating that 'items were not received' for the Feb. 9th transaction she made to PayPal from my computer that day... in other words, she claimed she did not receive the dolls. While I was shocked at this, I felt sure I could show PayPal she was indeed here and paid for the dolls from my computer.

However, as PayPal is not the 'police' or a law enforcement agency, they do not actually 'investigate', and find just about 100% of the time in the buyers favor... BECAUSE I could not show evidence of an electronic shipping receipt shipping the dolls to her. BTW, she NEVER had to tell PayPal 'what' she did not receive. She simply stated that items were not received and she wanted a refund. They granted it to her and the $138+ that was in my PayPal account was given to her and my account 'limited'... which means FROZEN and I was no longer able to use PayPal to accept payments from my sellers, or any other activity there other than to transfer money in there for them to give this lady. They ALSO shut down my son's premier PayPal account, AND my daughter's account because they had my address in theirs as a shipping address option. All three accounts remain 'frozen' still.

I immediately filed a criminal embezzlement charge with my small town sheriff; he is so overburdened that he has not, to date, even investiaged my case. He states it will be a year before he can likely get to it... found out all this after getting the runaround for several weeks.

Point in fact, 'everyone' agrees I have a case, but nothing is working for me. SO, I filed a complaint against her HERE in my county at the local courthouse, thinking I might finally get justice. BTW, Paypal 'may' or may not' give me back my account, pending my paying them the balance of the $4,000+ owed for this buyer. However, the 'buzz' in cyberspace says that PayPal will hold that money... because it CAN... for six months. Of course, I don't know if that is true or not...

I have lost a tremendous amount of revenue from my business due to her claim with PayPal. The claim is an out-and-out fabrication as she took home the dolls. I do know now that she spent a lot on dolls over a few months and there are indication she needed the money for a kitchen remodel in her near future... buyer's remorse?!

When you file a complaint with PayPal you have the option to state 1) item significantly not as expected; and 2) never received. She CHOSE the later, stating she never got her items. Never once did she have to reveal to PayPal 'what' she didn't get.

I was getting frustrated over her having STOLEN the dolls from me, and now collecting back the money from the affected PayPal accounts. So far she has received about $800 out of the $4K they granted her.

I was actually advised by the PayPal reps NOT to deposit funds to my account for distribution to her, as they felt the pattern was it would not be credited for quite some time, and my account may well remain frozen so they can 'borrow' the money.

I filed a small claims case HERE in my own county where the transaction for the dolls took place in my home. The case came up today, June 7. However, prior to this the court was petitioned by the buyer to 'challenge venue'. This converted our case that was to be argued today, to a simple VENUE hearing. She wrote the court stating it was not a valid venue because it was an 'INTERNET' transaction, and therefore the venue should be in LA county and not here.

I was at the courtroom today for the venue hearing and the judge told me he would not decide on the venue as yet; he instructed me to provide him with PayPal's policy on 'chargebacks' if I could, and to argue my case for having the venue remain here. I am to provide my file folder with these things for his review and he will rule on the venue on July 5th. Documents for arguments must be submitted to the court before June 22.

Ah... long story and sorry. HERE is my problem. After citing legal code regarding personal jurisdiction and venue I am as confused as ever about how I present my case for venue. The code is 'fork-tongued' it appears as cyber law is seemingly SO unfamiliar to many judges and lawyers alike. The Judge in the case actually seemed to know nothing of the law in this regard. The legal advisors of the court are not sure what is correct either. It is ALL up to me to argue the case and give them LEGAL code to direct the case in my favor.

This is a case where both parties live in the same state, California. It is my contention that the contract for purchase took place HERE and therefore, that is the proper venue. It could traditionally be argued that the proper venue is in HER county where she resides. It is also my contention that this was NOT an internet transaction, but simply a payment made by the consumer using a popular payment gateway to enable her to utilize her credit card. I did not solicit her business... she made what I would consider the minimum number of contacts to solicit my selling her the dolls, and argue she did drive up to my home (store) to view my products and purchased them here.

If anyone can and will advise me, I'd like to get a spin on what you think is the proper venue, and what I might argue in my next documents for consideration by the court.

I would greatly appreciate any response, help or point me in the right direction. This has really put a huge crimp in my business not being able to use PayPal for a payment gateway any longer... especially on Ebay. However, I did find another gateway that will allow me to accept credit cards, AND PayPal (they are the agent), but the fee is a whopping 10%! instead of 3% I already thought was high. AND, they hold my $ for 30-45 days before crediting it to me. HELP?!!! Kate
 
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