$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?

[DPCreations]

Proving delivery to the correct address is what matters--not possible with virtual items.

[lancelotme]

ok,Paypal is saying you did not respond to the case when it is open,formality here,you are supposed to respond per Paypal instructions,so the case is closed and you lost the chargeback.

When Paypal informs you a charegback has been filed,it will ask you to present your side of the story like a narrative,a listing of item sold,delivered and they will forward to the cc issuer.

It sounds like you just go ahead and find the transaction and refund him in full and leaving the case open.

This is like you did not show up in court so you automatically lose,hence $20 fee.  

[sharpiemarker]

@mattfx1, the $20 Chargeback Fee applies at the time a Chargeback is applied to your Account for a payment you received and for which you are not eligible for PayPal Seller protection.  

Since your transaction is for digital goods which is not eligible for PayPal Seller Protection, you are charged the fee regardless.  

See if you can appeal and fight the chargeback itself so as to not lose as much. You have download logs, that should count for something, perhaps the CC issuer can check if the IPs match of when the charge was made online, if they even have such logs. But it does look like that PayPal chargeback fee is a done deal unless by a gift of gab, you convince PayPal agent to reverse it.

Call PayPal again, after the phone-tree recording, say "agent" or press 0 to get an agent.  Good luck.

[mattfx1]

So paypal replied to my email that they refunded the fee back to my account, the first email i sent they replied with an automated response then i had to reply to that email and resend an explanation of the issue. They replied now that they gave me the fee refund.