DinoDirect is now refusing refunds unless we first close the dispute. Time to escalate to a claim. The battle rages on, this will probably go on for weeks.
Don't order any more of these batteries just yet - no one has actually received a refund or proper replacements yet and DD will say anything to get you to order.
+1 for Ron Paul . Sorry for being off topic :)
DinoDirect offered me a $5 gift card for sending me the wrong 18650s. I told them that would work for me. Then they told me it could take up to three days to send the gift card. Last time they offered me a gift card, which was a few months ago, I didn't have to wait even 24 hours to receive my gift card. This looks like a lame stalling tactic, so I am not too impressed by their customer service. I'm also not impressed by the Republican front runners.
(This comic must be out of date because Herman Cain is missing from the mix.)
Edit: I think my original comment here was a bit harsh so I removed it and will just say this: Be very careful what you buy from DD with that $5 and do a little research on Ron Paul(type his name into YouTube and watch some of the good videos) and you may be impressed by him.
I have a dispute going on, so I guess the "right " way to proceed from this point, is to make a claim after I get a proposition from DD to withdraw my dispute?
Jury is still out, so I'd hold off on the claim until we find out more. I have had disputes with them in the past and they did issue a refund after I closed the dispute, but its a matter of "can we trust them". Once you close the dispute there is no further recourse. They are saying they can't issue a refund with the dispute open because the "money has been reversed", which is contrary to the information I received from PayPal.
LOL! Surprisingly accurate >: D
I've been avoiding TF flames like the plague since I got hit with those fake flames on eBay, perhaps there are still good flames out there but I'm not taking any chances.
I might take a refund for dropping the dispute. (I take this back after learning you can't open a new dispute. If you drop the dispute, you have no further recourse. However, I wouldn't open a dispute without sincerely working with the dealer for a solution).
If you go forward with the dispute, they may be able to say you have to send the batteries back in order to get a refund. I'm not sure what their downside is in losing a dispute. If they give you a refund, they can say they resolved the issue. Does PayPal hold that against them? Does PayPal take a commission on refunds under dispute?
If the dispute is escalated to a claim, then PayPal and not DD will decide the outcome. I've considered this possibility of having to send them back and feel its worth the risk.
PayPal will most certainly hold it against DD if there are too many disputes/claims against them. They could have their PayPal account suspended or terminated which would effectively put them out of business. This is why DD pushes so hard to have us close the dispute - it makes them look better if we do.
Well I am giving dino-direct until tomorrow to put the money back into my paypal account or I am filing dispute and escalating to a claim.
I personally think they shouldn't even be allowed to post here with the way they deceive folks. A lot of others I'm sure feel the same way. They need to ship out.
Measured one UN-protected TF Flame. Imax B6 @ 1,0A.
Start 4,17V and down to 2,70V. I messed it up, there was a 5min pause at 2200mAh (forgot the cap cut-off on...).
Well, after 2200mAh and small pause, it gave still 260, so in total 2460mAh.
Voltage after discharge; 3,47V.
Doing a re-run now with proper setup but this gives a hint that cells are OK.
UPDATE:
Second cell has 2388mAh of capacity. 
4,17V -> 2,70V with end voltage of 3,47V.
1A discharge.
You will be better served if you give them a chance to work this out, which often takes more than a few days. I'm not saying wait forever, but the refund process isn't always that quick for these guys. Even when they agree to refund the money, it could take several days for the people in charge of the account to actually do it. PayPal may not decide in your favor if you appear to be unreasonable and turn down decent offers.
I don't know why DD doesn't take the opportunity to resolve a dispute. If you close a dispute, can you re-open it if DD reneges (assuming you're still within your 45 day period)?
I was told by a Paypal rep that you cannot, no matter what the circumstances. That conversation wasn't in any way related to this incident or DD though.
The first pair of 18650s I got from DD were unprotected but after I explained that I ordered protected batteries, they did make it right by me. I still have a few in the mail and I hope those turn out to be as advertised but I have to say, personally, I have no complaints: I have ordered a ton of stuff from DD these past few weeks and this has been their first mistake, which they then promptly fixed (that is, after the UF-2100 mix-up, which Summer handled). So far, I am a happy camper.
Well I spoke to Sharon at Dino-Direct and I explained to her the difference between proteced and unprotected 18650 cells. She said that they will fix all of this mess. I am supposed to be getting a full refund tomorrow. I told Sharon there are others who got the same unprotected batteries like me at BLF. I said I hope you take care of those guys as well as me. She said we will. So I wish you guys the best.
I can't speak for ILF, but for me, I've certainly given them more than a chance to work this out - Its been 3 days and 10 messages back and forth with customer support. They have yet to respond to my last message from yesterday. I haven't turned down any reasonable offers. Offering me a $5 gift card to buy more questionable goods from them is not reasonable to me - I don't want to purchase anything from them again.
DD doesn't want to resolve the dispute through paypal because it makes them look bad - like admitting fault - which jeopardizes their paypal account. So basically, they are trying to cover things up, keep us all quiet by throwing us a bone and hoping we'll just go away.
You cannot re-open a dispute once its closed.
Well it appears I got through to Sharon at dino-direct. I just received a email from them stating I have been given a full refund of $6.71. I then received another email from paypal stating my refund of $6.71 from dino-direct has been put in to my account.
Now let's hope the other batteries are protected.
Unfortunately, I have not had the same luck. They have refused my refund. So I have been forced to escalate it to a claim. They have 10 days to provide more info to PayPal, after which time PayPal will review the case, so it could be a few weeks before I even know. DD does this on purpose to discourage others from filing a dispute so they don't lose their PayPal account. Its one of their many shady business practices.
He didn't file a dispute, you did. And now you are escalating it to a claim. I guess that makes the difference.
I think brted is right you are better served if you give them a chance to work this out the dispute will be the last recourse.
Correct. This is what DD wants you to do so they can avoid trouble with PayPal. But if you do things their way, they will just continue ripping people off with their shady business practices.
Well if you're goal is to hit their paypal rep then you did the right thing.