Quote:
Originally Posted by Kamakiri
There is no way that PayPal won't give you a refund if a dispute is opened.
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Bob makes a very important distinction, which is worth emphasizing and which I found out the hard way. If you pay via instant transfer from your bank account through PayPal, they put the payment through immediately and supposedly then no longer have any control over it; they say it is "impossible" to recall it in the event of a dispute. I suspect that what was really happening was that it was difficult to do so or they were reluctant to do so. I was unable to get PayPal to back me on what seemed to me to be an arguable case of seller error; I bought one item, they charged for two, I carelessly authorized payment for two and then after the seller refused to change the order I asked PayPal to adjust the payment before the transaction shipped. They said because my payment was an instant transfer they were unable to do so. They seem to make a very big distinction between paying with funds from your PayPal account and paying with funds from your bank account.
Bob is also correct that PayPal can unilaterally freeze funds or issue a refund from your account with you having very little input or recourse. And they do, whether you like it or not, most often seem to side with the buyer in a dispute. If you always transfer your money out of your PayPal account and into your bank immediately and maintain a zero balance with PayPal, it makes it a little more difficult for them to hold you hostage. Of course that works against your being able to pay using your PayPal balance as a source of funds as a buyer, so you need to weigh your priorities as a buyer or a seller.
All-in-all, I've been surprised how far out on a limb PayPal has gone to protect me as a buyer. But even in one case when I was clearly "in the right" I thought they were pretty heavy-handed in their treatment of the seller.
-- Dave Sica