Paypal refunded without notifying me

[nanni84no]

Hi, i sold a designer purse on eBay for 1150 dollars. The buyer was located in Belgium. 7 days after it was shipped, the buyer opened a paypal claim since it had not arrived. I provided tracking stating that is was in customs. She contacted customs, but refusert to pay the import tax. Then without notifying me paypal decided to refund her and close the case. I have now lost the bag and the money. I have also paid 150 dollars in eBay sellers fees and 45 dollars paypal fee. What do I do now?? Basically she can now just go and pick it up from her postoffice since they already refunded her. Feeling helpless here. 

[wolfelane]

I think you can appeal once tracking shows delivered after she pays the VAT.    This is an old internet scam.  It can also happen in the USA, (1) They put mail on hold for 30 days. (2) open Item not received, (3) Get a refund, (4) Then pick up mail at the post office. 

[bigdeals.etc]

Yes this is a common scam.

[sugarnspice777]

If you sent the item USPS, try and get a recall on the item, but never ever send a high dollar bag overseas.  In fact, high end purses are a breeding ground for thieves.

[wesk_36]

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@sugarnspice777 wrote:

If you sent the item USPS, try and get a recall on the item, but never ever send a high dollar bag overseas.  In fact, high end purses are a breeding ground for thieves.

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The OP sent the purse from Oslo Norway where the she lives so USPS wouldn't be involved.

[wesk_36]

So sorry for this happening.

The buyer refused to pay the import tax, or claims to have, so it wasn't delivered.

Is there anyway that the customs will return the unclaimed package to you, or is there anything you can do to get it back by contacting customs?

How can she pick it up at her P.O. if she refused customs? Does customs still have it?

[nanni84no]

According to the tracking it is still in customs, but not sure for How much longer since paypal refunded the buyer a few hours ago. I have tried to call 3 different Numbers I found on the belgian post website, but have not gotten through to a costumer service agent yet. Will try a different number on monday. Wonder if they Don’t let me through since I am calling from a forreign number (non belgian caller). And in order to make a claim on their website I need a different kind of tracking number (a belgian) which I dont have. Their website is rubish

[wesk_36]

I don't know about Belgium customs but many countries will return the package to the sender at the senders expense after a certain amount of time.

The only thing I could find about this is what someone posted anonymously on another selling website in response to a similar question about Belgium...
"If the customer refused that payment(VAT), the package will be returned to the carrier who will return it to you, usually with a charge you for the return shipping."
I don't know the truth of that but I hope it works for you.
I hope you succeed in getting a someone on the phone to clear this up for you.