DeviantArt Commission - Artist Is Blocking/Ignoring Me. (Can I dispute?)

[MysticFaust]

~Hello there people. I need your assistance.

I made a commission to an artist on DeviantArt and paid him $100 this January.

A while ago I messaged him asking where my commission was or at least some progress on it he merely said "I'll post a status at the weekend"
(Vague)

Well the weekend then passed and I have sent several emails and notes to his DA profile and no answer on either which I know he uses.

I have given him 2 Months to at least reply and he has said nothing.

To make matters worse his Deviantart profile is littered with several peoples comments warning to stay away and how he ghosts people after paying money and scams them.

One user said I could file a dispute with paypal if the payment is not over 180 days old but I tried to file a dispute and it gave me the message 

"We're sorry, but this transaction cannot be disputed because it is not a purchase of goods or services. Please contact the recipient directly"

In a nutshell.

I paid this guy $100 for a piece of art on Paypal.
2 months go by and still heard nothing from him and with now a serious reason to believe he will never complete the work I paid him to do.
Paypal says contact recipient directly.
He wont answer!
What do I do? I would like to recieve a refund for not actually receiving any service and I have proof that I indeed paid that cash to him.

If I cannot get a refund then I really want to report this user for blatantly scamming people.

Please help.

Thank you for any help and support!

"

[kernowlass]

@MysticFaust

Sounds as if you paid using the 'gift option'???

A friends / family (or gift payment) is intended as a transfer of funds from family or friends to one another. For this reason, there is no processing fee when payment is made with bank or PayPal balance.

However as it is a “gift” payment, there is also no Buyer protection as no goods or services should have been exchanged.

If he was not a close mate or family member you should never use that option as it enables the seller to evade his paypal fees and negates your buyer protection at the same time. That is also why you would be unable to open a dispute.

Your only hope is if you funded your paypal payment via a credit card then contact your card issuer and see if they will help you but unfortunately again as it was a 'gift' of money they may decline as well.

[MysticFaust]

Hi there and thank you for replying.

Its kind of difficult to tell if I did indeed send a gift payment but I did however get charged tax.

I got charged $4.20 USD on top of the $100 but I am unsure if this is just a general processing fee?

I also did in fact pay using a credit card so if all else fails I could attempt to contact my bank but that's just grasping at straws at this rate.

In either event can I still report this user or that impossible?

Deviantart does have strict policies for stealing money from commissioners.

Thanks for helping! 

[kernowlass · Accepted solution]

@MysticFaust

Buyers don't pay a fee, the only time you pay a fee is if you send a friends / family payment and FUND it via a credit card.

So that seems to suggest it was sent that way??

You can report them but you risk getting your account limited as well as it is against paypal rules to accept or send friends / family payments for sales.

I would just go with your c.c.