Charge Back

[diskebec]

I'm a long time seller on eBay and Discogs, and I use PayPal "exclusively" for all transactions.   My eBay & Discogs accounts clearly describe my 'Seller Terms" (including accepted payment methods ....i.e., "PayPal only").    I do not and have never accepted or processed Credit Cards because historically this payment method is (I believe) subject to potentially fraudulent transactions (fraudulent "Charge Backs" have become a significant business issue).   That's why I chose to use PayPal ("a safe payment method") !

Just recently, a registered Discogs buyer purchased an item from me (having accepted my Discogs Sellers Terms).   ....I sent him the invoice (through Discogs, to his registered e-mail address) and I received the appropriate PayPal payment within a day.   ....The item was shipped (same day) to the buyer's address as registered and displayed with both Discogs and PayPal.   All correspondence (purchase confirmation, invoice, payment reception and shipment) were sent to the Buyer's e-mail address (as shown with Discogs & PayPal).    No questions or messages were received from the Buyer.

A couple of days later ('after' the item shipment notice was sent to the Buyer), the same registered Discogs Buyer made an "unauthorized payment" claim to his Credit Card issuer, and PayPal subsequently opened a dispute claim, automatically debiting the sale amount from my account, .....and applying a $20 "Charge-back Fee".     I immediately responded to the claim, provided specific details and proof of shipment (scans of the processed & paid Canada Post shipment form, which shows shipment date & the Buyer's shipping address).   Admittedly, there is no "tracking" option with the shipping service.   .....PayPal automatically and systematically closed the dispute and settled in favor of the Buyer (presumably, for this reason only).    Yet, this dispute has absolutely nothing to do with "Tracking",  shipments, lost or undelivered items).  After a subsequent discussion with PayPal's Resolution Center Help Desk, the PayPal representative sympathetically agreed and issued a "courtesy" refund for the original sales amount (but "not" the $20 charge back).   **And, of course, I no longer have the item that I shipped to the Buyer's registered PayPal address.

My Issues with this situation:

1) I made this sale to a registered (and presumably 'honest') Discogs purchaser (my sense is that if a fraudulent 'someone' is going to make an un-authorized' purchase on someone else's Credit Card, he would not have the item shipped to the Credit Card holder's address on file).

2) As a Seller, I do not accept or process Credit Cards, and most importantly, " I " do not hold any customer Credit Card information .... "PayPal" does however.    ....In fact, as a Seller, I had no idea that this customer would use a Credit Card through PayPal.

3) "PayPal" elected to accept & register this Buyer's Credit Card payments (not "me).

4) PayPal's official "criteria" for resolving similar disputes is unfairly limited to one and only one criterion ("Tracking" number)

5) By accepting customers' Credit Card payments, PayPal subjects itself to the associated business risks, responsibilities and any potential fraud / charge backs......**But PayPal has no ethical right to pass off a "charge back" fee to me (a totally unfair and unjustified business practice).