The Paypal Dispute and Claim Gotcha - Escalating Your Claim Gets It Dismissed  
by Anne P. Mitchell, Esq. - 29 Comments, Last updated 04/10/2012

29 Comments - Newest First »

1. Me too.

   I brought A Mobil Phone from a ebay Seller in South Australia, When it arrived all excited but it had a problem so contacted the seller he said try factory set and one other thing but no good, still had the problem. I tried emailing him but just would not reply to my emails left messages on the land line still
   no reply and finely he responded to an email my wife
   sent, saying did not get your emails must have gone into spam? yer what ever we thought,I then contacted PayPal was told to lodge a claim & we did,did all the right things spoke to then nicely sent them the Australia registered post plus to the return address and then PayPal said that the Registered post slip and Number was not good enough and how did they no the seller got the phone, I said to them that sending it that way he hast to sign for it at his end if not it comes back to me.

   I think the only way to by any thing on line is ONLY pay for it with your own credit card, never ever use paypal you go along with the idea that doing it that way is a totally safe way to pay for the things you by on line. IT IS NOT JUST DO NOT BE TRAPED INTO THINKING YOU ARE COVERD WITH PAYPAL they will drop you in the poo quicker than you can think your name out load.I have no phone & $294 out of pocket

   You never stop luring

   B.

   Comment by Brian Lakeman — 4/10/2012 @ 10:43 pm

2. Paypal favors the seller? LOL That’s a laugh. I’ve stopped selling on paypal because I’ve had problems with buyers. Besides me selling a few concert tickets that the people just claimed didn’t work(nothing I could do about it since they already went and paypal made me refund the money). Also, I sold a laptop and put a generic picture but it was very well described and the buyer emails me saying, (I don’t like the way it looks, it looked better online. Refund my money and pay for shipping back.) I told him I can refund but I wouldn’t pay for shipping since it was his mistake, next thing you know, he’s like, “the latch on the laptop was broken by the way”, really?? How can the latch be broken when it is in the interior the laptop when the laptop is closed. And yet, paypal made me refund him and he sent me the broken piece back with my laptop(thinking i would try to superglue?), I lost $20 on shipping and it went for $40 less because of the damage..

   I would love for paypal to actually take the buyers side once..

   Comment by lanebr133 — 2/24/2012 @ 5:52 pm

3. Let it be known that paypal has lifted the holding period a claimant has to wait to get their money back as a buyer. They can now file and receive a refund without even the seller being given a chance to investigate if its a lost package in the mail, etc. What kind of ***** is this, PayPal?

   Comment by MJ — 2/3/2012 @ 12:11 pm

4. I am always amazed by posts that point angry consumers to the fine print in the boilerplate that favors the seller without any mention of the prime focus of Paypal’s advertising which is that it gives the buyer confidence that his interests will be supported by Paypal should push come to shove.

   Comment by PBCliberal — 9/24/2011 @ 10:59 am

5. Everyone crying about Paypal needs to read the User agreement before clicking ‘ok’. Paypal will side with the seller most of the time, advice to anyone ina dispute situation. PROVIDE PAYPAL WITH AMPLE EVIDENCE. Before you buy you need to ensure you have all the proof you need before things go sour. PayPal is not a bank but a middle man.

   Comment by Mike — 9/24/2011 @ 12:33 am

6. I too received the “consider escalating to a claim” email from PayPal. The seller never responded to my initial dispute message, so I decided to send a second message that clearly supports the “Item not as described” reason I chose when initiating the claim.

   Hopefully, my second email will document my position well enough that PayPal will decide in my favor when I escalate this in a few days. If not, my PayPal account is hooked up to my credit card, so I will dispute the payment with my credit card company. My second message will show that I was reasonable and tried to communicate with the seller.

