$20 fee after giving refund

[mattfx1]

So some scammer decided to file an  'unauthorized payment ' chargeback dispute after purchasing some software from my website and getting what he wanted.

I have his ip logged when he created his email verified account and when he downloaded the software, but since its a digitil item and i heard paypal usually sides with the buyer when it comes to digital items and if you lose a dispute you get charged a $20 fee, so i decided to just give a refund and not fight the dispute. Well I was still charged that $20 fee?!!! Why did they still charge me a $20 fee after i gave buyer the refund without fighting dispute?

[lancelotme]

That $20 fee is a chargeback fee when the buyer goes the route of cc issuer,

if you lose the charegback,then a $20 fee is imposed.

call Paypal and ask why? 

[mattfx1]

Well i gave the buyer a refund and i didnt fight the dispute so ididnt lose anything.

I chose the option - I will accept liability for this transaction.

Which gave the buyer a refund and closed the case so i dont see why they would still charge me, if they are going to charge me regardless i would have fought the dispute and provided evidence the buyer is a scammer. Are you telling me theres no way of refunding without getting charged $20?

I tried calling but i cant get past the bot asking questions, the case is closed since i just provided the refund so maybe thats the problem i sent them an email and im waiting for their response.

[lancelotme]

did the buyer just open a Paypal dispute and you refunded him without asking Paypal to step in?

If so,all you lost is the original payment.

If the buyer goes to his credit card issuer and file a chargeback claiming he did not make the charge,it will hit Paypal first.

Then Paypal will notify you a chargeback has been made against you ,respond with explanation/defence,and forward to the issuer,you will lose of course,and thats where the chargeback fee comes in ,$20.

chargeback is from the cc issuer,dispute is within ebay and Paypal.  

[lancelotme]

where did you see the $20?

is there an explanation what it is??

[mattfx1]

I didnt ask for paypals help until now since i didnt think i was going to be charged a fee, i didnt fight the chargeback so theres nothing paypal had to do on their part other than refund the buyer back. They didnt have to dispute the credit card company so why charge me a fee?

Heres part of the email i received,

The buyer stated that they did not authorize this purchase.

We did not receive the necessary documentation we requested from you, so we were unable to dispute the case with your buyer's financial institution.

In addition, a chargeback fee of $20.00 USD has been applied to and debited from your PayPal account.

[DPCreations]

If you had sold a tangible product that was covered by PayPal seller protection policies PayPal would have reimbursed you for the $20 chargeback.  You didn't follow PayPal policies for seller protection so you pay the charege.  There is no recourse for chargebacks.

[lancelotme]

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@DPCreations wrote:

If you had sold a tangible product that was covered by PayPal seller protection policies PayPal would have reimbursed you for the $20 chargeback.  You didn't follow PayPal policies for seller protection so you pay the charege.  There is no recourse for chargebacks.

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correct me if I am wrong-

I thought when it comes to fraudlent use of credit card, we as sellers are protected as long as we ship to the address provided on the Paypal payment notice,it does not have to be delivered per tracking,as long as we prove we have shipped to that address.

Has it changed?

[sharpiemarker]

Unfortunately the seller slept on the seller protection/dispute/chargeback process.  Seller had the information to fight the chargeback, too!  The only time when you can possibly win a digital goods chargeback case is to provide IP download logs or the like.

You can call customer service and claim ignorance or inexperience with chargeback cases and see if you can appeal the case as you may have info to fight the case.  If not, let this be a lesson.

[mattfx1]

So i cant just refund the buyer without having to fight the chargeback, youre saying im scr.ewed either way? I know plenty of people that provide ip logs and still lose the case this is why i didnt want to fight it.

How can i get in touch with paypal customer service i cant get past the bot, does anyone have the number where i can talk to a human?!!! This is obsurd they will take the refund plus a $20 fee when i did nothing wrong, i want to reopen the case or have them refund the fee.