Buzz
PayPal offers a protection policy for all users who make payments through its service. If you receive an item that significantly differs from the seller's description or do not receive the item after payment, PayPal allows you to open a transaction dispute. When raising a dispute, you can directly negotiate with the seller to resolve the issue or file a claim for PayPal to investigate the situation and assist in finding a resolution.
Steps
Filing a Dispute
Log in to your PayPal account and navigate to the Resolution Center. If you have a personal PayPal account, PayPal allows you to open a transaction dispute with the seller if you encounter issues with a product you purchased.
- You can access the Resolution Center by clicking the PayPal icon at the top left of the screen. If you scroll to the bottom of the page, the link will appear on the left with the text “Resolve a problem in our resolution center.”
- PayPal will require a different process if you have a business account instead of a personal account.
Initiate a dispute. PayPal's Resolution Center enables you to directly communicate with the seller to address any issues you encounter.
- Click the “Dispute a Transaction” button.
- You will be redirected to a page displaying all your transactions.
- Select the transaction you wish to dispute by clicking the circle next to the transaction date and then click “continue.”
Clearly describe the issue you faced after completing payment or during an unconfirmed transaction. You will be redirected to a page prompting you to outline the problem you want to resolve. There are two options: “I have an issue with an item I purchased” or “I want to report an unauthorized or erroneous transaction.” Click the circle on the left that best describes your issue and then click “continue.”
- If you choose “I have an issue with an item I purchased,” you will be redirected to a screen asking you to select “I didn’t receive my item” or “I received my item, but it is significantly not as described.” Click the circle on the left that best matches your issue and then click “continue.”
Choose “Category of your purchase” from the dropdown menu. After selecting the category, you will see a notification box that allows you to compose and send a direct message to the seller through PayPal's Resolution Center.
Explain the reason for initiating the dispute and express how you wish to resolve it. After composing your message, click “continue.” PayPal will document your dispute reason and forward it to the seller.
- PayPal allows you to open a transaction dispute within 180 days of payment. If the transaction is older than 180 days, you can still report the issue to PayPal.
Negotiate with the seller to resolve the issue. PayPal facilitates direct communication between you and the seller to attempt a resolution.
- During negotiations, PayPal will hold all funds related to the disputed transaction.
- When you open a dispute, PayPal will notify the seller via email. Typically, you will receive a response from the seller within 7 days.
- You have 20 days to reach an agreement from the date the dispute is opened. If you do not close or escalate the dispute within that time, PayPal will automatically close it.
Close or escalate the dispute. If you are fully satisfied with the resolution agreed upon with the seller, you can close the dispute. If not, you have the option to escalate the dispute for PayPal's intervention.
- Once a dispute is closed, it cannot be reopened, so ensure you are content with the resolution before proceeding.
- If you wish to escalate a dispute related to payment for an item you haven’t received, you must wait 7 days after opening the dispute to confirm whether the item has been delivered before escalating.
Escalate a Dispute
Log in to your PayPal account and navigate to the Resolution Center. The Resolution Center allows you to track all open disputes, review closed disputes, or initiate a new dispute.
Open a dispute or click on an existing one. If you haven’t opened a dispute yet, PayPal will prompt you to do so and attempt to negotiate directly with the seller before escalating the dispute to a claim.
- If you’ve already opened a dispute but couldn’t reach an agreement with the seller, you are permitted to escalate the dispute to a claim.
Click the escalation option under "More Options." When escalating a dispute to a claim, you are requesting PayPal to review the transaction-related issues and provide a resolution.
Provide the necessary information. PayPal will ask several questions related to the transaction to assist in the investigation process.
- During the investigation, PayPal will also request information from the seller, such as proof of shipment or other evidence demonstrating that the seller fulfilled their obligations as agreed.
Wait for PayPal to resolve the claim. You can check the status of the claim at any time by logging into your PayPal account and visiting the Resolution Center.
- When PayPal begins reviewing the claim, you will see an estimated resolution date.
Report Unusual Account Activity
Specify the unusual activity. If you notice suspicious transactions in your PayPal account, you can skip the dispute step and directly file a claim with PayPal.
Log in to your PayPal account and go to the Resolution Center. This feature allows you to address any issues related to unusual transactions or other account activities.
Click "Report a Problem." This button allows you to directly report unusual activity to PayPal instead of opening a dispute and negotiating with the seller.
Provide the information PayPal requests. You will answer several questions related to the transaction you are reporting to ensure PayPal has the necessary details for reviewing your case.
Update your security questions and PayPal password. After reporting unusual activity, PayPal will prompt you to change your password to prevent further unauthorized actions on your account.
Wait for PayPal to review your claim. PayPal aims to conduct a preliminary review of your claim within 10 days of receiving it.
- If PayPal determines that the reported activity is indeed problematic, they will refund the transaction amount to your account and consider the claim resolved.
- If PayPal requires additional information from parties involved in the transaction, they will attempt to contact them and allow 7 days for a response before resolving the claim.
Await PayPal's final decision. After gathering all necessary information, PayPal will thoroughly investigate the activity you reported.
- If PayPal needs further details, you will receive a message in the Resolution Center. You can also proactively log in to the Resolution Center to check the status of your claim at any time.
- Typically, PayPal will issue a final decision on claims regarding unusual activity within 30 days.
Tips
- You can call PayPal and directly explain your dispute to a customer service representative. If you log in to your PayPal account and click “contact” at the bottom of the page, you will be redirected to a new page with a “Call Us” section. You will then be directed to a page with a phone number and a one-time password for PayPal to verify your account. Click the option or speak about your dispute over the phone to resolve your issue.
