What to do when you have no buyer protection.

[CelesteStClair]

I recently spent $350 on some art only to discover further down the line and after what they tried to turn into 4 months of excuses that I was simply never getting my commission. I returned to Paypal and opened a dispute for my money back and remembered.

When I first contacted this person they were so kind and asked me if I would select 'friends and family' for my payment as to avoid the cut paypal likes to take. I was fooled and obliged.

Then even despite me putting in the disputes details that this was actually for a purchase and that I had been scammed, Paypal declined the refund due to no buyer protection.

Is there something that can be done for when scammers and con artists use this method on victims like myself? Or are we just meant to accept that we're now out of pocket for huge amounts of money?

[kernowlass]

@CelesteStClair 

A friends / family (or gift payment) is intended as a transfer of funds from family or friends to one another. For this reason, there is no processing fee when payment is made with bank or PayPal balance.
However as it is a gift payment, there is also no buyer protection as no goods or services should have been exchanged.

If he was not a close mate or family member you should never use that option as it enables the seller to evade paying his Paypal fees and negates your buyer protection at the same time.

You would also not be able to open a dispute (apart from one citing an unauthorised transaction), which would be automatically closed as you did authorise the initial payment.

Be careful as using that option for purchasing goods is against Paypal rules and can lead to account limitation.

If you funded your Paypal payment via a credit card then contact your card issuer and see if they will help you but unfortunately they may decline as well as it was a gift payment.