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I custom built and shipped workstations as well as a variety of custom cabling and network equipment. I had shipping insurance through UPS for every order, a wa

I custom built and shipped workstations as well as a variety of custom cabling and network equipment. I had shipping insurance through UPS for every order, a waste of money it turned out. They wrecked 6 shipments in a row, and refused to pay up on the insurance. Couldn't get a lawyer to take the case (small town at the time). PayPal froze our accounts because people complained about the broken equipment that was shipped, and due to the frozen accounts we couldn't refund anyone which led to... eBay freezing our account because we couldn't refund anyone. None of the three companies would work with us. I haven't done business with any of them since and I refuse to do so. The company was supporting 4 people with full-time incomes before it went kerplooey. I got robbed and became homeless not too long after all that.

ergo98 16y ago
Interestingly if you were paid by credit card directly, you wouldn't have seen a penny for months. During which time your buyer would have challenged the charges, you wouldn't have gotten paid...same story. It sounds like you completely misunderstood PayPal.
- alnayyir 16y ago
  They froze the account that had all of our money. Our existing savings would've still been in action, allowing us to sue for the insurance which would then allow us to issue refunds. You understanding of the scenario is flawed, and your bias is bleeding through. Stop looking for excuses to blame someone in something you know nothing about.
  - ergo98 16y ago
    Comment deleted as you simply are irrational, and in my opinion financially ignorant. I have no vested interest in the PayPal issue, yet it remarkably seems that every bad story I've heard is the same tale of incredible financial irresponsibility and borderline businesses.
    - alnayyir 16y ago
      You have personal issues and biases you need to air out somewhere outside of HN. Your rancor is unnecessary.
pbhjpbhj 16y ago
To be fair it sounds like PayPal and eBay acted appropriately. You hadn't supplied goods or refunded payments it seems. Now the reason appears to be that UPS screwed you over. But, I don't see how that is a problem with PayPal and/or eBay. Are they supposed to screw their customers over to avoid upsetting you because you gave them what [from their point of view] amounts to a sob story about a third party. I really feel for you, our company is so small that a legal issue could sink us if our legal liabilities insurance didn't cover things. Is there something missing here, you describe an open and shut case but you couldn't pay a lawyer to take it?
- alnayyir 16y ago
  Where would the money have come from? It was all in Paypal because we used it for equipment purchases as well. That's where the "playing ball with us" part comes in. We could've refunded the money had Paypal unfrozen our account. We couldn't refund because Paypal wouldn't unfreeze our account. They never distributed refunds to the complainants. They kept all of it. The Kafka-esque absurdity of it was overwhelming. All our problems were rooted in Paypal's unwillingness to unfreeze our account and make the refunds. Had that happened, Paypal and eBay would've had no outstanding complaints, and we could've used the rest to get a lawyer without trying to appeal on a percentage basis. Which didn't work, which was also bizarre to us since it was, as you said, an open and shut insurance claims case. It's been years since all that happened, and I've since paid off all my outstanding debts. I prefer not to dwell on it, as I've gone on to put my software career together nicely.

ergo98 16y ago

Interestingly if you were paid by credit card directly, you wouldn't have seen a penny for months. During which time your buyer would have challenged the charges, you wouldn't have gotten paid...same story. It sounds like you completely misunderstood PayPal.

alnayyir 16y ago
They froze the account that had all of our money. Our existing savings would've still been in action, allowing us to sue for the insurance which would then allow us to issue refunds. You understanding of the scenario is flawed, and your bias is bleeding through. Stop looking for excuses to blame someone in something you know nothing about.
- ergo98 16y ago
  Comment deleted as you simply are irrational, and in my opinion financially ignorant. I have no vested interest in the PayPal issue, yet it remarkably seems that every bad story I've heard is the same tale of incredible financial irresponsibility and borderline businesses.
  - alnayyir 16y ago
    You have personal issues and biases you need to air out somewhere outside of HN. Your rancor is unnecessary.

pbhjpbhj 16y ago

To be fair it sounds like PayPal and eBay acted appropriately. You hadn't supplied goods or refunded payments it seems. Now the reason appears to be that UPS screwed you over. But, I don't see how that is a problem with PayPal and/or eBay. Are they supposed to screw their customers over to avoid upsetting you because you gave them what [from their point of view] amounts to a sob story about a third party. I really feel for you, our company is so small that a legal issue could sink us if our legal liabilities insurance didn't cover things. Is there something missing here, you describe an open and shut case but you couldn't pay a lawyer to take it?

alnayyir 16y ago
Where would the money have come from? It was all in Paypal because we used it for equipment purchases as well. That's where the "playing ball with us" part comes in. We could've refunded the money had Paypal unfrozen our account. We couldn't refund because Paypal wouldn't unfreeze our account. They never distributed refunds to the complainants. They kept all of it. The Kafka-esque absurdity of it was overwhelming. All our problems were rooted in Paypal's unwillingness to unfreeze our account and make the refunds. Had that happened, Paypal and eBay would've had no outstanding complaints, and we could've used the rest to get a lawyer without trying to appeal on a percentage basis. Which didn't work, which was also bizarre to us since it was, as you said, an open and shut insurance claims case. It's been years since all that happened, and I've since paid off all my outstanding debts. I prefer not to dwell on it, as I've gone on to put my software career together nicely.