Robert Ringhoff of PA,

Originally Posted by SuperMorph

I was sent sent six pictures of one animal each. I received most of the animals in the pictures. One picture was of a mojave, but I didn't receive any mojaves. I used paypal to have protection becaused paypal isn't just for ebay transactions. Like I said call paypal if you don't believe me. If you call paypal or read their user agreement you would know that you are protected on items that are beyond ebay. They do have a list of stuff or situations that are not under their protection, but I have not found anything that states they don't protect you on animals like I was told on the phone. Now paypal is researching their own policies to figure out what they will/will not protect on animals. It does not say anything in their list of prohibited/non protected items about anything of animals or live stock.
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Before anyone else tries to post anything else that is incorrect about good ole paypal that they think they know, call paypal and go to their site to make sure you have your facts straight. With the info that I have received from paypal, I won't be using them as much as I used to use them.

Ok, I HAVE dealt with paypal previously regarding getting a refund for a snake purchase that I made that never arrived. I was told by them, after I spoke to them, that they only cover eBay purchases with buyer protection. Had I not used my credit card I would have been screwed out of $350. I was actually told by the paypal rep that I should file a claim through my credit card because there is nothing they can do about it.

Also, paypal's own website gives some indication that buyer protection is only available for purchases made through a website. Most animal purchases are person to person and therefore do not fall under this. Read the quoted text below taken from HERE

What is PayPal Purchase Protection?

Answer :

When you pay with PayPal on any website PayPal Purchase Protection covers you if you have a problem. If an item doesn’t arrive or is significantly not as described we will help you to get a full refund.

To qualify for PayPal Purchase Protection:

* Use PayPal to complete your payment.
* Pay for the item with one payment. Items purchased with multiple payments aren't eligible.
* Let the seller know there's a problem with the transaction by opening a dispute in the Resolution Center within 45 days of making your payment. Then, escalate the dispute to a claim within 20 days of the date you opened the dispute.
* Keep your PayPal account in good standing.


If your transaction qualifies for PayPal Purchase Protection you are covered for the full purchase price plus the original shipping charges.

You can report your problem in the PayPal Resolution Center or the eBay Resolution Center. Either way, you’ll receive the same coverage. To find out how to report a problem on eBay, go to eBay and click Resolution Center at the bottom of any page.

Please note that some purchases such as vehicles in the Motors category, intangible items, capital equipment in the Business & Industrial category, and Real Estate aren't eligible for PayPal Purchase Protection.

To learn more about PayPal Purchase Protection and to see a full list of eligibility requirements and exclusions, please review our User Agreement. You can find the User Agreement by clicking Legal Agreements at the bottom of any PayPal page.

Also, Paypal buyer protection is not all it is cracked up to be. See HERE

For the moment, I can NOT email him without going through paypal to do so. The communications must be tracked by paypal for me to have a chance with them to reverse the fraud. Paypal is informed of this boi and it is up to Robert to continue to keep up his communication with them and choose to reply in this thread. I have made multiple attempts to contact him, but he will not communicate with me. I don't think he is communicating with paypal much, either. He is taking the money and running. I think he may believe that some of the animals he sent were of the correct sex, but he already cut off all communication with me right after they were put on a plane.

There is more information that Robert submitted to paypal, but it is fabricated and paypal will not release that information to me in writting. As far as pics go, my email service will not let me do anything with these pics as far as copy/paste or forwarding. I can take pics of the animals that arrived that are not correct, but they are just normals.

Pics of some of the stuff doesn't matter. For instance, I was supposed to receive 1.2 pastels of certain weights. I did receive three pastels, but it was 3.0. I don't think he can properly sex snakes. Some of the males were over 1000g and I popped them no problem. He must not be capable of doing so.

Regardless of what happens to me, I just want people to be aware that Robert Ringhoff will rip you off. I knew that eventually I would be really ripped off in this business, but what I DIDN'T expect was for paypal to aid in that.

If someone doesn't believe me about this Robert, then do business with him and see if you get ripped off and how many annoying phone calls you get from him. I am very glad I am not talking to him regardless of the outcome. Even if everything went as planned, he is still annoying to talk to.

Yes, it is fine that you cannot contact him not through paypal. HOWEVER, you CAN post his email here and someone else can!!! I have seen a number of BOI threads that produced positive outcomes but only AFTER the seller came here and put in their two cents. Once they see how much a negative BOI thread can hurt their future business and/or business reputation, the ones that want to clear their name usually refund the money or attempt to make it right.

*Note: not all BOI threads work, but without trying you will never know.

Kyle- I have read on paypals site what you have just posted. Where does it say ebay only or websites only??? I have had problems with purchases from individuals before and everything was sorted out fairly. Whether it was a partial refund or a reversal with sending items back.

Paypal is currently 'researching' their protection guidelines and should get back to me this week. I will post those results when I have them.

Originally Posted by SuperMorph

Kyle- I have read on paypals site what you have just posted. Where does it say ebay only or websites only??? I have had problems with purchases from individuals before and everything was sorted out fairly. Whether it was a partial refund or a reversal with sending items back.

Paypal is currently 'researching' their protection guidelines and should get back to me this week. I will post those results when I have them.

It doesn't explicitly say websites only, it implies it though. If they can find a way to get around paying you money out of their pocket they are going to do so.

Implied is not 100%. That's why paypal is investigating/reviewing all of the information that was submitted. They are doing it a little late, but it is better than never. They are also looking at Robert's past transactions to see if there is a habit or repetition of what he is doing.

Why do you think the money was going to come out of paypals pocket? Paypal took $2000 from Robert on Tuesday since I had not received the animals yet. I think that is why he had kept some of the animals because he thought I was trying to rip him off. I changed the claim from not received to received not as described on Friday when they arrived. They released the funds to him at that time.

Originally Posted by SuperMorph

Why do you think the money was going to come out of paypals pocket? Paypal took $2000 from Robert on Tuesday since I had not received the animals yet. I think that is why he had kept some of the animals because he thought I was trying to rip him off. I changed the claim from not received to received not as described on Friday when they arrived. They released the funds to him at that time.

If he is simply scamming you and has no intention of making a business out of this, the money they released to him is GONE. Without any money in his account they cannot recoup any of it from him even if they find in your favor.

I HOPE that paypal comes back and says you are protected. However, based on my previous experiences that is not going to happen. I also got the "let us look into it and we will call you back." Still waiting on that call 2 years later .

Jason, are you playing games?? What is Robert's e-mail address??

I have always called paypal back regardless of whether or not they email me back or not if I have a question or unresolved issue. If paypal changes their mind they will take the money out of his account or put his account in the negative. They did that to him last week and that is what made him angry. It is up to paypal to collect the money from him if he owes them money. In the first page of this thread, you can see when he emailed me that he told me to stop what I was doing because the money was frozen.

What have you told Paypal to get them to believe your story over his? You keep implying that Paypal is knowingly helping him scam you, but how would they know who to believe? If a buyer's word was enough, then sellers would be foolish to accept paypal as a form of payment. Have you given them some kind of proof that you haven't given us?