Customer testimony – He got scammed!

Here is a testimony I receive from a customer that got burned by a guy selling counterfeit dolls. There are a few things to learn from his experience. You will find my comment below

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I bought my first dolls from them at the end of January, via Paypal.

I always check that there are no customs fees because if you live in Europe and you buy outside Europe, the customs fees will always be excessive. On the product page, it was noted “Taxes included” next to “Shipping costs”. The seller’s address is French, and in several places on the site, they say they send products from European stock. So for me, it’s ok, there will be no customs fees.

It is also noted that the doll weighs 27Kg and that they have 3 in stock.
I place the order, choosing no personalization, I take the model 100% as on the pictures.

The package is sent after 3 days, and I realize that there is a problem on the 4th day, looking at the delivery note. It is indicated that it is sent from China, and the package weighs only 21Kg all included. So it was obvious that it was a counterfeit (forbidden by law).

I contact directly the seller, thinking that he is in good faith. I tell him that if there are customs fees, that I will refuse the package, and I ask him for an explanation for the weight.

He answers me defensively in an excessive way, which immediately appeals to me.

By saying that they have facilities with UPS for the weight … it does not mean anything to me, but not being in this environment I say to myself that perhaps there is a system between salesman and deliveryman of which I am not aware.

Then he tells me anything about the fact that the package is shipped from China. He tells me that their European stock is blocked for 3 weeks because of new sanitary restrictions.

I check to see what the restrictions are, and I read that it only affects what goes in and out of Europe, but not internally.
The seller explains to me that they decided to send me the package in express and not in standard as I had chosen. For information, the express costs 150€ more. And tells me that there will be additional costs due to the express mode and not customs fees. That it was so that I would not have to wait 60 days to get my package.

They try to make me believe that normally the delivery service is not free and that here they put it free during the covid period.
And that even if they had sent the package from their European stock, that there would still be customs fees, which is completely false.

He tells me that once the UPS fees are paid, that they will open a dispute for me, to hope for a refund.
Now I’m thinking that if I pay his fees, I will never get it back. Why would UPS accept this?

I answer the seller, I tell him that I do not accept his extra costs, that he did not have to make the decision for me to add them. And that if he takes them in his charge, I agree. Otherwise, I claim my right of withdrawal within 14 days (European law).

And there we went on an exchange of emails that never ended, they kept coming back to the charge with new lies again and again. Taking the covid crisis hostage, saying that they are not responsible. And refusing my right to cancel. I explain to him that he has no right to change a sale. It is a contract between the seller and the buyer, and that to modify it is dishonesty.

He tells me that everything was well explained in the covid-19 charter. This charter was not accessible to the buyer on their site. I had to ask him for the link.

By reading the charter, I realize that he had modified it the same day. Moreover, he interpreted the texts in the way he had chosen. Like the sentence that said that additional fees could be charged depending on the shipping method. In the covid period, this sentence means that because of the closure of certain borders, the parcel can be deviated from its initial trajectory and take a longer way, which would explain the additional expenses, perhaps 20€ maximum. But certainly not in the case that the seller decides himself to send it express and outside Europe, and at 150€!

At one point, I ask him to give me the brand of the dolls, because I don’t see it anywhere on their website. But they use the official WM Doll brand photos on their seller site. It’s the same pose, the same clothes, and the same place where the pictures were taken.
The seller tells me that it is the brand sex-dolls-europe.com … He says that they use their own mold and that it is quite legal.
They deny using the official photos.

He ends up insulting me indirectly, saying that I don’t understand things well, and repeatedly. That they have never had a problem with their customer except me.

Then all of a sudden, he turns it around, and they start saying that the charges will be due to customs and no longer to the express mode.

The package finally arrives at my house. I refuse the package of course, and UPS gives me the invoice.
I send it immediately to the seller to pay it. He tells me to open a dispute for me with UPS, but without giving me any proof.

In the meantime, I already open a Paypal dispute.

After that, the seller harassed me for days so that I would accept the package. By threatening me several times, by saying that there will be no possible refund in case of refusal. That they won’t be able to refund the fees if I haven’t paid them. And that UPS will ask 5€/day to store the package. And by lying again and again about the outcome of the Paypal dispute.

But finally, I lost the Paypal dispute.

First, they told me it was because I didn’t answer their questions. Except that Paypal never asked me any questions.
Then, they told me it was because I had refused the package before contacting them. Except that the package could still be recovered during one month after my first refusal. So I had contacted Paypal before the final refusal.

I went to read their rules, and at no time it is indicated, I was within my rights.
In short, the doll world is controlled by mafia groups, and obviously, Paypal is part of it.

I then turned to a lawyer. But he refused because the seller was in another country.
I try to resolve the problem amicably with the seller, telling him that it is better for him because if we go to court, he will have more interest and legal fees. The seller continues to lie. He ends up saying that the doll was sent from China because I had asked for customization (But I took the model without personalization). He tells me that I’m a bad payer, a bad customer, and so on.

So I look for another solution. And after a lot of research, I found the CEC which is a European mediation service.

At first, they turned me down, they were very negative, they told me that this seller was probably outside Europe and that it was not worth starting. Finally, I understand that the problem is that I don’t have the exact coordinates of the seller. Because on the seller’s website, the building number is missing in the address. And there is no company number.

I then went on a sick investigation to find all his information. It’s thanks to search engines, Whois, and Paypal information that I managed to find them. It took me 3 full days, it was really hard.

First, the CEC contacted directly the seller. And this one answered that he accepted to refund me apart, so without the shipping costs that the seller paid. Or to send me a new doll. I refused, of course, because it would be the same problem again.

Then, before going to court, I asked the CEC to try with Paypal. And finally, after 2 months, Paypal accepted to refund me.

In all, it took 4 months to get my money back. And I wasted all my free time for 2 months, preparing the documents for the CEC/court, collecting the evidence, etc.

In conclusion, make sure you have the seller’s correct and complete contact information and business number before you buy. By checking their authenticity yourself.

I forgot, I also had to fight with UPS. Because they were asking me for the 150€ of customs fees.

They also threatened me. But I told them that there was no way I would pay for the seller’s choices and that they could put me in court right away.

By dint of conversing with the salesman, he ended up telling me compromising things. Like the fact that he had been looking for the package after the final refusal at UPS. I think that’s how I got my money back.

But I also used it against UPS, telling them that since the package was delivered to the seller, that he should pay, not me. It is the person who receives the package who must pay. And that if they continue to ask me for this money, is the proof that they take advantage of the situation to get money from the customers. And that I would not fail to speak about it in court.

After that, I never heard from UPS again. Which proves that this was true!

Finally, the behavior of Paypal and UPS was totally abnormal in this story. It is enough to make you wonder.
In any case, I immediately closed my Paypal account. 

1. The vendor lied many times: He does not have dolls in stock. He ships them from China. He uses WM’s official pictures to sell cheap counterfeit dolls. He justified his lies with some bullshit COVID issues, etc. 

2. Unlike what this customer thinks, the weight on sex doll packages shipped from China is always wrong, no matter if the doll is legit or not.

3. If you bought from a website and they delivered you the merchandise, you will always lose your Paypal disputes. They prefer to believe the merchant because they know perfectly that it is too easy for dishonest customers to get merchandise for free. Paypal knows it. They will refund you only if you have not received your package.

Moral of the story?

I keep on repeating it: The most important is not finding a doll. That’s the easy part, the most important is finding a legit vendor. and, believe me, it is becoming extremely difficult to recognize the good from the bad ones.