As with any business, payment disputes can become a reality. Protecting yourself and your payments is crucial to the sustainability of your business. When the payment dispute comes from a PayPal payment, there are actions you can take to ensure your payments are protected. A little planning ahead and setup can provide you with what you need to make sure payments are not taken away from you.
Having the data to prove your case in a PayPal payment dispute is crucial. Security begins when the payment information is passed to PayPal. You should include data that passes the host name, host ip or both, of the payee to the PayPal payment processor. This information should also be logged on your orders directly. That way this information is easily accessible to you just in case a payment dispute is ever filed by a customer. In your response to the dispute, you will provide this information. PayPal will use this information to search their logs and see if they can match the IP to the specific payee. If they can make a match on the payee, your possibility of winning the dispute dramatically increase.
When filing the response to PayPal about your dispute, do not email your response. Much is lost through email communication. You will need to call PayPal directly. You will have a much better chance of getting your message heard when you call. Talking to a PayPal agent directly will add a more personable presentation of your response. You will get better results. Come across courteous and respectful. Explain what the situation is and how the customer is trying to defraud you. If the product was an item that was shipped, provide a tracking number. If you have proof of delivery, your possibility of winning the dispute increase even further.
If your product was a virtual item, you need to be sure your Terms of Service (ToS) states that, “Refunds are allowed if approved by staff via support ticket or email. Any unauthorized chargebacks will not be granted.” When the customer checks out and agrees to your ToS, and you have included this type of statement. It will further your ability to win the dispute.
The above is your preferred way of handling this situation. Although, if you have extinguished all other angles of diplomacy, sometimes it becomes necessary to raise the heat a little. This is where you call the PayPal support line and you ask to speak to a supervisor. Keep asking to speak with the next support person’s supervisor until you get someone with the authorization to override and cancel the dispute.
Sometimes even after best efforts, you find that things do not go according to your plan. Many factors can effect the PayPal dispute decision. If the dispute is closed and you find that you have lost the dispute, you may file an appeal to reopen the case within 30-90 days. Although, having the correct information (tracking, logged IP information, etc) will increase your chances of winning any PayPal payment dispute and protect your PayPal payments.