posted on January 8, 2007 08:05:48 AM
Well I guess they can because they DID. I got the following email and checked my account and the funds have been put on hold. It's not much money so it's not a big deal here but what if it's $300 or so?
Of course I have already mailed the item.
How in the world can we protect ourselves against this? I thought that paypal was supposed to be safe from this type of issue??
Why is paypal asking me for information they already have???
Dear My Name,
We were recently notified that one of your buyers used an account that has been associated with possible unauthorized use. The following PayPal transaction has been reversed, and the funds have been debited from your account:
To help in our investigation, please reply with the following information within seven calendar days:
1. The purchased item and the value of the item.
2. The name and address given to you by the buyer.
3. Whether or not the item has been shipped. (If you have not yet sent the item, do not ship it.)
4. If you have already shipped the item, please provide the name of the shipping provider, date of shipment, and tracking number, so that PayPal can verify the shipment and delivery.(For transactions of $250.00 USD or more, you must provide a proof-of-receipt in the form of a signature from the buyer.)
5. Details of any other payments you sent or received that were related to the above transaction.
6. Your day and evening phone numbers.
We would like to obtain as much information as possible about the above transaction, including any email correspondence between you and the buyer, in order to expedite this investigation. Solving potentially fraudulent cases helps us continue to offer PayPal as a secure and cost-effective payment service. Thank you for your cooperation and assistance.
As long as you followed ALL the RULES associated with the PP SELLER'S UN-PROTECTION POLICY, you should get yer moola back (like me & Ralphie did 2 times) after a few weeks...
Basically, the cardholder probably complained to their card issuer that they never made the charge & they in turn are doing a chargeback to PP...
Did you:
1) SHIP TO THE CONFIRMED ADDRESS with...
2) ONLINE PROOF of TRACKING?
These 2 questions are da FIRST place to start, as if you answer "NO" to either, you can probably KISS da MOOLA..."Bye-Bye"
posted on January 8, 2007 08:16:06 AM"How in the world can we protect ourselves against this? I thought that paypal was supposed to be safe from this type of issue??"
NO! You are mis-understanding your rights as a PP-accepting merchant!
CARDHOLDERS have VERY definite RIGHTS outlined in a very STRICT FEDERAL law -- none of those RIGHTS are eliminated by accepting PP --
In fact, some feel that accepting PP is riskier than accepting payments thru a MERCHANT cc account...
THERE IS NO WAY ON THE FACE OF THE EARTH THAT PAYPAL CAN (nor) WILL POTECT YOU, THE MERCHANT, FROM CHARGEBACKS, EVEN UNREASONABLE & SILLY ONES!
Accepting PP (or accepting cc's thru a MERCHANT ACCOUNT) involves a GREAT DEAL of RISK for a MERCHANT...
Sad, but TRUE, and one either accepts this very real level of risk, or one accepts ONLY MOs and CHECQUES, etc...
LOG-IN to yer PP account -- there should NOW be a BIG BLURB at the TOP directing you to RESPOND in yer DISPUTE RESOLUTION center...
If NOT, look over to the TOP LEFT, & there should NOW be a LINK there...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ General
PayPal’s Seller Protection Policy is designed to protect sellers against unauthorized payments and against claims of non-receipt of merchandise if they follow good selling practices. In order to be covered by the Seller Protection Policy, sellers must follow the risk-reduction procedures specified in #3 (Policy Conditions) below.
When a seller receives a payment through PayPal, if the buyer files an unauthorized transaction claim or escalates a dispute into a claim or if applicable, otherwise files a claim under PayPal’s consumer protection programs (a “Buyer Claim”), or if the buyer files a credit card chargeback, a Temporary Hold will be placed on the amount of the payment. If a dispute precedes the claim, the Temporary Hold will be placed when the dispute is filed and will be maintained if the buyer escalates the dispute into a claim. If the transaction qualifies for the Seller Protection Policy, the temporary hold will be lifted from those funds.
If the transaction does not qualify for the Seller Protection Policy, PayPal will review the Buyer Claim, including all information provided by the seller, and make a determination. In the case of a chargeback, PayPal will determine whether the chargeback can be disputed with the card-issuing bank. If PayPal disputes the chargeback, the Temporary Hold will continue until the dispute is decided by the applicable card company (Visa, MasterCard, American Express or Discover).
If the seller loses a Buyer Claim or a chargeback dispute and does not qualify for the Seller Protection Policy, the seller will owe PayPal for the amount of the reversed transaction. In the case of a chargeback, sellers who do not meet the requirements of the Seller Protection Policy will also owe a $10.00 USD chargeback fee. PayPal will seek to recover the funds from sellers by debiting their PayPal balance. If there are not sufficient funds in the seller’s PayPal balance, sellers have a choice of reimbursing PayPal by funding their PayPal account or by other means as described in the Payments (Sending, Receiving, and Withdrawals) Policy.
If a chargeback dispute is won, the Temporary Hold will be lifted and the seller will be free to use those funds, but the seller will be charged the $10.00 USD chargeback fee if the transaction does not qualify for Seller Protection.
posted on January 8, 2007 09:35:28 AM
She may not get seller protection if fraud is involved.
Is it too late to call USPS and ask them to return the item??
[ edited by hwahwa on Jan 8, 2007 09:36 AM ]
posted on January 8, 2007 09:38:54 AM
There is still no dispute posted on the account. I called and paypal said I should reply to their email directly.
posted on January 8, 2007 03:14:58 PM
hwahwa - it was mailed 1st class so I would have to pay return postage. Fortunately for me it's not enough money to get all upset about but I may rethink next day shipping from here out.
posted on January 9, 2007 07:20:01 AM
I emailed them everything they asked for and this morning the money is back in my account.
Just wonder what's up to have it resolved so fast.
posted on January 11, 2007 04:35:37 AM
I have had a few things like this happen. My favorite was the one where they held $600 of mine of 6 months interest free. OF course I had all the tracking info on it. After 6 months they finally gave it back.
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