So - finally got resolution on this case.
The chargeback case was "decided in my favor", thankfully.
Summary of what happened:
- Sold a card through eBay on January 2nd.
- Shipped it signature required etc. based on the Seller's Protection guidelines at Paypal, on January 3rd.
- Notice was left on January 5th, buyer signed for it on January 9th.
- Buyer left me positive feedback on eBay shortly after that.
- Not quite two months later, Paypal freezes the funds in my account saying the buyer (or maybe financial institution, never was clear on who initiated this) had filed a claim for a "refund not received".
- Sent Paypal all my info, including eBay and other information to demonstrate that no refund had ever been requested.
- Had three different phone calls with Paypal, and basically was told there was nothing they could do, other than dispute the chargeback with the financial institution.
- They also told me because it was a "refund not received" request, it wasn't covered under Seller Protection, even though they acknowledged verbally I had never been asked to give a refund. More on that later.
- The process can take up to 75 days to decide. I posted this on March 1, and got the money back on May 14. Looks like every single one of those days was used in this case.
This was one of the most confusing and frustrating things I've encountered in what it literally almost 20 years of being on eBay.
It sure feels like this is a big loophole that buyers/financial institutions can try to exploit. I was literally told during this process that there was nothing else I could have done to put myself in any better position, yet the money still got hung up for 2.5 months, and that clock only started nearly 2 months after I originally sold the card. So from sale date to resolution, it was 4.5 months.
How this could have ever been initiated without an actual request for refund is bizarre - I still don't understand what that was an absolute requirement to even begin the process.
Why it wasn't covered under Seller Protection is equally bizarre, considering I had followed the requirements (despite what seemed to be at least a temporary glitch in the Paypal site, but not the USPS site), and provided that information as quickly as I could.
Why it took all 75 days to finally be resolved is certainly frustrating.
Anyway, good news is it ended as it should have.
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