UPDATED 5/16: BEWARE PAYPAL CHARGEBACKS! If you sell on eBay, read this...

[bounce]

UPDATE:

Spoke to a supervisor at Paypal, basically the same story.


Federal law provides buyer's the ability to dispute charges with their financial institutions. In a case like this, Paypal is simply a conduit who acts on my behalf as a seller to respond to these cases, however it's the other financial institution who decides whether the chargeback occurs or not. Paypal says they have NO CONTROL over that decision.

Paypal also said that they DO NOT RECEIVE any information from the other financial institution, other than the request. They said that there is a 3rd party involved (likely a judge somewhere) who is provided the information from both sides and ultimately makes the decision. However, Paypal CANNOT SHARE THAT INFORMATION WITH ME.

So again, there's a mystery financial institution, a mystery "arbiter" so to speak, that I don't have direct access to communicate with to prove that I held up my end of this deal.

Additionally, chargeback policies are at the discretion and prerogative of each individual "financial institution", meaning they set the rules and as a seller I'm ultimately at risk of having to abide by those terms despite no notice of what they may be. Paypal acts on my behalf to defend against it, but ultimately has no authority to stop it. Many of those policies allow for chargebacks up to 6 months and sometimes longer, and may not necessarily require valid evidence to support the claim.

So, it really doesn't matter that I was never requested to issue a refund by the buyer or their financial institution, they can simply claim it under those words and there's really nothing I can do about it other than hope that this mystery person somehow rules in my favor.

My expectation of recovery has officially dropped to zero as of this point - I will not get that money and I will not get that card back.

I've considered going back to eBay on this, but I already know what they're going to say to me - payment went through Paypal, not it.

Appreciate the other advice, I will consult an attorney and try and understand what other options I have that would potentially yield any reasonable hope of success or recovery.

[RedsFan1941]

i am very sorry you have to deal with this.

i am curious about one thing: did paypal take the funds from a balance you had in an account with them, or did they take the money from a linked (like a checking) account?

[bounce]

Originally Posted by RedsFan1941

i am very sorry you have to deal with this.

i am curious about one thing: did paypal take the funds from a balance you had in an account with them, or did they take the money from a linked (like a checking) account?

From my Paypal account balance, but it wouldn’t have mattered. If there was no money in the PayPal account, I would either have to fund the deficit or they could put a charge through to my bank.

[RedsFan1941]

Originally Posted by bounce

From my Paypal account balance, but it wouldn’t have mattered. If there was no money in the PayPal account, I would either have to fund the deficit or they could put a charge through to my bank.

unreal. good luck with this

[hcv123]

Originally Posted by bounce

From my Paypal account balance, but it wouldn’t have mattered. If there was no money in the PayPal account, I would either have to fund the deficit or they could put a charge through to my bank.

For those unfamiliar - this may be worth a look:
http://www.paypalsucks.com/

If there was no money in the paypal account and the money were removed from any linked account Paypal would then be in the position of needing to come after you - not a best case scenario, but at least one where you would be in possession of the funds and be able to prove your side in court.

I was screwed as a buyer years ago - that's when I found the site I linked above.

I still buy and sell on ebay and use paypal, but much more cautiously and don't leave much sitting in my paypal account.

The postal claim sounds like the right next move.

Any reason you haven't posted the buyers info or responded to requests to do so.

So sorry - I know very well how these types of situations as if just knock the air out of you.