Never received my art, PayPal have sided with the artist

[Geekabilly]

Hi everyone

Back in July last year I commissioned a piece of art (the artist is actually already on the Artist Beware Live journal). The PayPal message from the artist said that commissions would take 2-3 weeks. I waited over 5 months before asking for a refund. During this time I had messaged the artist to ask about the commission and was told that it was being worked on, or that the artist had suffered a mental health setback. Eventually I was shown an outline of the work. I say shown, it was never sent to me directly but posted on the artist's Instagram. More time goes by and I decide to go for a refund. The artist convinces me that the piece will be colored and sent to me. More time goes by, a colored piece shows up on the artist's Instagram (again it was not sent to me directly) I message the artist several times to see if the piece is done and can be posted to me. After no communication I decided to open a dispute on PayPal for item not received. Surprise surprise the artist suddenly decides to get in contact with me. He is quite abusive, insists that the piece is done. Shows me a postal receipt but it does not have my address on it or any tracking.He wants me to close the claim, I tell him that I will close the case once I receive the art. He accuses me of being a liar, says he does not trust me to close the case. Posts about this all over his twitter where he further insults me. Accuses me of only wanting a refund because I'm 'strapped for cash' and is in general quite arrogant and refuses to take any responsibility. 

I mean, I waited 5 months before I started to move things forward and talk about a refund, I think I was being patient enough. 

Long story short, PayPal email me saying they have changed the claim to 'item not as described' as opposed to item not sent. This is based on the evidence provided by the artist. he accuses me of changing this myself in order to further scam him. PayPal have just decided to rule the claim in his favor and now here I am. $400 down. No artwork, he has never even sent me an electronic version of the art and I have haven't received it in the post either.

I wanted to appeal the decision, but there doesn't seem to be an option in my account to do so. Since this encounter I have since found out that the artist is already on Artist beware and has also been involved in a kick starter that is very controversial with many backers claiming it to be a scam. I wish I had researched this guy before giving him my money but that's hindsight for you.

I don't know if I should name the artist yet which is why I haven't done so. I am really annoyed by this, his arrogance and insulting behavior, not to mention taking to twitter to play the victim and claim that he is the one being scammed.

Any advice would be welcome, otherwise I think it may be best to write a beware?

[James]

Unfortunately, there's not much you can do beyond going public.  (Please bear in mind not to post their name in this thread.)  The moment the claim started going south, the proper thing to do would have been to call Paypal.  They are much more efficient once you are talking to a live human being.  Your only other option is to file a chargeback through your credit card, but that's not possible if you didn't pay with a credit card.

[Geekabilly]

It's a shame, I started this whole process as a huge fan of this guy's work and now his behavior has soured me so much I don't think I could even display his work in my home (IF it ever turns up).

I think I'll try calling PayPal directly today but otherwise I'll have to start working on a Beware for this guy.

I'll never commission another artist after this though.

Thanks for the reply.

[Geekabilly]

As a quick update, I have now spoken to PayPal in person and they have re-opened the claim. For some reason they changed it from item not received to item not as described. He now has to prove that he's posted it to me.

He's posting about this all over his twitter too. He's got well over 70K followers and even though he's not mentioned me by name I've still deleted both my twitter and my Instagram in case his followers find out who I am as they are saying all kinds of stuff about me and talking about getting revenge on me. 

Honestly, this guy's behavior is terrible. 

Anyway, thank you for advising me that talking to PayPal was the best way to go. 

[Nimblebutt]

On 1/6/2020 at 5:11 AM, Celestina said:

Unfortunately, there's not much you can do beyond going public.  (Please bear in mind not to post their name in this thread.)  The moment the claim started going south, the proper thing to do would have been to call Paypal.  They are much more efficient once you are talking to a live human being.  Your only other option is to file a chargeback through your credit card, but that's not possible if you didn't pay with a credit card.

Dorky question, but should I use credit instead of debit when comissioning an artist?

[James]

2 minutes ago, Nimblebutt said:

Dorky question, but should I use credit instead of debit when comissioning an artist?

Credit cards if you've got them.  They add an extra layer of protection if Paypal fails you.

[Nimblebutt]

Just now, Celestina said:

Credit cards if you've got them.  They add an extra layer of protection if Paypal fails you.

Thanks!

[Nimblebutt]

On 1/6/2020 at 7:08 AM, Geekabilly said:

As a quick update, I have now spoken to PayPal in person and they have re-opened the claim. For some reason they changed it from item not received to item not as described. He now has to prove that he's posted it to me.

He's posting about this all over his twitter too. He's got well over 70K followers and even though he's not mentioned me by name I've still deleted both my twitter and my Instagram in case his followers find out who I am as they are saying all kinds of stuff about me and talking about getting revenge on me. 

Honestly, this guy's behavior is terrible. 

Anyway, thank you for advising me that talking to PayPal was the best way to go. 

Good luck! I'm in a similar situation but my bank was willing to open a dispute after I didn't call paypal about my dispute. I understand the stress, and hopefully you get answers sooner rather then later!