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PayPal disputes - what is the best way to handle them

by Sara Young
6 replies
I recently got 2 paypal disputes.

They both said:
We suspect that this transaction may not have been authorized by the PayPal account holder.

I don't care about the money - I always issue a refund when there is a request for it.

I just don't want PayPal to suspect that I am doing something wrong.

So what is the best way to handle this to get on the best side of PayPal?
#disputes #handle #paypal
  • Profile picture of the author Marakatapolis
    It's a pain in the rear. I'm competitive so I usually try to prove they are thieves, however, this is only after they open a dispute with me and won't cancel it on their own after I ask nicely.

    For physical products, I just give them a full refund after they return it with my R/A#.

    For digital products, you should use something that tracks their activities, like DLguard or one of the digital shopping carts.
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  • Profile picture of the author BIG Mike
    Banned
    [DELETED]
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    • Profile picture of the author Sara Young
      Originally Posted by BIG Mike View Post

      Sarah, that's not an actual dispute as in the customer filing one. PayPal flags certain transactions as possible fraud when the account holder's purchasing habits suddenly change.

      I get a few of these a month and what I do is first respond to it indicating what they bought, where they bought it from (URL to the sales page) and whether or not they downloaded it.

      Then I email the customer directly and ask them if they're aware of it. I ask them to contact PayPal and clear up any misunderstanding with them and that usually resolves it.

      Bear in mind PayPal is not suggesting you did something wrong - they want to make sure the buyer's account was not compromised. They use the dispute system of theirs for everything, which can be confusing at first.
      Thanks. That was very helpful.

      How should I tell the buyer to contact paypal? Should they log into their account and do it from there? or send an email somewhere?
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  • Profile picture of the author Marakatapolis
    Oh, yeah I think I misunderstood. I thought you meant they bought something and then tried to claim a dispute.
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  • Profile picture of the author cashcow
    I had one of those before too. Like Big Mike said, they are not implying that you did anything wrong so I wouldn't worry on that account.

    With mine, the customer had no idea paypal had done that and they wanted the product, so I responded and let paypal know. They took the money away anyway and negated the transaction!

    Lee
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  • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
    Banned
    Often, when a "buyer" selects "did not authorize payment", it's your typical scumbag Paypal scammer. They know that excuse will hold with Paypal. Just refund and if you use DLGuard, ban them from ever purchasing from you again.
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  • Profile picture of the author Gary King
    Sarah, BIG Mike is right (as usual). It may not be an issue at all, just a precaution on the part of paypal - I had one just a few weeks ago from a known-valid transaction with a long-time customer.

    If you can get them to call, it's best... many times will sort itself out without it, but wouldn't rely on that. :-)

    sbucciarel is correct too - if they are protesting the transaction with this as a reason, then it is likely a scammer OR they may not recognize the transaction, especially if they are on a WSO buying spree for example.

    I distinctly remember making a purchase years ago from a very well-known UK marketer. He used a pen-name but his paypal account was under his legal name. It almost stopped me from making the purchase until I realized it was the same person, etc. - that kind of thing could cause them to not recognize the transaction that came through.

    Originally Posted by BIG Mike View Post

    And when it's resolved, don't forget to send them a little something special to thank them for going out of their way
    Love this!
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