   According to a website “Buyers cannot appeal PayPal decisions, but they retain their ability to get protection elsewhere. For instance, if a buyer funds their PayPal payment with a credit card, they have the right to file a chargeback through their card issuer to recoup the funds.” Source: http://baseswiki.org/en/PayPal,_Resolution_Center

   Comment by Kayak Angler — 9/20/2011 @ 12:53 pm

7. Update on AlohaMark — 7/12/2011 post:

   I GOT MY MONEY BACK! Thank you Mastercard. As Jackie said, Paypal asked I pay (about 75$) to return a 97$ watch. I was promised the shipping would be reimbursed. How, I don’t know because they don’t ask for the price of shipping. I refused since I cannot trust the seller who could pretend the item was missing or broken. So I dealt with my credit card company AND THEY TOLD ME THIS IS ILLEGAL. The seller should pay for the shipping back to himself, not you. IN A NUTSHELL, DO NOT WASTE LOTS OF YOUR TIME LIKE I DID WITH PAYPAL, THIS WILL GO NOWHERE. BUY WITH A CREDIT CARD.

   Comment by AlohaMark — 8/29/2011 @ 7:01 am

8. I always pay with a credit card. That way if I have to file a Paypal dispute and Paypal sides with the seller, I can try getting my money back by doing a chargeback.

   Comment by CB — 8/22/2011 @ 1:37 pm

9. If you lost your card and someone uses your card even if you file a dispute, PayPal wants you to prove that you did not make that purchase. You are still responsible for the fraud use of your PayPal debit card. I refused to pay for something I did not purchase. I filed a police report talked to the merchant and still I am responsible for that transaction. I cant close my PayPal account and they wont work with me until I pay up.

   Comment by Ann — 8/12/2011 @ 6:21 pm

10. I concluded that Paypal is actually the key to produce scams.They will guarantee that your transactions are safe and secure ,but actually they keep in safe all thieves and together make all cheating and thefts
    this complaint will be placed on all sites to let everyone know that bandits and thieves are taking care of money and shopping

    Comment by stanica — 8/11/2011 @ 12:15 pm

11. I have been buying off Ebay for years, recently I bought something from the UK. The seller wasn’t taking any questions so I bought the item and stated on the invoice that I was expecting both items (item and accessory kit), they responded, yes that should be the case. The seller listed a part number and product code which also corresponded to the item and accessory kit. However only the kit came. The seller would only refund me if I returned it (so I would have had to pay two lots of postage to Australia and back to the UK) and eventually I raised a paypal claim. The seller admitted to the listing being incorrect - result was I had to pay for REGISTERED/TRACKABLE postage to the UK. I lost out bigtime. Ebay can’t do anything as they are totally dependant on Paypal policies as Paypal are THEIR chosen method of payment. So whatever you buy, if the seller makes a mistake or deliberatly misleads you, even though you are awarded the case, YOU WILL PAY FOR RETURN REGISTERED POST regardless of the circumstances so it will ALWAYS cost you money. Paypal do not advise you this when you start a dispute/claim they only tell you you have to pay for the trackable return postage after you have lodged your claim. And THEN you find out later you only get your money when the seller gets the item back in the same condition they sent it. So it if gets damaged in transit I guess you get nothing at all - no buyer protection on ebay or from paypal really. So companies selling on ebay do not have to give ANY customer service, as ebay do not require it.

    Comment by Jackie — 7/24/2011 @ 8:40 pm

12. I may have found a solution. I have the same problem: dispute going nowhere and seller covered by bad Paypal & DHGate policies. I bought a 45mm watch and the seller sent me 50mm even though I told him many times I did not want a 50mm. For a full refund DHGate.com requires I ship the item back. The shipping costs more than the watch. I expect Paypal to screw me as well. I called my credit card company, the argument was about to go nowhere when I used the magic words: “If we don’t do anything about it, this equates to encouraging fraud.” The *fraud* word got their attention. Use it.

    Comment by AlohaMark — 7/12/2011 @ 6:28 am

13. True, true and true! Paypal is such a joke. It is simply a large money mover. ALWAYS USE YOUR CREDIT CARD! Never use your bank account!

