I lost £450 after a PayPal scammer stole my Xbox - how I got my money back

A LUSHOLE in the PayPal delivery rules meant college student Sam Davies lost nearly £450 — and his Xbox — after a scammer cheated on him.

Sam, 19, who studies sociology at the University of Essex, needed a new computer to work on for college – so he decided to sell his Xbox on Facebook Marketplace to raise some extra money.

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Sam was shocked to learn he wouldn’t get his money back after being scammed

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He thought he’d lost £450 after a “scam artist” kept his Xbox and requested a refund of his money

He soon found a buyer who offered him over £450 for the console, which cost £500 when Sam’s parents bought it for him last November.

“I was happy to find a buyer so quickly — I needed money to buy a computer that would help me with my studies, and I’m also trying to start a tutoring business,” Sam said.

The buyer transferred the money via Paypal and Sam placed it from the console as promised.

But the next day, Sam received a notification from PayPal that his funds had been frozen due to an “unauthorized transaction.”

The buyer had applied for a recovery claim through his bank.

A chargeback is something you can request from your bank if you’ve paid for goods, but there’s a problem with the purchase, such as if the delivery doesn’t arrive or the company goes bankrupt.

Sam messaged the buyer via Facebook asking why he made the chargeback.

Having paid for the package to be tracked by Royal Mail, Sam knew it had arrived safely at the buyer’s address – he had confirmation that the package had been signed for.

Sam offered the buyer a refund, but said the Xbox had to be returned.

But the buyer never replied – and Sam feared he’d lost £450 and his Xbox.

In a panic, Sam called PayPal to report his concerns.

“I knew I was being scammed – he filed an unjustified chargeback to try and get my Xbox and his money back,” said Sam.

Sam provided details about the transaction to PayPal, but he was missing a crucial piece of information.

Normally your delivery address is automatically registered when you buy via PayPal, but Sam’s buyer managed to get around this and not put his address in the system.

This is because when you pay for goods and services through PayPal, there is an option that you can click to say that providing an address does not apply.

For example, if you paid for a cleaner through PayPal or an airport taxi, you don’t need to provide a delivery address – because there’s no actual goods to ship.

Instead, Sam’s buyer sent him his address via Facebook. And while this was convenient, it meant there was no official record of it on PayPal.

When PayPal investigated Sam’s complaint and found that no address had been registered to which he had sent his Xbox, it ruled against him and said he would not get his money back.

PayPal investigated and told Sam that he would not get his money back.

“I was devastated – I couldn’t believe it,” said Sam.

“It’s so frustrating – it feels like this person has manipulated the system, and I wonder if there are others like me who have lost.

“PayPal told me to contact the buyer, but it’s not helpful advice – the buyer is ignoring me.”

In a last ditch effort to get his money back, Sam contacted The Sun’s money team – and we asked PayPal to reconsider his case.

A spokesperson said, “We’re sorry to hear about Sam’s experience selling his Xbox.

“If your buyer does not provide a shipping address at the time of payment, we recommend that you issue a refund and ask the buyer to resend the payment, complete with the shipping address.

“If they don’t provide a shipping address until later, you may not be eligible for a refund under PayPal’s seller protection program.”

PayPay said it gave Sam a full refund as a goodwill gesture.

What you need to know before selling via PayPal

If you sell items and use PayPal, make sure you have all the important details about the transaction.

You will need proof of purchase if something goes wrong.

If you’re in a similar position to Sam, you should be able to get your money back under the PayPal seller protection program.

But you must provide proof of shipment or delivery, otherwise you are not covered.

That means you’ll need to provide the address details of where you sent the package – you’ll find it in your PayPal account, where transactions are recorded.

But sometimes you might pay for a service that doesn’t require you to enter a delivery address, such as if you paid for a service like a taxi or a cleaner.

To be on the safe side, it is always better to arrange the delivery yourself and to note the address of the buyer. If possible, send the package by registered mail.

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