[Nabeshin]

Yes, I was told multiple times that my dispute would've been escalated to a claim in the case Meta and me couldn't reach an agreement after 10 days.
To my surprise, PayPal instantly approved my refund once the 10 days were over. Probably no escalation was neeeded, for I had provided them with so many proofs already that I couldn't but get a refund 

No, that's just how PP works
If the seller doesn't answer in 10 days, your claim is automatically won by you
People have been exploiting this in the past with companies that were notorious for being too busy / not caring enough to answer claims
Samsung used to be one of them, you could order whatever you wanted, PP-claimed it didn't work, wait 10 days, get a refund, easy as that (and then Samsung would try to send a courier to your place to pick up the items, but you just had to avoid him and that was it)

How is Samsung today?

Not that easy anymore