    Comment by Holliann — 6/9/2011 @ 5:55 pm

14. I purchased an item on April 20th, paid thru Paypal and the seller stated it would ship in 10 days. The seller changed the delivery date to 7/14/10 on ebay and therefore Ebay and Paypal refused to open a claim. Now that 45 days has passed and I still have not received the item, both companies are refusing to open an claim because it is too late (even though they refused to let me open one prior to 6/14). I have been totally ripped off for more than $150.00 and both Ebay and Paypal are allowing it to happen.

    Comment by Tammy Kershaw — 6/7/2010 @ 12:48 pm

15. The thing that really baffles me about these disputes is that paypal automatically favors the seller by allowing them to ignore disputes.

    A seller sent me nothing for my $100 and I opened a dispute, yet she ignored it so basically Paypal enables the seller. Why did I waste my time writing a complaint to the seller if she can walk away with the money with no penalty.

    On top of which, she is bragging all over the internet about how she scammed people and yet she is permitted to continue.

    I guess I have to write that purchase off to a bad decision!

    Comment by brendon — 6/7/2010 @ 9:12 am

16. Does anyone know of an escalation path outside and beyond Paypal? Small Claims Court, FSA etc

    Comment by Bobwright — 2/22/2010 @ 11:17 am

17. Bradley, the same thing just happened to me. And there was an error with the claim form that I emailed paypal about. I hope the claim comes out in my favor, as I NEVER received the item and my seller is definitely MIA.

    Comment by Umi — 1/14/2010 @ 12:57 pm

18. got this message from paypal as soon as i filed a dispute:

    ESCALATE TO A CLAIM: Your seller is currently unable to respond to this dispute.

    so i did… then it happened with multiple other sellers. a few items arrived great around christmas, everything else m.i.a. and now paypal says the sellers aren’t available!?

    Comment by Bradley — 1/6/2010 @ 5:14 pm

19. Paypal will always do this with not as described claims. Unless you bought on EBay. Then they always side with the buyer. Paypal is extremely sleazy and unreputable. Why do people keep using them. What we find is people love them and adore them - until THEY have a problem. Then the same people scream bloody murder. Paypal eventually screws everyone over. ITs a matter of time. However, people being what they are, will love them and post ignorant supportive posts about them until they tehmselves get burned. Thats how scammers do it in America. America loves this soort of thing. Good sheep.

    Comment by tim — 12/6/2009 @ 11:31 am

20. Paypal gotcha !!
    Similar thing happened to me after sending a dispute to chinese seller with no reply and after escalating the claim this is the reply i got. I will henceforth never use pay pal for payments for goods.

    Hello,
    You have chosen to escalate your dispute to a PayPal claim. By ending communication with the seller, you are asking PayPal to investigate the case and decide the outcome. As part of our investigation, PayPal reviewed any communication you may have had in the Resolution Center.

    Our investigation into your claim is complete. As stated in our User
    Agreement, the claims process only applies to the shipment of goods. It does not apply to complaints about the attributes or quality of goods received. Therefore, we are unable to reverse this transaction or issue a refund.

    Comment by A Malapaka — 11/12/2009 @ 6:38 pm

21. I’m a power seller on ebay and I have a person filing a claim against a item i sold with pictures showing the phone worked fine, even tested again before shipment, put in water proof plastic wrap, inside padded envelope, buyer never paid for ins through the us mail service i used, and never contacted me about item just did a dispute claim. Now paypal has taken the amount they disputed directly out of my checking account. Paypal needs to quit being shady and I’ll be disputing charges with my bank. I wish there was a alternative to paypal.

    Comment by tedness — 6/8/2009 @ 2:57 am

22. I have not had the same experience with paypal as most of you had. I purchased a phone that was said to be “LIKE NEW NO SCRATCHES” and the phone came all beat up and with a bad ESN which before bidding I asked the seller if she can guarantee it had a good ESN and she responded yes. So I followed paypals rules, the seller still said NO refund, and I escalated it to a claim immediately after she said no. Then I called about 2 days later (paypal) and got the claim expedited.
    No problems here. Just go into it with a nice attitude no matter what country the people are from on the other line, they’re only working for a paycheck, so just be nice, they dont own the company.
    Attitude can take you far or hold you back depending on what kind of attitude you portray.

