Can I still receive a refund from a closed business?

[BennehR]

I have just made an online purchase and paid through PayPal, however I am now concerned that the company may have been a scam set up as per the reviews I've seen only after making my purchase.

It was an impulse buy due to a 'closing down sale' so I am concerned that if I do not receive the item, I may never get the money back should it turn out to actually be a scam.

Do I have any kind of protection / Can PayPal still refund me if the business has closed and should the item never be received?

I actually would really like the item still so am willing to give it some time to go through, but the more I look at the site the more I want to flat out cancel it and get the money back.

[kernowlass]

@BennehR 

If you WIN a dispute for non receipt of item OR item received but not as described and the seller can't or won't refund you then normally paypal will do so under their buyer protection scheme as long as you met all the criteria of that protection.

[BennehR]

@kernowlass thank you for confirming, I'll go through the whole rigamaroll of challenging the vendor directly first if it comes to it and document it all How long is reasonable to give the vendor for a response/refund before opening a dispute with PayPal?

[kernowlass]

@BennehR 

HANG ON AND I WILL POST MY SPEEL ON THIS, IF ITS ONE OF THESE CHINESE WEB SITES OR SOCIAL MEDIA AD SALE.

How do I open a dispute with a seller when a purchase goes wrong?

You can open a dispute in the Resolution Centre of your PayPal account within 180 days of payment if:
•You don’t receive the item OR service
•You receive an item but it’s significantly different than the description on eBay or on the seller’s website (or you receive a totally different product).

By opening a dispute, you can communicate directly with your seller to work out a problem transaction.

If you reach an agreement with the seller you can close the dispute. If you're still not happy with the result, you can escalate the dispute into a claim. Paypal will review the claim and decide on reimbursement.

These steps apply to Personal accounts. If you have a Business account, please log in to see the steps that apply to you.

To open a dispute:
1.Log in to your PayPal account.
2. Click on the transaction and use the resolve a problem option at the bottom of that details page.

Note:
•Generally buyers must wait at least 7 days from the date of payment to escalate a dispute for an item not received
•Where an item has not been received, please ensure you have given the seller enough time before opening a dispute

Do not close the dispute until you have a refund or your item.
If a seller states that they can't refund until you have closed the dispute don't believe them.
Escalate the dispute to a claim within 20 days (before it times out), if you need Paypal to get involved.

If you lose because the seller provides a fake tracking number then post back here for more advice.
If the item arrives and its not what you ordered / not as described then make sure you change the dispute quickly from non receipt. If the dispute times out before you can change it then contact customer services to open a second dispute for the new reason.

Activate the below link in case you have to return the item at Paypals request (or the correct one for your country as this is the U.S link).
https://www.paypal.com/us/webapps/mpp/returns

If that does not work then if you funded your paypal payment via a card then contact your card issuer and see if they will issue a chargeback. 

[Bellagumby]

Hello. This was the exact question I needed to ask, except that I bought it thru their pay pal so it doesn't show on my account information. How do I dispute what I cannot find? I cannot figure out where to start as it asks you to select the transaction. Can I speak to a person? I cannot find an option to do this. Thanks!

[kernowlass]

@Bellagumby 

If you need help for a guest buyer transaction then you can;

1. Phone Paypal customer services and see if they will help you.
OR
2. Contact your card issuer for a chargeback.