Got scammed. What next?

Sorry, I had to delete this, but couldn't figure out how to do that.

If you paid for something and did not get what you ordered with paypal, you can go to the resolution center and open a dispute, then just follow paypal's process to dispute the transaction. Not every claim is successful, but it is the process to follow.

Sorry, had to delete this message.

[AlanJones]

You might get somewhere with your bank if you can prove that there is fraud. However, I do not think you will get anywhere until after the 8/1 as that is when the website have said they will provide you with the essay by and therefore at present there is no scam.

If after the 8th you get nothing then you could take it up with your bank. However, if they send you something, no matter how bad it is then I think you will have difficulty getting a refund.

Are you sure the payment reciept was legitimate from paypal? Typically when you make a payment via paypal it is instant. You said you were not logged in as well. How did you make the payment?

Can you post the headers from the paypal reciept? Please delete your information. If your unsure how to find headers go to this site http://www.ip-adress.com/faq/view_email_header/

I made the payment as a "paypal guest/visitor", because I didn't even remember I had an account there.
I had a look at the instructions, but still not sure what exactly you mean by "headers". Well, here's what I got anyway:
Received: from mx0.phx.paypal.com (mx0.phx.paypal.com. [66.211.168.230])
by mx.google.com with ESMTP id q4si62850944pbg.61.2012.01.03.05.53.42;
Tue, 03 Jan 2012 05:53:44 -0800 (PST)

They did send me an essay in the end, but it hasn't been "custom written" for me and certainly doesn't address the topic I'd given them. The paper also included plagiarism from published works and the same essay can be found very easily on online essay banks by googling. I am currently in a dispute with them about the payment, but don't think I can get my money back.

[AlanJones]

I think the question of headers is irrelevant in this case, as the payment you made really did go via PayPal.

It sounds to me like this is a case of a business that promise one thing (a custom written essay) and deliver another (a pre-written essay aparently taken from the web).

This is not really the type of thing that we deal with here and I think your best course of action is to open a dispute in PayPal , which you appear to have already done. One other option is to speak to your bank/credit card company and see if you can do a chargeback through them as the "goods" are not as they were described to you.