    Comment by Gee — 6/1/2009 @ 4:54 pm

23. I thought I’d add to your post - apparently, if you try to do a chargeback as well, Paypal will then freeze your account.

    If you try to CLOSE your paypal account, you can only close it if your bank or credit card information is STILL in your profile. If you try to delete it and then close your account, they will freeze the account instead of letting you close it.

    The number of ‘gotchas’ and sneaky underhanded little tricks they have is amazing, really.

    The world needs to find other routes for selling, or go back to more stable ways. People like paypal are just absolute cheaters.

    Comment by SickofGreed — 5/27/2009 @ 10:31 pm

24. I paid the item I won on ebay immdeiately but seller never shipped the item, and the seller gave incorrect contact info to contact and I have escalated the paypall dispute based on item never received, the seller is non responding dont know what happens ? will i get back my money? I dont know how far the paypall wiill be doin justice to me.

    Comment by Shaila — 1/20/2009 @ 8:35 am

25. I have found the immediate call to Paypal and a request to talk to a supervisor or mananger is the most help in situations as above… or ask for someone in the dispute department and talk to their supervisor… be insistant and keep calling… You have to actually talk to someone who has authority to do something… Thats the best advice that I can offer… also if you can, make sure to return the merchandise… if you keep it, then you are liable for it. Then you can say that technically you never received it…lol.

    Comment by Joe C — 1/16/2009 @ 1:10 pm

26. A call to whom? Paypal’s highhandedness is matched only by their ability to hide out when an attempt is made to reach them by telephone.

    Customer service communication with them reveals their uncanny ability to identify outsourcing companies with no understanding of the actual meaning of English sentences.

    For those instances when we have to use them, we find their rules confusing and arbitrary. They are the paradigm of what customer service in a bad economy SHOULD NOT be.

    Comment by PBCliberal — 1/15/2009 @ 9:10 am

27. I’ve escalated claims on paypal previously (using the ‘not as described’ criteria) and had a successful outcome.

    Could this just have been a bug in the PP Disp. Reso. system? A call may be in order, or if it was partially funded w/ a CC a charge dispute since PP is the causing the problem this time.

    Comment by Consumer — 1/14/2009 @ 10:38 am

28. I’ve been there too.

    Unfortunately, Paypal has no way of knowing who is correct. Before this policy, I know some sellers who have had buyers reverse the payment claiming the item was incorrect or damaged. There are scammers playing both sides of transactions and Paypal has no way to know who is lying. The proof of delivery (automatic if you print the shipping label through paypal) is the only verifiable evidence that Paypal has. Everything else is the unverifiable word of the buyer and the seller.

    The sellers who have been ripped off by buyers were just as angry as you.

    For the buyer, it is no different than buying a sealed box at a flea market or from a magazine ad - you have to understand the risk and decide if you can afford to lose - if not, pay more at a vendor where you can inspect the item first. I learned the hard way too.

    Comment by B — 1/14/2009 @ 9:42 am

29. It’s a shame if anyone finds this surprising. For its entire existence, Paypal has made a consistent and mostly successful effort to provide services that replace those commonly provided by regulated financial services companies in ways that allow them to avoid being subject to those regulations. In the US and many other countries, we have come to expect protection from blatant mail-order scams from credit card issuers because they are required to provide such protection. When one chooses to work with a company like Paypal whose business model and competitive advantage are dependent on saving money by operating outside of the scope of consumer protection law, one should not expect that company to do costly things that they are not required by law to do. Eating the cost of a scam or even seriously investigating it to get a refund is not something they are required to do, and it is unremarkable that they choose not to spend that money.

    Of course, as a Paypal customer you really already knew this because you’ve read all the service terms they’ve ever offered you (and as a lawyer you understood them all) and so you agreed that you’d take the risk of being scammed by anyone you do business with through Paypal. Welcome to Libertarian Paradise! :)

    Comment by Bill Cole — 1/14/2009 @ 8:17 am

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