Activity>Click the payment "Report a problem" simply does not exist, and which is a problem.

[PeaceByJesus]

I look for the lowest prices for bike parts for the free basic bike repair that people have been coming here for, and saw a good price ($23.00) for two 20" tires from what looked very much like a legit store (and there are vast numbers of hardware stores),  but I failed to check this one out and made the $23.08 purchase.

After receiving no  confirmation   email and yet seeing  the Pending payment (via my PayPal card) in the PayPal account I immediately did what I should have done before  and did a search on the name and  which was reported to a very legit-looking scam (I would give it here if allowed).  I immediately went  to PP to stop this, and   tried the chat feature but that, as  well as its phone service instructs us  to use  a process that is not available:

1. Click Activity.
2. Click the payment you wish to dispute.
3. Click Report a problem in the middle of the page
4. You will then be guided through filing a dispute.

However, "Report a problem" simply does not exist, and which is a problem.  Instead, clicking on the transaction under "Activity" simply shows the transaction ID with a seller name (and no other info on the seller) that is not the name of the business, and with the amount paid but with no other options. 

 Trying to speak to an agent gets the response of call back during business hours (after 7AM) get the response "Call back during business hours" even though it was 9:45AM here (EST). I finally get thru to an agent after 11AM, and who transferred me to the PP card dept, which told me they could do nothing for 7 days since the payment was authorized, and if the payment is claimed then a dispute can be filed.

But I have gone this route before with one other scam (out of hundreds of purchases online) and PP simply would not refund the payment.

[JeffreyBohn]

Go to Help, bottom of page go to contact us. There you should see a call us button which will give you a PH# and code to call them.

[kernowlass]

@JeffreyBohn 

@PeaceByJesus 

You can't open a dispute for a pending transaction which is what customer services have already told you.

If the payment completes then you have the option to open a dispute for non receipt of item or item received but not as described.

Do not use the unauthorised option as that is telling paypal that your account was hacked and someone else made the transaction which would not be true.

[PeaceByJesus]

"You can't open a dispute for a pending transaction which is what customer services have already told you.

If the payment completes then you have the option to open a dispute for non receipt of item or item received but not as described.

Do not use the unauthorised option as that is telling paypal that your account was hacked and someone else made the transaction which would not be true."

See my last reply. Why is PP not  telling us (unless you can get    connected to an agent on a phone ) that "You can't open a dispute for a pending transaction" instead of telling users

• Click Activity.
• Click the payment you wish to dispute.
• Click Report a problem in the middle of the page

or other options that also do not work?

[PeaceByJesus]

No, that also is not the reality. Clicking on Help results in options such as,

• Why is the payment I sent pending? Can I cancel it?
• How do I open a dispute with a seller?
• I want my money back. Can I cancel a payment?

Choosing the first options tells me,

A payment will be pending or unclaimed if:

• It was sent to an email address or phone number that isn’t registered to a verified PayPal account. In this case, you’ll be able to cancel the payment. Go to your Activity, find the payment and hit Cancel.

However, there simply is no Cancel option in my case for the payment. The other explanation is that "The recipient has opted not to automatically accept some payments," but in either case the only option offered is "We automatically cancel pending or unclaimed payments after 30 days and send the money back to its original source."

And if I choose, How do I open a dispute with a seller? then PP tells me to  Go to your Resolution Center and click Report a Problem, and from there you choose the transaction needing attention, then Continue, but which results in,

Unable to complete your request

We’re sorry, you can’t file a case on this type of transaction. Please refer to our User Agreement for more details.

And choosing the last option I want my money back. Can I cancel a payment? results in,

It’s not possible to cancel a completed payment from your PayPal account.
Contacting the seller is often the best way to solve a problem. You can find their contact details by going to your Activity and selecting the payment.

However, this also is not true, since as said, in my case here, going to your Activity and selecting the payment only results the seller's name and the amount paid, but with zero  contact details. Meanwhile the seller has not answered the phone or emails.

