How is this possible!!! Buyer gets to keep goods and get refund leaving my balance $499 overdrawn!!

[SadChimp]

In December 2019 helped a friend to sell a brand new Samsung Galaxy S10 online and was successful. The buyer was met in person at my friend’s residence to verify that it was undamaged, unlocked and working perfectly. Like I mentioned it was brand new. He even had a diagnostics tester device which he used on the phone before purchasing which took around 25 minutes to complete. He was quite satisfied with the phone and asked if the payment of $500 for the phone could be done using PayPal. I had a PayPal account which I hardly used but agreed to use it for the transfer of funds. Big mistake. Not only did it take 21 days for the funds to clear but 3 months later the customer has contacted PayPal saying that the goods he received were “significantly not as described” and has been refunded by PayPal the $500 from MY account leaving it overdrawn $499.31 AND gets to keep the phone!!! I checked my emails today and found in my junk folder 3 emails from PayPal from over a period of 2 weeks saying that I have to contact them about the issue and if I don’t then the buyer gets refunded and keeps the goods. Which is what happened and now PayPal are chasing me ceases of my overdrawn account!! If I had been contacted directly by PayPal none of this would have happened. A phone call would have been nice.

[sharpiemarker]

@SadChimp 

Must always read the seller protection terms to see if PayPal is right for your transaction before conducting it.

1) Pick ups/hand delivered transactions are not covered. 

2) Buyers can't file for Item Not Received on pick ups but can file Significantly Not As Described (SNAD) claims and have 180 days to dispute.

3) Sellers are not protected against SNAD claims and have to accept return and refund customer. 

4) Timely response is part of maintaining PayPal seller protection.

5) No good deed goes unpunished. (Helping friend out who don't have PayPal account.)

Always check your emails, never know if its some emergency, even spam folder, as some important official messages can end up in there from time to time.

Sorry it happened to you but these factors came together and threw you a curve ball.