i got a chargeback from a person claiming that they did not make the donation to me. please help.

[Kyle126]

Hi there,

I am a youtuber/livestreamer and accept donations via PayPal. 3 months ago, someone donated £250 pounds to me and have just requested a chargeback 2 days ago. I have responded and provided information to PayPal but i have not got anything back yet. I have concerns that it may have been a fake account and the money was stolen. Therefore, i fear they may not be able to see my response because the cardholder is not the owner of the paypal account who sent me the money. I am having a panic attack because i feel like i may get sued if the person thinks ive not responded. Can they still see what i have replied with even if they do not have access to the account? 

I really dont know what to do and i am really worried about this. I do not have the money to afford to get sued or taken to court.

Please help, what should i do

[PayPal_Olivia]

Hi @Kyle126,

Thank you for your post, and welcome to the PayPal Community Forum as a new member!

I'm sorry to hear about the dispute regarding the donation received. I'm very glad to hear that you understand that the donation was likely made without the authorization of the party whose funds were used. That's the biggest thing that causes confusion, and you definitely seem to understand, so that's hugely important.

The good news is that, whether it is a PayPal dispute or it is a chargeback with the person's credit card, the party whose funds were used will have access to the response. That platform (either PayPal or card issuing bank) is the one on which they made the claim, so they will be able to either see the response, or they can contact to check on the status. Even if they do not, all the details are handled behind the scenes, and your response will be used to review the dispute. Your participation when called upon to respond is all that is needed to ensure the smooth handling of the dispute or chargeback. 

While PayPal certainly cannot determine the intent of the other party, I can confirm that your timely response to the requests that PayPal made are what is needed to indicate that you have operated in good faith since receiving notification that the transaction was not authorized. 

I hope this helps set your mind at ease. 

Olivia