And nowhere in the menu is any phone #, but which you can only obtain by drilling down thru options to https://www.paypal.com/us/smarthelp/contact-us

Yet doing that is what I described as having to wait a week then PP refused to return the money the last time.  for a So "Help" is not much help, sorry to say.

[kernowlass]

@PeaceByJesus 

That link tells you the ONLY time you can cancel a pending payment is if it was sent to an incorrect email address ie one that does not exist at all and so the payment would never be able to complete.

That is not the case with your pending payment is it (which is why I did not mention it).

If your pending payment does not complete then it will time out at 30 days as per link but again (as I have already told you), if it completes they you can open a dispute.

Sounds as if customer services told you the same thing, they said you can't open the dispute you want to whilst the payment is pending but they also told you how to open a dispute when and if you need to OR for unauthorised (if that applied).

I keep having to repeat myself but you can't open a dispute for non receipt or item received but not as described for a pending payment you can only open one for unauthorised but don't do that if you did make the transaction or it will be closed as you were not hacked and did make the payment.

If its pending then the seller hasn't processed the payment and received it yet so they can't refund and you can't open a dispute against them.

I can only give you the facts, if you don't want to believe me then thats your problem and not mine.  

[PeaceByJesus]

Rather than a clear answer, I am the one shown doing the research in which the typical answer is to go ot 

1. Click Activity.
2. Click the payment you wish to dispute.
3. Click Report a problem in the middle of the page
4. You will then be guided through filing a dispute.

However, "Report a problem" simply does not exist, and which is a problem

Further research and  reading  finds no statement that the ONLY time you can cancel a pending payment is if it was sent to an incorrect email address, but  can be surmised from Why is the payment I sent pending? Can I cancel it?  which informs that

A payment will be pending or unclaimed if:

• It was sent to an email address or phone number that isn’t registered to a verified PayPal account. In this case, you’ll be able to cancel the payment. Go to your Activity, find the payment and hit Cancel.
• The recipient has opted not to automatically accept some payments...We automatically cancel pending or unclaimed payments after 30 days and send the money back to its original source. Refunds to bank accounts may take up to 5 days, while refunds to credit or debit cards may take up to 30 days.

However, this itself does not answer the question of why a pending  payment cannot be stopped, and why went I got thru on a phone (after 11AM) then they needed to transfer me over to the card department, which finally provided the answer.

Yet as said, this happened to me once before, and the payment went thru to the scammer (somehow even provided a shipping confirmation that a 52lbs basketball system was delivered to my city just 3 days (from China) after I paid for it, at a weight of 13lbs, and with no address, even though the unity weights 52lbs),   but Paypal would not refund the money after I waited as instructed and filed a dispute.

So in this case I  will wait until July 5th and report back. 

[PeaceByJesus]

Status report. I Opened a dispute, which meant going thru the card department after  getting past all the non-applicable automated   options,   reporting how I made the payment, but received no confirmation email from the seller, which uses a different name than the web site, and received no product, and was told they would work on it.  I called back today and  again  after finally getting past all the automated diversionary (for my situation) options was routed to the card department  and speaking to an agent, who transferred me to the card department (though that is the number i called)  and was told to wait longer. So I am. Pray and press.

[PeaceByJesus · Accepted solution]

Status report: On July 21st PP sent this:

"You reported that you've not received the item. We've issued a provisional credit of $23.08 USD to your original payment method. This credit could be withdrawn, if your case is denied later. In case, the reversal is done from your PayPal account, the balance could go negative if funds are insufficient.

We’re waiting for the seller's response. We'll get back to you by September 9, 2021"

Thus a dispute due to $23.08  a purchase I made on  June 28 (for bicycle tires) using my Pay Pal card from a site which came from Google shopping. I almost immediately (after receiving no confirmation email and finding it was a  known scam site: search SLY Hardware scam)   tried to stop or reverse the payment but could not, and must endure a process which will take almost 3 months to complete.

Thank God for the money conditionally refunded.

[PeaceByJesus]

However, I have not and will not add money to my PayPal balance and have stopped using my PP card until this dispute is finally resolved.